Foundations that fund organizations in Tucson, Arizona
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Tucson nonprofits
1,265 private foundations gave $132M to Tucson organizations in their latest filings; 37 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
3,083 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Tucson around $172K. 40 of these funders are based in Arizona; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 1,265
- Accept applications
- 37
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Tucson
- $132M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 3,083
- Typical median grant
- $172K
- Based in AZ
- 40%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Tucson organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation | Scottsdale, AZ | 21 | $11M | $110K | Yes | Education; Human Services; Arts & Culture |
| Penny and Robert Sarver Charitable Foundation | Paradise Valley, AZ | 2 | $5.0M | $2.5M | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 14 | $3.9M | $13K | Preselected only | Charitable entity support |
| Caris Charitable Trust I | Chicago, IL | 1 | $3.3M | $3.3M | Preselected only | General support |
| The Eliot Spalding Foundation C/O Clayton Niles | Oro Valley, AZ | 11 | $3.0M | $284K | Yes | General charitable purpose |
| Connie Hillman Family Foundation C/O Larry Radamson | Tucson, AZ | 10 | $2.7M | $143K | Yes | General program support; K-12 school field trips for title 1 schools in pima county; Center of excellence. workforce development programs. schol… |
| The Andrew W Mellon Foundation | New York, NY | 5 | $2.6M | $600K | Yes | To support general operations; To support data collection and analysis as well as dissemin…; To support organizational and programmatic capacity |
| The Heising-Simons Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 10 | $2.4M | $135K | Preselected only | For the 51 pegasi b fellowship; To support the second development phase of magaox; For unsolved problems in astrophysics - deciphering the evo… |
| Thomas R Brown Family Private Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 9 | $2.3M | $23K | Preselected only | Support |
| The Steele Foundation Inc | Phoenix, AZ | 3 | $2.2M | $110K | Preselected only | Reading Seed Program at Prince & Summit; DCI lab renovation, DC Research, & PANDA; General Support |
| Armstrong McDonald Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 14 | $2.1M | $143K | Yes | Bald beauties project; Inspiring young minds; 2025 programming & exhibit updates |
| Garcia Family Foundation | Tempe, AZ | 5 | $2.0M | $300K | Preselected only | Donation to Empower students to achieve their goals and be…; Donation To reduce homelessness and create a better life fo…; Donation To support the mission to eliminate homelessness a… |
| The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation | Palo Alto, CA | 3 | $1.8M | $366K | Preselected only | Discovery alliance membership 2024; Support for the lincc analysis framework: an open, scalable…; Support for large fiber array spectroscopic telescope (lfas… |
| Kautz Family Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 26 | $1.8M | $25K | Preselected only | Charitable; Unrestricted support; charitable |
| Marshall Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 35 | $1.7M | $25K | Yes | Amphitheatre Naming ($50k ea 2020-2024); Scholarships; NEW BAND UNIFORMS (Matching Grant) (Matching Grant) |
| Margaret E Mooney Foundation C/O Patricia Lohse | Tucson, AZ | 6 | $1.7M | $240K | Yes | General operating - unrestricted gift; Capital campaign; Health facility capital funds |
| Flinn Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | 20 | $1.5M | $50K | Preselected only | Support for initiative for financial and creative health (2…; Support for change capital (2024-2027); Support for general operating support |
| The Schmidt Family Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Yes | Encouraging a just transition away from fossil fuels |
| Newton and Dorothy Teass Tw Xxxxx5003 | Chicago, IL | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Preselected only | General |
| Coit Family Foundation | Walnut Creek, CA | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Preselected only | Donation for charitable purposes |
| Wallace Research Foundation C/O Rsm US Llp Attn Shawna Huls | Cedar Rapids, IA | 11 | $1.2M | $100K | Preselected only | Support the garden's endowment fund; Support for operating expenses and expanding training and o…; To help save endangered knowledge and other mission support |
| Waverley Street Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 2 | $1.1M | $550K | Preselected only | General Operating Support; Indigenous Resilience Center |
| Every Org | San Francisco, CA | 3 | $1.1M | $247K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Hs Lopez Family Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 54 | $1.1M | $10K | Yes | General support; Tucson arts & culture field trips; Echo program |
| John Templeton Foundation | West Conshohocken, PA | 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | Yes | Establishing a templeton lsst early-career research fellows… |
| The Skoll Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Yes | Creation of ending pandemics academy and establishing an en… |
| Ginny L Clements Charitable Trust C/O Virginia L Clements Trustee | Tucson, AZ | 19 | $977K | $1,250 | Preselected only | Program support; To support the church |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 9 | $955K | $25K | Preselected only | CIC Character & Relationship Based Lending; AZ CDFI Landscape Analysis; GrowthHUUB Access | Financial Education |
| A Frederick Banfield Charitable Trust | Tucson, AZ | 5 | $940K | $10K | Preselected only | To support organization's programs to ensure that people of…; To encourage economically disadvantaged youth through sport…; To support organization's various assistance programs to he… |
| Dorrance Foundation for Education | Scottsdale, AZ | 13 | $940K | $5,000 | Yes | For the Department of Religious Studies and Classics; Grant to Boys and Girls Club of Tucson in Memory of DSP Alu…; Grant on behalf of participant in dsp interview committee |
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 3 | $886K | $382K | Yes | Create novel technology platform capabilities; Tuberculosis |
| Dorothy Harmsen and Bill Harmsen Sr Charitable Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 3 | $860K | $350K | Preselected only | To assist the organization |
| Potoff Private Philanthropy | Tucson, AZ | 4 | $817K | $189K | Yes | Helping individuals train their service dogs; Pima cycle breakers; Skills-based education |
| The Stocker Foundation | Elyria, OH | 36 | $787K | $1,500 | Preselected only | Unrestricted; most pressing need; Kith and kin program during school year 2025-26; Wee programs during school year 2025-26 |
| Ruth McC Tankersley Charitable Fnd | Tucson, AZ | 8 | $786K | $85K | Yes | Grant money earmarked for the HM and LJ donor Fund; Grant for interm Head of School; Grant to sup budget fin aid programs tutoring |
| The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust | New York, NY | 2 | $767K | $383K | Preselected only | Translational therapeutics accelerator developing kinase in…; T1d consortium 2.0 |
| Dorothy D and Joseph a Moller Foundation | Hillsdale, MI | 2 | $761K | $381K | Preselected only | General support |
| Carroll Petrie Foundation | Santa Fe, NM | 2 | $750K | $375K | Preselected only | New mexico & environmental health programs; Southwest dark skies program & general support |
| McPherson Family Foundation | Denver, CO | 1 | $735K | $735K | Preselected only | To create meaningful change for women, children and communi… |
| Alfred P Sloan Foundation | New York, NY | 2 | $735K | $368K | Yes | To administer awards from the 2024 scialog: sustainable min…; Alfred p. sloan research fellowship for kate alexander in p… |
| The Christensen Fund | San Francisco, CA | 4 | $735K | $238K | Yes | Support for the united nations special rapporteur; General support; Support to engage with the united nations environment progr… |
| Lapan Memorial Sunshine Foundation Inc C/O David Lapan | Tucson, AZ | 16 | $728K | $8,387 | Yes | Support; Scholarships and educational expenses; Donation |
| Peter & Nancy Salter Family Foundation Inc | Phoenix, AZ | 1 | $700K | $700K | Preselected only | Medical device design lab |
| The George Mason Green and Lois C Green Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 4 | $667K | $7,500 | Yes | Capital campaign, athletics, unrestricted imo; Capital funds; Cradle to career |
| Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation | Irvine, CA | 3 | $652K | $26K | Yes | Research, general support & education |
| Crankstart Foundation | San Jose, CA | 1 | $625K | $625K | Preselected only | To promote increased accountability among us oil & gas comp… |
| Moreno Family Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | 5 | $605K | $30K | Preselected only | Education; Children; Community |
| Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $600K | $600K | Preselected only | In support of developing a second generation attomicroscope… |
| J & C Davis Family Foundation Inc | Tucson, AZ | 3 | $580K | $250K | Preselected only | General Operating Support; Mt. Lykaion Project; Adaptive Athletics Program |
| Cosdenc Tuw Fbo Ua Coll Med-Main | St Louis, MO | 1 | $572K | $572K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Priscilla and Michael Baldwin Foundation | Honolulu, HI | 2 | $564K | $282K | Preselected only | Art institute operations; Museum operations |
| The Weil Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 1 | $553K | $553K | Preselected only | Education |
| Arnell Charitable Tr 1700-0001014 | Tulsa, OK | 1 | $538K | $538K | Preselected only | General operation purposes |
| The David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 4 | $538K | $138K | Yes | Fellowships for Science and Engineering; Environment and Science; Just Societies |
| William and Mary Ross Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 11 | $524K | $25K | Preselected only | Program support |
| Great Marsh Foundation | Boston, MA | 2 | $500K | $250K | Preselected only | General use. |
| Jt Tai & Co Foundation Inc | Little Neck, NY | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | Programs support |
| Allen Family Philanthropies | Seattle, WA | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | To support the scialog: neurobiology in a changing environm… |
| Wk Kellogg Foundation | Battle Creek, MI | 2 | $500K | $250K | Yes | Jobs and Family Economic Security; Promise of an Equitable Future |
| Head & Heart Foundation Tr 12319 | Wilmington, DE | 2 | $480K | $240K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Simons Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 6 | $465K | $8,400 | Preselected only | Data driven modeling and analysis of chaotic and stochastic…; Monopoles: constructions and moduli spaces; Arithmetic geometry |
| Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc | Bethesda, MD | 3 | $450K | $150K | Preselected only | General support |
| Burt Foundation C/O Erik H Serr Miller Canfield | Ann Arbor, MI | 7 | $450K | $50K | Preselected only | Consistent w/ 501(c)(3) status; Consistent w/501(c)(3) status; Used consistent w/ 501(c)(3) status |
| James S McDonnell Foundation | St Louis, MO | 2 | $450K | $225K | Yes | Teachers as thinkers: improving classroom communication in… |
| The Jack and Vivian Hanson Foundation Co | New York, NY | 2 | $432K | $216K | Preselected only | General purposes |
| Stanley M Reinhaus Family Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 15 | $418K | $8,000 | Yes | Operations; Scholarship & building project; Scholarship |
| The Klungness Family Foundation Inc | Wilmington, DE | 6 | $403K | $32K | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted; Pathway to Asia Program; For the benefit of AZPM |
| Fred & Christine Armstrong Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 36 | $402K | $10K | Yes | Local disaster services for children and families; Provide needy children with pajamas and books to foster lit…; Assist needy children and families |
| Delta Dental Plan of Arizona Charitable Foundation and Trust | Scottsdale, AZ | 6 | $401K | $16K | Yes | Community grant |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 3 | $400K | $75K | Yes | For support of the national institute for civil discourse |
| John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation | Chicago, IL | 2 | $375K | $188K | Preselected only | To support pima county's participation as an implementation…; To support the county's participation as an implementation… |
| Abba's Storehouse Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 10 | $372K | $8,000 | Preselected only | Charitable Event; General & Unrestricted; Hardship scholarship Fund |
| Wilburforce Foundation C/O Lisa Weinstein | Seattle, WA | 3 | $355K | $100K | Yes | Environmental - general support 2024; Environmental - border wildlife study and advocacy support |
| Adolph Coors Foundation | Denver, CO | 1 | $350K | $350K | Yes | Program specific grant |
| Rav Izi Azi Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 2 | $343K | $172K | Preselected only | Jewish education |
| The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $330K | $330K | Preselected only | Scialog |
| Apex Foundation | Bellevue, WA | 2 | $325K | $163K | Preselected only | Arts, culture, and history |
| Woodin Laboratory C/O M N Advisory Services LLC | Cleveland, OH | 12 | $323K | $5,600 | Yes | General support |
| Lester & Millie Rosen Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 21 | $320K | $10K | Preselected only | Donation |
| Ross and Patty McCallister Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 14 | $319K | $10K | Yes | Program support; Cystic fibrosis research |
| Ames Construction Charitable Foundation | Burnsville, MN | 1 | $310K | $310K | Preselected only | Operating support |
| The Foundation for Community and Health Advancement | Phoenix, AZ | 16 | $308K | $5,000 | Preselected only | Grant award-mental health funds; 2025 eop sponsorship; Grant award-chronic health funds |
| Met Foundation Inc | Indianapolis, IN | 7 | $308K | $14K | Preselected only | General operations; General operations (8k for desert fence busters only); Desert fence busters program work only |
| The Marisla Foundation | Laguna Beach, CA | 3 | $305K | $100K | Yes | General support |
| The Colorado Health Foundation | Denver, CO | 1 | $300K | $300K | Yes | Advocacy; economic opportunity |
| Lafetra Foundation | Berkeley, CA | 1 | $300K | $300K | Preselected only | General support |
| Kisco Cares Foundation C/O Kisco Senior Living | Carlsbad, CA | 1 | $300K | $300K | Preselected only | Donation |
| The Rob Walton Foundation | Bentonviille, AR | 1 | $300K | $300K | Preselected only | To support Tucson Military Vehicle Museum |
| Walder Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $300K | $300K | Preselected only | Scialog Partnership to Support Chicago-Area Fellows research |
| Joannides Family Foundation | Cheyenne, WY | 3 | $295K | $400 | Preselected only | General support |
| Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $293K | $293K | Preselected only | General donation |
| Research Corporation Dba Research Corporation for Science Advancement | Tucson, AZ | 14 | $292K | $5,735 | Yes | 2024 - 2025 Arizona Public Media Support; 2024 General Support; 2024 Employer Match |
| The Philip J & Carol J Lyons Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 10 | $285K | $30K | Preselected only | General |
| Zuckerman Family Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 12 | $277K | $11K | Yes | Healthy 2 be me program; Gala sponsorship; Year-end grant 2025 |
| The B&d Brady Foundation | Tucson, AZ | 6 | $270K | $35K | Preselected only | To provide support to maintain the scenic and ecological ch…; Support the year-round operation of the historic fox tucson…; Raise and provide support for saguaro national park |
| Del E Webb Foundation | Prescott, AZ | 4 | $269K | $77K | Yes | Build out 4 therapeutic spaces for child therapy; Renovate newly purchased youth mentoring center; Help renovate garage for a teen clothing closet |
| Hursey Family Foundation | West Hartford, CT | 1 | $261K | $261K | Preselected only | General charitable |
| The Osa Foundation | Lincolnshire, IL | 10 | $259K | $25K | Preselected only | General Operating; General operating; Sunnyside High School EV CTE program |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 5 | $255K | $15K | Yes | Matching gift; Core support for the indigenous peoples law and policy prog…; General support |
| Jasam Foundation of Arizona Fund B | Tucson, AZ | 15 | $255K | $20K | Preselected only | Charitable giving; Charitable given |
Source: IRS Form 990-PF Part XV, latest electronic return per foundation (2026-10-28). "Accepts applications" reflects the foundation's own checkbox on Part XV line 2. Grants to individuals excluded.
Common questions
Which foundations give to nonprofits in Tucson, Arizona?
The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation, Penny and Robert Sarver Charitable Foundation, Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation, Caris Charitable Trust I, The Eliot Spalding Foundation C/O Clayton Niles and 95 others reported grants to Tucson organizations on their latest Form 990-PF.
How do I approach a foundation that doesn't accept applications?
A foundation that checks "contributes only to preselected organizations" on its 990-PF won't review a cold proposal. Look at who it funds, find a shared board member, grantee or advisor, and ask for an introduction. Foundations that accept applications usually list a contact and deadlines in Part XV; we show that text on each foundation's page.
Is this list complete?
No. It covers private foundations (Form 990-PF filers) whose latest electronic return lists at least one grant to an organization in Tucson. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.