4,562 private foundations reported grants to California recipients on their IRS Form 990-PF filings for tax years 2021–2025. Historical giving records — not an open application portal.
Compiled from public IRS Form 990-PF Part XV filings. UseGrants is an independent aggregator, not affiliated with any foundation listed. Grants paid directly to named individuals are excluded from recipient counts and tables.
Across tax years 2021–2025, 4,562 private foundations reported 26,226 grants totaling $2,857,402,325 to 14,477 organizations in California. The most-funded purposes were education (2,273 grants) and health & medical (1,633 grants). Gates Foundation gave the most by reported dollars — $337,100,563 across 314 grants. The median reported grant was $15,000.
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The California communities receiving the most reported foundation grants, of 154 with a meaningful reported volume. Recipient city is the address the filing foundation reported.
Purpose text from each foundation’s own Part XV filing, bucketed into plain-English themes.
| Foundation | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Gates Foundation | 314 | $337,100,563 |
| The California Endowment | 678 | $119,176,672 |
| Waverley Street Foundation | 36 | $101,092,494 |
| Freedom Together Foundation | 96 | $74,089,500 |
| The Ahmanson Foundation | 399 | $62,015,933 |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | 9 | $56,674,000 |
| Dunard Fund USA Ltd | 8 | $54,100,000 |
| Munger Charitable Trust Number Three | 3 | $51,666,757 |
| The Sobrato Family Foundation | 341 | $51,453,279 |
| The Roberts Foundation | 1 | $49,796,447 |
| Fund for ART Science and Technology | 1 | $45,480,532 |
| Hellman Foundation | 1 | $42,961,909 |
| Gary and Mary West Charitable Trust | 14 | $36,824,125 |
| Tansy Charitable Foundation | 3 | $31,500,009 |
| The Annenberg Foundation | 332 | $30,969,129 |
Totals across every reported grant in the filings above. Individuals are excluded.
| Recipient | City | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation | Mountain View | 23 | $62,430,932 |
| Colburn School | Los Angeles | 3 | $52,640,000 |
| Pasadena Community Foundation | Pasadena | 12 | $51,837,757 |
| Total Grants Paid - See Attachment | San Mateo | 1 | $49,796,447 |
| Gary and Mary West Health Institute | La Jolla | 1 | $36,000,000 |
| Tides Foundation | San Francisco | 84 | $34,295,897 |
| Hispanic Scholarship Fund | Gardena | 3 | $31,555,000 |
| Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University the | Redwood City | 26 | $28,292,644 |
| Resources Legacy Fund | Sacramento | 18 | $27,715,000 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | 118 | $27,670,573 |
| Cedars-sinai Medical Center | Los Angeles | 29 | $27,454,324 |
| UCLA Foundation | Los Angeles | 59 | $26,412,191 |
| SEE TR Attachment (1) | Newbury Park | 1 | $26,283,551 |
| US IAS Members Trust | Los Angeles | 2 | $25,260,730 |
| GiveWell | Oakland | 6 | $25,093,311 |
| Regents of the University of California SAN Francisco the | San Francisco | 20 | $22,505,405 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | 90 | $21,252,169 |
| Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute | Simi Valley | 3 | $21,170,000 |
| Scripps Research Institute the | La Jolla | 10 | $20,977,973 |
| Thousand Currents | San Francisco | 9 | $20,308,910 |
4,562 private foundations reported grants to recipients in California on their IRS Form 990-PF filings, totaling $2,857,402,325 across 26,226 grants. The largest by reported dollars were Gates Foundation, The California Endowment, Waverley Street Foundation. These are historical filings, not open application portals — contact each foundation for current guidelines.
Reported purposes in California concentrate in education (2,273), health & medical (1,633), community & economic development (758). Purpose text comes from Part XV of each foundation's own 990-PF filing, bucketed into plain-English themes.
The median reported grant to a California recipient was $15,000, and the largest single reported grant was $52,500,000. Amounts are as reported by the filing foundation and reflect a historical tax year.
Recipients in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Santa Barbara received the most reported foundation grants in California. UseGrants publishes a page for each California city with enough distinct funders and recipients to report on.
Foundation filings are historical. The UseGrants feed tracks federal and state opportunities that are open today, with the eligibility explained in plain English.
Source: public IRS Form 990-PF Part XV filings (tax years 2021–2025). Amounts are as reported by each filing foundation and reflect historical giving, not a current application opportunity. Recipient location is the address the foundation reported, which may differ from where a program operates. UseGrants is an independent aggregator — always confirm details with the funder before applying.
