Paul Brest

Paul Brest, who has led the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation since 1999, announced on Friday that he will retire from the position next year.

Brest, a former dean of Stanford Law School, said in a message on Hewlett’s website that he had decided the time was right to step down.

“Next summer I will turn 72, the age at which Hewlett board members (including the president) have traditionally retired,” he said. “After 12 years as president, I am planning to leave the foundation to return to teaching.”

MENLO PARK, Calif., November 18, 2009 — Nonprofit organizations need flexible funding to thrive, but whether a funder provides general support or underwrites a specific project depends on the compatibility of their interests, writes Paul Brest, president of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, in an essay accompanying the Foundation's recently released 2008 Annual Report.

June 3, 2009 — The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced a $2.5 million investment to identify promising strategies to dramatically improve college success rates, especially among those students least prepared for college-level work.

Participants in the philanthropic world — from foundations and wealthy donors to the non-profit organizations that seek their support — must create a robust marketplace of information about charitable activity if they hope to increase their social impact, a newly released study has concluded.

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