Foundations that fund organizations in Pasadena, California
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Pasadena nonprofits
1,690 private foundations gave $249M to Pasadena organizations in their latest filings; 26 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
3,171 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Pasadena around $237K. 64 of these funders are based in California; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 1,690
- Accept applications
- 26
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Pasadena
- $249M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 3,171
- Typical median grant
- $237K
- Based in CA
- 64%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Pasadena organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lilly Endowment Inc | Indianapolis, IN | 8 | $39M | $2.4M | Yes | Pathways for tomorrow initiative; Employee matching gift(s); Tenx10 collaboration project |
| The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation | Palo Alto, CA | 6 | $14M | $1.7M | Preselected only | Support for dsa-2000: revolutionizing access to the radio s…; Support for clima: climate modeling alliance 2024; The dsa-2000 radio camera: revolutionizing access to the ra… |
| The Green Foundation C/O George McCrimlisk | Pasadena, CA | 1 | $8.3M | $8.3M | Yes | Charitable Grants |
| The Storr Family Foundation | Stamford, CT | 1 | $7.5M | $7.5M | Preselected only | Multipurpose |
| The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc | Milwaukee, WI | 3 | $7.0M | $275K | Yes | To support general operations; To support the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship program |
| The Donald Bren Foundation | Newport Beach, CA | 1 | $6.9M | $6.9M | Preselected only | To support the mission of the recipient organization. . Des… |
| The Norton Simon Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 1 | $6.0M | $6.0M | Preselected only | Unrestricted support of the museum's operations |
| Perenchio Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 12 | $6.0M | $184K | Preselected only | General |
| The Ahmanson Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | 48 | $5.8M | $50K | Yes | Scholarship support, 2025-2026; Toward general support; For the ahmanson veterans scholarship initiative, 2025-2026 |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation C/O Pacific Foundation Services | San Francisco, CA | 4 | $5.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | General operating support; Support for science research; Programs supporting transportation |
| Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 12 | $4.9M | $378K | Preselected only | In support of expanding the freshman summer research instit…; To study how rare-earth ions doped in crystals interact wit…; To support the development of experimental techniques to dy… |
| Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation | Irvine, CA | 7 | $4.5M | $114K | Yes | Research, general support & education |
| The Simons Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 22 | $4.3M | $186K | Preselected only | Simons investigator in physics; Outer brain and inner brain: computational principles and i…; Simons investigator in astrophysics |
| Jeffrey Carlton Charitable Foundation | Villa Park, CA | 1 | $4.0M | $4.0M | Preselected only | To support and further its exempt purpose |
| Josephine de Karman Trust | Pasadena, CA | 2 | $3.6M | $1.8M | Yes | Scholarship; Josephine de Karman Trust Fellowship Endowment - See statem… |
| Helen and Will Webster Foundation | Arcadia, CA | 11 | $3.2M | $225K | Preselected only | Education; The arts and education; Education and health |
| Callahan Family Foundation Inc | Pasadena, CA | 7 | $3.0M | $47K | Preselected only | For expenses related to the preschool program.; For family social services; For family planning and women's health services |
| The Heising-Simons Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 14 | $3.0M | $168K | Preselected only | For research on the observational signatures of quantum gra…; For a four-year pilot program for future of physics at calt…; For equipment and personnel for the gquest experiment |
| Munger Charitable Trust Number Three | Pasadena, CA | 2 | $2.9M | $1.5M | Preselected only | (1) description: 2,030 shares of berkshire hathaway class b…; (1) description: 3,854 shares of berkshire hathaway class b… |
| The James G Boswell Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 3 | $2.2M | $100K | Preselected only | Boswell fund for surgical advancement; Boswell endowed postdoctoral fellows; 2025 unrestricted contribution |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 5 | $2.2M | $320K | Yes | For general operating support; For arts now advocacy action planning |
| Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund Inc | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $2.0M | $2.0M | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted |
| Dow Company Foundation | Midland, MI | 1 | $2.0M | $2.0M | Yes | Community wellbeing |
| Hutto-Patterson Charitable | Encino, CA | 6 | $1.6M | $293K | Preselected only | Student scholarship; Child healthcare; Student program |
| John Jewett & Helen Chandler Garland Fou Ndation | Pasadena, CA | 36 | $1.6M | $25K | Preselected only | General; Minority Scholarships; Scholarships |
| The Ronald and Maxine Linde Foundation | Paradise Valley, AZ | 4 | $1.6M | $23K | Preselected only | Center for science,society, and policy (lcssp) endowment; Scholarship endowment (lse) fund; Unrestricted |
| The Fitzberg Foundation C/O Goehner Accountancy | Pasadena, CA | 19 | $1.6M | $50K | Preselected only | General purpose |
| Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment | Boston, MA | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Climate science & policy research |
| The Hastings Foundation Tr UW | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | General operating |
| The Ralph M Parsons Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 32 | $1.4M | $25K | Yes | For general support of housing and supportive services for…; For professional development activities; For general support of food assistance and social services |
| The James Irvine Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 6 | $1.4M | $82K | Preselected only | To support Fair Work in California; For Impact Assessment and Learning in CA; For the Annual Fund |
| Susie and Gideon Yu Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | Gideon and susie yu fellowship fund |
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 2 | $1.2M | $576K | Yes | Empower women and girls; Postsecondary education |
| Stewardship Foundation | Escondido, CA | 4 | $1.1M | $300K | Preselected only | Charitable donation |
| Ann Peppers Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 39 | $1.1M | $25K | Yes | General operating support; Program support; Education program |
| Bt Charitable Foundation | New York, NY | 4 | $1.1M | $225K | Preselected only | To support the weizmann caltech collaborative research proj…; To support lihong wong research on brain function and surgi…; To support viviana gradinaru research on human assembloids |
| The Melvin and Bren Simon Charitable Foundation Number One | Carbondale, CO | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | To support ucla division of digestive diseases |
| The David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 7 | $1.0M | $175K | Yes | Fellowships for Science and Engineering; Families and Communities; Environment and Science |
| Sequoia Climate Foundation | Irvine, CA | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | To provide general operating support |
| The Lakeview Foundation | Greenbrae, CA | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | General support |
| The G Harold & Leila y Mathers Charitable Foundation | Rye Brook, NY | 5 | $983K | $233K | Yes | Research project |
| The Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation | Torrance, CA | 4 | $948K | $237K | Preselected only | Research grant funding |
| Selma E Andrews Trust | Dallas, TX | 1 | $947K | $947K | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| Alfred P Sloan Foundation | New York, NY | 6 | $861K | $75K | Yes | To develop a platform that integrates synthetic cell techno…; Alfred p. sloan research fellowship for vikram ravi in phys…; Alfred p. sloan research fellowship for lee mcculler in phy… |
| Weingart Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 31 | $860K | $6,000 | Yes | General support of service programs; Unrestricted operating support; Support students of icyola |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 3 | $860K | $50K | Yes | Core support for black, indigenous, people of color thrivin…; Core support for museum of trans history to bring a cohesiv…; General support and core support for institutional strength… |
| Wm Keck Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 11 | $839K | $5,000 | Yes | For general support of charitable purposes.; To implement the new parents to professionals program; To create more instructional and performance spaces on the… |
| Drw Foundation | Chicago, IL | 1 | $750K | $750K | Preselected only | General support |
| Conrad N Hilton Foundation | Westlake Village, CA | 15 | $746K | $10K | Yes | For general operating support; To support the james r. galbraith endowed scholarship for s…; For general operating support of laist |
| Jeffrey Carlton Foundation 105848-000 | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $724K | $724K | Preselected only | General operations fund |
| Jcs Family Foundation | Park City, UT | 7 | $721K | $20K | Preselected only | Community support; General operating support |
| The Looper Foundation | Houston, TX | 2 | $707K | $354K | Preselected only | General support; Center for Spiritual Formation and Depree Center |
| The Larry and Helen Hoag Foundation | Long Beach, CA | 6 | $696K | $100K | Preselected only | Community programs |
| Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 15 | $680K | $25K | Yes | High school scholarship program 2024; Vision research for all; Door of hope campership program |
| Charles Lee Powell Foundation | Del Mar, CA | 1 | $650K | $650K | Preselected only | Education |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 3 | $650K | $100K | Preselected only | NorthSTAR Microgrant Fund; Altadena Small Business Recovery 2025; Altadena Builds Back Foundation - Breathing Room Loan Progr… |
| The Resslergertz Foundation | Sherman Oaks, CA | 1 | $625K | $625K | Preselected only | Contribution |
| Paul Galvin Memorial Foundation Trust | Chicago, IL | 1 | $600K | $600K | Preselected only | Public charity |
| Pinetops Foundation | Bend, OR | 1 | $600K | $600K | Preselected only | To support the continued development and testing of trainin… |
| The Brinson Foundation | Chicago, IL | 7 | $593K | $100K | Yes | Exploring the warped space- time around black holes; Quantum communication channels and quantum sensing for fund…; Brinson postdoctoral fellowship in quantum science |
| Resnick Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $555K | $278K | Preselected only | Donee's tax exempt purpose |
| The Lowell Milken Family Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | 3 | $551K | $100K | Preselected only | Higher ed & research inst. & progs; General research; Preschool - 12th grade programs |
| Iherb Charitable Foundation | Irvine, CA | 1 | $535K | $535K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| Weston Havens Foundation | St Louis, MO | 1 | $530K | $530K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Harold and Colene Brown Family Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | 4 | $526K | $113K | Preselected only | Charitable contribution |
| Nesbitt Foundation | Chicago, IL | 4 | $525K | $125K | Preselected only | General support |
| Paloheimo Foundation (curtin-Paloheimo T Rust) | Pasadena, CA | 2 | $523K | $262K | Preselected only | Matching grant, administration, communications, special pro…; Membership matching, 2024 Centennial Celebration, programmi… |
| Unihealth Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 7 | $516K | $75K | Yes | Los angeles county wildfires 2025 relief; Los angeles county wildfires 2025 recovery; Addressing mental health and substance abuse barriers to pe… |
| Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 3 | $508K | $4,250 | Preselected only | General |
| Ashvin and Danielas Foundation for Humanity | New York, NY | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | Operating support Fund |
| Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | To name the Imaging Core located in Room 332 as the "H. Rob… |
| Troesh Family Foundation | Henderson, NV | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | Distinguished scholars challenge fund |
| John Stauffer Charitable Trust | Pasadena, CA | 1 | $500K | $500K | Yes | To support a professorship in chemistry. |
| The Ayrshire Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 5 | $475K | $65K | Preselected only | General |
| The Ginkgo Fund | New York, NY | 3 | $458K | $50K | Preselected only | To be used within exempt function |
| Munger Charitable Trust Number One C/O William H Borthwick | Pasadena, CA | 2 | $456K | $228K | Preselected only | (1) description: 486 shares of berkshire hathaway class b s…; (1) description: 436 shares of berkshire hathaway class b s… |
| The Deutsch Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | 6 | $455K | $80K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Princeton, NJ | 5 | $451K | $1,750 | Yes | Matching gifts; 81889 continuing the equitable developmental evaluation of…; 79372 distilling insights from rwjf's multipronged approach… |
| Freedom Together Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $450K | $450K | Preselected only | Dale campaign |
| The Neilan Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 3 | $444K | $185K | Preselected only | To supportresearch intothe causes ofneurologicaldisease.; To support conservation of rare plants, care for the orchid…; To address the food security needs of the pasadena senior p… |
| The Agouron Institute | Pasadena, CA | 1 | $430K | $430K | Preselected only | Scientific research & education |
| Merkin Family Foundation | Marina del Rey, CA | 1 | $400K | $400K | Preselected only | Education |
| Carl F Braun Trust | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $400K | $400K | Preselected only | Operations |
| General Service Foundation | San Ramon, CA | 2 | $400K | $200K | Preselected only | General support; Legal defense |
| The California Wellness Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 15 | $398K | $5,000 | Yes | Core operating support; For project support for the inheriting podcast to promote h… |
| Stewardship Foundation | Tacoma, WA | 3 | $390K | $125K | Yes | Student scholarships for academic year 2025; Student scholarships for academic year 2024; Unrestricted support |
| United Health Foundation | Eden Prairie, MN | 1 | $385K | $385K | Preselected only | Heart space: healing circles |
| Brown Science Foundation | Escondido, CA | 1 | $384K | $384K | Preselected only | For scientific research |
| The Angell Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $375K | $188K | Preselected only | Education as opportunity; Special projects |
| Craig and Barbara Barrett Foundation | Paradise Valley, AZ | 1 | $375K | $375K | Preselected only | Disaster relief fund/geochemical innovation fund/trustees f… |
| Crescendo for Music and the Arts | LA Canada, CA | 1 | $360K | $360K | Preselected only | General grant |
| The Kenneth T and Eileen L Norris Foundation | Torrance, CA | 8 | $360K | $33K | Preselected only | A noise within's education program; 2025 my masterpieces @ artcenter; Project learn |
| Herbert R Mayer and Jeanne C Mayer Foundation | Agoura Hills, CA | 6 | $360K | $58K | Preselected only | Unrestricted operating support; New case manager; 4th trimester |
| Novo Foundation | Hurley, NY | 2 | $358K | $179K | Preselected only | Kingston emergency food collaborative |
| H Leslie & Elaine S Hoffman Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 14 | $344K | $6,250 | Preselected only | General operating support; Campaign for huntington hospital; In support of the masterplan for a capital campaign |
| Harvey and Ellen Knell Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 14 | $337K | $5,000 | Preselected only | Charity |
| Lk Whittier Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 1 | $329K | $329K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| The Patron Saints Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 15 | $326K | $20K | Yes | Support for durable medical equipment.; Support for mental health counseling program; Provide youths with social, emotional, and physical health… |
| Aramont Charitable Foundation | Lancaster, CA | 2 | $325K | $163K | Preselected only | Charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes |
| Crawford Family Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 9 | $320K | $25K | Preselected only | General support |
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 Pasadena, California?
Lilly Endowment Inc, The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, The Green Foundation C/O George McCrimlisk, The Storr Family Foundation, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc and 95 others reported grants to Pasadena 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 Pasadena. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.