Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson, the California couple who sold their energy bar company Clif Bar to Mondelez for nearly $3 billion in 2022, have already donated over $1 billion to their charitable foundation, the Clif Family Foundation. The couple has donated to over 1,000 nonprofits, including organizations helping Somali refugees and working to keep Alaskan waters clear for fish.
Gary Erickson, an avid adventurer and former baker, founded Clif Bar in 1990 after a bike marathon in Switzerland where he found a lack of tasty energy bar options. Co-CEO Kit Crawford, a former jazz dancer and National Parks worker, joined the company in 1984 and eventually ran it with Erickson. The couple initially rebuffed several buyout offers before agreeing to sell to Mondelez in 2022 for $2.9 billion.
Following the sale, Erickson and Crawford donated $555 million to their foundation in 2022, increasing its assets from $510,000 to $551 million. The foundation supports small-to-midsized grassroots groups focused on regenerative and organic farming, worker food safety, healthy living, outdoor activities, and climate justice. The couple had previously given $45 million to the foundation through Clif Bar.
Erickson’s philanthropic efforts extend beyond the foundation, as he has sponsored high school mountain biking programs since 1998 and supported the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. The foundation has donated nearly $3 million each year to a wide range of nonprofits, with an average donation of just under $7,000. Organizations like Rural Advancement Foundation International in North Carolina have received long-term support from the Clif Family Foundation.
The couple’s main activities outside of their philanthropy involve their farm and winery, where they have a wine tasting room, a line of savory nuts and artisanal jellies, and a food truck selling bruschetta. They also run White Road Investments, a mission-driven private equity firm that has backed nearly 30 companies. Investments include plant-based energy drink maker Guayaki Yerba Mate and sports-focused digital media company Outside.
It remains to be seen how the Clif Family Foundation will use the massive donation from the couple. They may continue their current strategy of reaching a large number of nonprofits with small donations or shift to making bigger contributions to a smaller group. Last year, the foundation gave a $100,000 grant to a fund started by tennis player Frances Tiafoe to make tennis more accessible to underserved communities. In addition, Erickson and Crawford committed $3 million to repave a popular cycling route in their community.
