Foundations that fund organizations in Oakland, California
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Oakland nonprofits
2,545 private foundations gave $702M to Oakland organizations in their latest filings; 35 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
6,144 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Oakland around $240K. 51 of these funders are based in California; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 2,545
- Accept applications
- 35
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Oakland
- $702M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 6,144
- Typical median grant
- $240K
- Based in CA
- 51%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Oakland organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Princeton, NJ | 64 | $30M | $213K | Yes | Matching gifts; 82647 leveraging social impact media to help open minds and…; 82094 using a narrative and story-based strategy to transfo… |
| Freedom Together Foundation | New York, NY | 30 | $27M | $500K | Preselected only | General operating support; Aapip institutional membership 2024-25; Grassroots organizing to improve statewide air quality and… |
| Walton Family Foundation Inc | Bentonville, AR | 9 | $26M | $500K | Preselected only | To support general operations.; To serve as an R&D engine for the education sector.; To support 2024 foundation membership in AAPIP. |
| Tansy Charitable Foundation C/O Eric Wepsic | New York, NY | 1 | $25M | $25M | Preselected only | General use |
| Crankstart Foundation | San Jose, CA | 63 | $25M | $250K | Preselected only | General support; Event sponsorship; To support the parole reform initiative |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 67 | $23M | $200K | Yes | General support; General support and core support for institutional strength…; Matching gift |
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 22 | $22M | $400K | Yes | K-12 education; Public awareness and analysis; Postsecondary education; public awareness and analysis |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 90 | $22M | $100K | Yes | For general operating support; Matching gift of staff and board members; For legal technical assistance |
| Lilly Endowment Inc | Indianapolis, IN | 4 | $20M | $5.0M | Yes | Youth character development programs |
| The California Endowment | Los Angeles, CA | 99 | $17M | $150K | Preselected only | General operating support; Matching gift; Californians for safety and justice - promoting community h… |
| The James Irvine Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 62 | $14M | $7,400 | Preselected only | For general operating support; For support of California activities; To support Better Careers in California |
| The Schmidt Family Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 24 | $13M | $225K | Yes | Encouraging a just transition away from fossil fuels; Fostering youth development and leadership; Supporting indigenous communities' land stewardship, self-d… |
| Waverley Street Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 5 | $11M | $1.0M | Preselected only | General Operating Support; Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health; HEAL Food Alliance |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc | New York, NY | 39 | $10M | $200K | Preselected only | General operating support; Advancing racial justice; Advancing lgbtqi rights |
| Stupski Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 35 | $9.8M | $175K | Preselected only | To provide general operating support.; To support the Alameda Health System Palliative Care progra…; To support the expansion of palliative care services. |
| The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation | Omaha, NE | 9 | $8.4M | $402K | Preselected only | Program support; General operating support |
| Salesforce Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 4 | $7.5M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Support for education and career opportunities for young pe…; Support public education |
| The Heising-Simons Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 41 | $7.4M | $100K | Preselected only | For general support; For 2024 membership dues; For the just solutions |
| The California Wellness Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 72 | $7.3M | $18K | Yes | Core operating support; 2024 association membership; For project support for the 40x40 council to develop and im… |
| The Kresge Foundation | Troy, MI | 28 | $6.5M | $150K | Yes | General operating support; Annual member support; Project support to advance systemic reforms, enhance educat… |
| Skyline Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 13 | $6.3M | $300K | Preselected only | General support; For lawrence berkeley national laboratory's enhanced weathe…; Lead by learning |
| Kenneth Rainin Foundation | Oakland, CA | 76 | $6.0M | $30K | Preselected only | General operating support; Rest & care; General support |
| Wk Kellogg Foundation | Battle Creek, MI | 29 | $5.9M | $200K | Yes | Promise of an Equitable Future; Jobs and Family Economic Security; Health and Health Equity |
| The Benificus Foundation | San Carlos, CA | 2 | $5.6M | $2.8M | Preselected only | General purpose |
| The Karsh Family Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | 2 | $5.5M | $2.8M | Preselected only | Philanthropic activity |
| Surdna Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 32 | $5.4M | $150K | Yes | General support |
| Conrad N Hilton Foundation | Westlake Village, CA | 17 | $5.3M | $250K | Yes | For general operating support; To support a cohort of refugee-led organizations to become…; To scale the youth training project providing trauma-inform… |
| John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation | Chicago, IL | 16 | $4.9M | $250K | Preselected only | In support of general operations; To uplift and mobilize crime survivors and justice-impacted…; In support of the peer professional leadership fellowship a… |
| The David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 20 | $4.8M | $178K | Yes | Families and Communities; Just Societies; Environment and Science |
| Jpmorgan Chase Foundation | New York, NY | 50 | $4.8M | $1,000 | Preselected only | Matching contribution (general operating support); In support of underserved small business expansion; In support of neighborhood revitalization |
| The Andrew W Mellon Foundation | New York, NY | 10 | $4.8M | $500K | Yes | To support general operations; To support capacity building for blacspace cooperative as p…; To support a digitization pilot project |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | Houston, TX | 12 | $4.4M | $240K | Preselected only | To support implementation of prosecutor-initiated resentenc…; To provide operating support to grantee's fiscally-sponsore…; To conduct a randomized controlled trial evaluation of the… |
| Democracy Fund Inc | Washington, DC | 10 | $4.1M | $200K | Preselected only | General support; Program support for Rising Majority Committee; Program support to help underfunded nonprofits build small… |
| Bemc Foundation | Greenwich, CT | 1 | $4.0M | $4.0M | Preselected only | To support organization's charitable activities |
| T Gary and Kathleen Rogers Private Family Foundation | Lafayette, CA | 16 | $4.0M | $98K | Yes | General support |
| California Physicians' Service Fdn Dba Blue Shield of California Fdn | San Francisco, CA | 16 | $3.8M | $150K | Yes | General operating support; Building evidence for restorative practices to prevent dome…; General operating support through fiscal sponsor |
| Arnhold Foundation Inc C/O Joel E Sammet & Co Llp | New York, NY | 1 | $3.7M | $3.7M | Preselected only | General fund |
| Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation | Oakland, CA | 14 | $3.7M | $25K | Yes | Christmas grant for 2024 for general operating support; Support of donating and deliveries of scientific materals t…; General operating budget support |
| The Grove Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 8 | $3.6M | $500K | Preselected only | General support; Northern california operations; Belovedbirth collective |
| Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr Fund | San Francisco, CA | 31 | $3.5M | $21K | Preselected only | For general support.; To support for alternative leadership models capacity build…; To support a new independent revenue generation project wit… |
| Walter and Elise Haas Fund | San Francisco, CA | 51 | $3.5M | $50K | Yes | One year of general operating support; One year of general operating support for an organization t…; Seven years of general operating support to close the racia… |
| Sunlight Giving | Palo Alto, CA | 46 | $3.3M | $60K | Preselected only | General support; General support, $75,000 per year for three years; General support, $60,000 per year for two years |
| Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 10 | $3.3M | $325K | Preselected only | Education; Employee Matching; Housing & Homelessness |
| The Sobrato Family Foundation | Mountain View, CA | 36 | $3.1M | $50K | Yes | To provide general operating support; Employee matching gift; 24-50104 - to provide project support. |
| The Meadowview Foundation C/O Kim Bessolo | San Rafael, CA | 2 | $3.0M | $1.5M | Preselected only | For esperanza; General support |
| One8 Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $3.0M | $3.0M | Preselected only | Education |
| Peery Foundation | Midway, UT | 1 | $2.9M | $2.9M | Preselected only | General support |
| The Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation Dba Jim Joseph Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 8 | $2.9M | $88K | Preselected only | General operating support; Cbe initiative; Cohort-based professional development experiences initiative |
| Flock Inc | Boston, MA | 7 | $2.8M | $200K | Preselected only | General operations; Program/project support |
| Carnegie Corporation of New York | New York, NY | 4 | $2.6M | $616K | Yes | As a final project support of their college access toolkits…; For project support to integrate public library data onto t…; For support of a project to build local digital platforms t… |
| Pacific Housing Association | Berkeley, CA | 1 | $2.6M | $2.6M | Preselected only | Provide affordable housing for seniors |
| Sequoia Climate Foundation | Irvine, CA | 3 | $2.5M | $750K | Preselected only | To support decarbonization of the power and industrial sect…; To support public education on the clean energy transition; To support community engagement and education on climate |
| Foundation to Promote Open Society | New York, NY | 6 | $2.4M | $463K | Preselected only | To provide general support; To support the chinese narrative hub, a project of the gran…; To provide capacity and leadership development support to a… |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 20 | $2.4M | $50K | Preselected only | General Operating Support; Keep People Housed-Contra Costa; Stock Market Game & Mentoring - Financial Health & Economic… |
| The Satterberg Foundation Inc | Seattle, WA | 14 | $2.3M | $125K | Yes | General operating support; Movement for black lives non cash grant date: 04/30/2024 co…; General operating support non cash grant date: 08/31/2024 c… |
| Crescent Porter Hale Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 15 | $2.3M | $94K | Yes | Middle school youth; Safety net; Community services |
| Peter G Peterson Foundation | New York, NY | 2 | $2.1M | $1.1M | Yes | To support the execution of up to us, a nationwide nonparti…; To use healthcare claims datasets to analyze variations in… |
| Fund for Nonviolence | Berkeley, CA | 12 | $2.1M | $50K | Preselected only | Program Support |
| Tara Health Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $2.0M | $2.0M | Preselected only | Orchid capital |
| Gilead Foundation | Foster City, CA | 7 | $2.0M | $125K | Preselected only | The Dream Health Collaborative; Gilead Health Leaders Fellows Program: Systematically Devel…; Manhood Development Program; Spring Symposium 2024 |
| Weingart Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 18 | $2.0M | $18K | Yes | General support of service programs; Unrestricted operating support; Support for 2025 members services |
| Annie E Casey Foundation Inc | Baltimore, MD | 16 | $1.9M | $75K | Preselected only | Provide general operating support; Charitable contribution through the matching gifts program; Support various KIDS COUNT activities |
| Arrow Impact | Menlo Park, CA | 4 | $1.9M | $425K | Preselected only | General operating support; Rise east initiative; Liberation ventures |
| Omidyar Network Fund Inc | Redwood City, CA | 12 | $1.9M | $125K | Preselected only | To support Grantee's project, the LIFT Fund; Support Grantee's project, Building Belonging; Support Grantee's Mobility Alliance Project |
| The Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation | New York, NY | 10 | $1.8M | $15K | Yes | Staff discretionary small opportunity grant; Board discretionary; Core grant |
| The Zellerbach Family Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 46 | $1.7M | $50K | Yes | General operating support; Lunar new year and black history month celebration; Call in monthly community conversations |
| The Rauch Family Foundation | Upland, CA | 3 | $1.7M | $800K | Preselected only | Restricted annual giving; Unrestricted annual giving |
| Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 12 | $1.7M | $18K | Preselected only | Employee or trustee recommended gift for general operationa…; In support of strengthening the floor experience for visito…; In support of broad-based coalition building for statewide… |
| The Patrick J McGovern Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 4 | $1.7M | $450K | Preselected only | To empower survivors of human trafficking through trauma-in…; To advance cross-sector efforts to evaluate and mitigate po…; To launch ai tools that foster vibrant media ecosystems and… |
| Good Ventures Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 3 | $1.7M | $241K | Preselected only | Farm animal welfare improvement projects in china; The good food summit; Semiconductor policy research and workshops |
| The Allstate Foundation | Northbrook, IL | 13 | $1.7M | $5,000 | Yes | Agent - individual hh; October 2024 flash consulting day; Nonprofit leadership center - travel stipend for sarah khan |
| The Elma Foundation (US) | New York, NY | 2 | $1.6M | $825K | Preselected only | Project support for scaling safety, a joint venture by the…; Project support to expand digital products to make governme… |
| College Futures Foundation | Oakland, CA | 18 | $1.6M | $10K | Preselected only | Program grant; Director donations; Sector support |
| John S and James L Knight Foundation | Miami, FL | 5 | $1.6M | $300K | Yes | To explore the use of web3 tools in local government nonpar…; Train news leaders and entrepreneurs on business developmen…; To provide general operating support for the crucible. |
| Simpson Psb Fund | Orinda, CA | 7 | $1.6M | $110K | Yes | To support the organization's mission, which is to advance…; To provide funds for unrestricted general support and schol…; To provide funds for unrestricted general support that inve… |
| Erik E and Edith H Bergstrom Foundation a Charitable Trust | Wilmington, DE | 6 | $1.6M | $153K | Preselected only | To support educational services in Bolivia; Erik E. & Edith H. Bergstrom Foundation Fund; To support educational services in Uganda |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $1.6M | $1.6M | Preselected only | To support clean energy |
| Foundation for a Just Society | New York, NY | 7 | $1.6M | $250K | Preselected only | To provide general operating support; To support the electoral justice voter fund; To support partners asia's regranting and capacity building… |
| Tiger Global Impact Ventures Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Community |
| Sijbrandij Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Universal basic income study distirbution and marketing |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation C/O Pacific Foundation Services | San Francisco, CA | 5 | $1.5M | $100K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| The Joyce Foundation | Chicago, IL | 9 | $1.5M | $150K | Yes | Gun violence prevention & justice reform; Education & economic mobility; Environment |
| The Prudential Foundation | Newark, NJ | 4 | $1.5M | $350K | Preselected only | To support grounded solutions network in scaling shared equ…; To launch and implement the winning on equity in places ini…; To support project equity in expanding access to employee o… |
| Public Welfare Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | 6 | $1.4M | $216K | Yes | Support for empowerment avenue society_writing for liberati…; Support for altadena community care & advocacy; Support for ncyl colorado youth justice initiative |
| Quest Foundation | Danville, CA | 32 | $1.4M | $33K | Preselected only | General operating support; Writers' rooms at westlake middle and metwest high schools; Kinship support services program |
| Barr Foundation | Boston, MA | 12 | $1.4M | $103K | Preselected only | To provide core support to community labor united; To support 2024 barr foundation membership dues; To support the design and implementation of uptogether's ra… |
| Clif Family Foundation | St Helena, CA | 22 | $1.4M | $25K | Yes | Revitalize the Environment; Enhance Community Health; Transform Food Systems |
| Catholic Church Support Services | Oakland, CA | 1 | $1.4M | $1.4M | Preselected only | General support |
| Kattom Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | Unrestricted charitable grant |
| Tf Educational Foundation | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | General operating support |
| Bhp Foundation | Washington, DC | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | Advancing water equity and resilience |
| Citi Foundation | New York, NY | 4 | $1.3M | $325K | Preselected only | Strengthening community leadership initiative; Community progress makers |
| Michael & Susan Dell Foundation | Austin, TX | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Yes | Scaling Career Connected School Models |
| Pvh Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | Contribution provided |
| Arcus Foundation | New York, NY | 12 | $1.2M | $100K | Yes | General operating support; 2024 council for global equality membership support; Support for chimpanzees in need to develop a strategic plan… |
| Loud Hound Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 5 | $1.2M | $250K | Preselected only | General support; General support to keep oakland housed |
| The William G Irwin Charity Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 11 | $1.2M | $50K | Yes | Annual funding - food bank grants; To support a community resource center for bay area familie…; General support |
| The Elizabeth R & William J Patterson Foundation | Ross, CA | 2 | $1.2M | $583K | Preselected only | Peer health exchange: building healthier communities with y…; Summer Search No Ceilings Campaign |
| The Brunckhorst Foundation | Melville, NY | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Preselected only | General Purpose unless otherwise stated |
| Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund | Broomfield, CO | 10 | $1.2M | $55K | Yes | Charter school capacity-building; Impact and innovation; Charter school growth |
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 Oakland, California?
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, Walton Family Foundation Inc, Tansy Charitable Foundation C/O Eric Wepsic, Crankstart Foundation and 95 others reported grants to Oakland 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 Oakland. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.