Foundations that fund organizations in Santa Monica, California
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Santa Monica nonprofits
1,502 private foundations gave $173M to Santa Monica organizations in their latest filings; 24 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
2,228 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Santa Monica around $258K. 54 of these funders are based in California; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 1,502
- Accept applications
- 24
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Santa Monica
- $173M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 2,228
- Typical median grant
- $258K
- Based in CA
- 54%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Santa Monica organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation C/O Pacific Foundation Services | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $20M | $20M | Preselected only | Support for bipolar disorder research |
| Dauten Family Foundation C/O Kent P Dauten | Chicago, IL | 1 | $14M | $14M | Yes | To further program services |
| Valhalla Foundation | Woodside, CA | 1 | $10M | $10M | Preselected only | Project canary, an artificial intelligence safety initiative |
| Viola Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $10M | $10M | Preselected only | Unrestricted |
| Good Ventures Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 4 | $6.5M | $1.7M | Preselected only | General support; Enhance the forecasting and modeling capabilities of the me… |
| The David Geffen Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 5 | $6.0M | $5,000 | Preselected only | General support |
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 8 | $5.9M | $632K | Yes | K-12 education; Empower women and girls; Public awareness and analysis |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | Houston, TX | 14 | $3.6M | $100K | Preselected only | To provide support for the national collaborative on gun vi…; To analyze literature and develop a new approach to estimat…; To developing national public defense workload standards. |
| The Six Four Foundation | Lewisville, TX | 1 | $3.2M | $3.2M | Preselected only | Unrestricted program grant |
| Sophiagrace Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | 1 | $2.8M | $2.8M | Preselected only | General and program supports |
| Argyros Family Foundation | Costa Mesa, CA | 1 | $2.6M | $2.6M | Yes | Public charity |
| Resnick Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $2.5M | $2.5M | Preselected only | Donee's tax exempt purpose |
| Dr Miriam & Sheldon G Adelson Medical Research Foundation | Needham, MA | 1 | $1.8M | $1.8M | Preselected only | Medical research |
| Lippman Family Foundation C/O Jrk Asset Management | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $1.8M | $1.8M | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Burton US Charitable Trust | Encino, CA | 1 | $1.7M | $1.7M | Preselected only | To contribute to charitable purposes |
| The James Irvine Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 10 | $1.6M | $2,750 | Preselected only | For the Crossroads Fund; To support California activities; To support Just Prosperity in California |
| The Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | 4 | $1.6M | $153K | Yes | Community centers & programs; Milken scholars program; Prostate cancer research |
| Lloyd E Rigler Lawrence E Deutsch Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Charitable contribution |
| The Ahmanson Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | 12 | $1.4M | $120K | Yes | Scholarship support, 2025-2026; Toward fence repair and replacement; Toward window and hvac replacements at the pico home |
| The Lowell Milken Family Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | 2 | $1.4M | $676K | Preselected only | Cultural, libraries & museums; Prostate cancer research |
| Walton Family Foundation Inc | Bentonville, AR | 2 | $1.3M | $654K | Preselected only | To Support the American Instructional Resources Survey.; To support the learning agenda and evaluation of two multi-… |
| The Karsh Family Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | 3 | $1.3M | $250K | Preselected only | Public radio; Education; Philanthropic activity |
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Princeton, NJ | 8 | $1.3M | $26K | Yes | Matching gifts; 82633 continuing support for the diversity, equity and incl…; 82330 supporting the 2025 10,000 communities public finance… |
| C & R Newman Family Foundation | Encino, CA | 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | Preselected only | General operating |
| Musk Foundation | Austin, TX | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Support research, awareness, and treatment for prostate can… |
| Cyrus and Michael Tang Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | General fund |
| The Dreiseszun Family Foundation | Overland Park, KS | 4 | $933K | $175K | Yes | By providing compassionate, evidence-based treatment for th…; Urban school with a founding commitment to the "greater com…; To inspire a commitment to environmental consciousness and… |
| Paulson Family Foundation | West Palm Beach, FL | 2 | $900K | $450K | Yes | To support the foundation's efforts in cancer research.; To support people with a dream, the drive to achieve it, by… |
| Chuck Lorre Family Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 5 | $826K | $50K | Preselected only | General fund; General; Women's program |
| Bny Mellon Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $800K | $800K | Yes | General operating |
| The Wallace Foundation | New York, NY | 2 | $752K | $376K | Preselected only | To review literature on arts and youth well-being.; To study work done in Wallace's Partnerships for Social and… |
| Ric & Suzanne Kayne Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 5 | $749K | $59K | Preselected only | Kayne opportunity fund; Kayne scholars recruiting affiliates; Annual giving |
| Conrad N Hilton Foundation | Westlake Village, CA | 11 | $731K | $15K | Yes | For general operating support; To support the ascent to 8000 capacity growth campaign; For together in mission (p492), which supports schools in t… |
| Jean Perkins Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | 2 | $630K | $315K | Preselected only | To purchase medical equipment; Funding for the tailhook scholarship program |
| Arrillaga Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 3 | $625K | $200K | Preselected only | Educational programming; General support; Ready to succeed alumni and early career engagement program |
| The Diller-Von Furstenberg Family Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $625K | $625K | Preselected only | General fund |
| John and Daria Barry Foundation | Miami, FL | 1 | $610K | $610K | Preselected only | Medical research |
| Every Org | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $576K | $576K | Preselected only | General support |
| Johnny Carson Foundation | Encino, CA | 10 | $565K | $28K | Preselected only | Unrestricted support |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 2 | $550K | $275K | Yes | For support of the american school district panel survey; For the new geo-economics initiative |
| Baron Family Foundation | New York, NY | 2 | $550K | $275K | Preselected only | General support |
| Mellen Charitable Fdn (fka Tf Fdn) C/O Paul McCoy Family Office Svcs | Boston, MA | 1 | $537K | $537K | Preselected only | Jewish vocational service / focusing philanthropy matching… |
| Kroenke Family Foundation | Columbia, MO | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | Annual charitable support |
| Drew Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | General charitable purpose |
| Jackson Kemper Foundation | Hawthorn Woods, IL | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | Grant to support operations |
| The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $499K | $249K | Preselected only | Arts - investment to increase access to the visual, perform…; Skills - investment to equip young people with skills, trai… |
| The Corry Family Foundation Inc | Vero Beach, FL | 2 | $485K | $243K | Preselected only | Unrestricted |
| Specialty Family Foundation | El Segundo, CA | 3 | $485K | $30K | Preselected only | General |
| Wm Keck Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 5 | $470K | $69K | Yes | For general support of charitable purposes.; To support a program that will guide more foster youth thro… |
| The Katz Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $458K | $229K | Preselected only | Unrestricted grant to further the organization's exempt pur… |
| The Gaudio Family Foundation C/O Fulton Vittoria Llp | New York, NY | 1 | $450K | $450K | Preselected only | $250,000 of the funds to be allocated for general operating… |
| The Stewart J Rahr Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $420K | $420K | Preselected only | For donee's exempt purpose |
| The Osprey Foundation Inc | Towson, MD | 1 | $403K | $403K | Preselected only | Water for people rawanda and clean water for clinics and sc… |
| The Carol H and Kevin W Sharer Education Foundation | Denver, CO | 1 | $401K | $401K | Preselected only | Tuition support for education |
| Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $400K | $200K | Preselected only | Mentor program |
| The Durden Foundation Inc | Panama City Beach, FL | 1 | $400K | $400K | Yes | Prostate cancer research |
| Tailwinds Charitable Foundation Inc C/O Rd Capital | Great Neck, NY | 1 | $398K | $398K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Ezrah Charitable Trust | Charlotte, NC | 2 | $394K | $197K | Preselected only | Contribution to the collaboration with the Nick Kristof 202…; Contribution to the collaboration with the NYT Communities… |
| The Audre Slater Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 7 | $379K | $24K | Preselected only | Program support; Project support |
| Neisloss Family Foundation Inc | Plainview, NY | 1 | $375K | $375K | Yes | General |
| The Heinz Endowments | Pittsburgh, PA | 2 | $350K | $175K | Yes | To position rand corporation as a data-informed expert on v…; To expand voterider's voter id education and assistance in… |
| Rosalie and Harold Brown Charitable Trust | Long Beach, CA | 2 | $350K | $175K | Preselected only | Operating support |
| The Schmidt Family Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $350K | $350K | Yes | Encouraging a just transition away from fossil fuels |
| 1011 Foundation Inc | Santa Monica, CA | 2 | $343K | $172K | Preselected only | To support the preventative care surrounding ovarian and br…; To advance solutions focusing on financial, physical, menta… |
| Frank McHugh-O'Donovan Foundation Inc | Wilmington, DE | 2 | $338K | $169K | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted; General Operating Support & Program Support for Expanded Ca… |
| The Hollander Family Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $336K | $336K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| High Tide Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $333K | $333K | Preselected only | To support tTHE PROJECT CANARY |
| The Herb Alpert Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | 7 | $323K | $25K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Allen and Anita Kohl Charitable Foundation Inc | West Hollywood, CA | 7 | $306K | $19K | Preselected only | General support |
| Founders Pledge Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $304K | $304K | Preselected only | General support |
| Mayten Foundation Bt | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $303K | $152K | Preselected only | Unrestricted use by donee |
| The Don & Lorraine Freeberg Foundation | Glendale, CA | 1 | $302K | $302K | Yes | Charitable activities |
| David a Steinberg Family Foundation | Miami Beach, FL | 1 | $300K | $300K | Yes | Health research |
| Grace M Kirk Charitable Trust | Dallas, TX | 1 | $296K | $296K | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| John Jewett & Helen Chandler Garland Fou Ndation | Pasadena, CA | 7 | $295K | $30K | Preselected only | General; Minority Scholarships; Lighthouse Medical Missions |
| Sam Simon Charitable Giving Foundation Inc | Los Angeles, CA | 3 | $285K | $125K | Preselected only | To provide general operating support.; To support the operations of the pico home.; To support the expansion of the foster youth career acceler… |
| Frances & Benjamin Benenson Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 7 | $280K | $25K | Yes | General support |
| The Roddenberry Foundation | Sherman Oaks, CA | 4 | $278K | $58K | Yes | General support; Rolli information tracer: empowering journalists to combat… |
| Perenchio Foundation | Pasadena, CA | 1 | $278K | $278K | Preselected only | General |
| Kovler Family Foundation | Chicago, IL | 3 | $275K | $50K | Yes | Children's Welfare-To aid in achieving the exempt purpose o…; General Welfare-To aid in achieving the exempt purpose of t…; Medical-To aid in achieving the exempt purpose of the vario… |
| The Ga Foster Legacy Foundation | Stockton, CA | 1 | $275K | $275K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Kiwanis Charities of Santa Monica Inc | Santa Monica, CA | 15 | $270K | $5,000 | Preselected only | To support other local community organization |
| S Mark Taper Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 3 | $270K | $100K | Yes | General operating support. |
| The Summit Foundation Inc | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | $265K | $265K | Preselected only | Program |
| Cas Foundation Inc | Studio City, CA | 1 | $258K | $258K | Preselected only | Scholarships, releif and education programs |
| Hopper-Dean Foundation C/O Catalyst Family Office LLC | Menlo Park, CA | 2 | $253K | $126K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| The Rock Foundation | North Palm Beach, FL | 2 | $250K | $125K | Preselected only | For integrative and preventive medical research and educati…; For prostate cancer research, education, and patient suppor… |
| Windsong Trust | Manhattan Beach, CA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | High school mind up program |
| Karlin Family Foundation | Palm Desert, CA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Pepsico Foundation Inc | Purchase, NY | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | General Support |
| Waking Up Foundation | Encino, CA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | To support research that develops solutions to public polic… |
| Ladybug Foundation Inc | Louisville, CO | 3 | $250K | $100K | Preselected only | General Operating Support |
| The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust | New York, NY | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | Fastercures leaderslink program expansion |
| Fritz B Burns Foundation a Nevada Nonprofit Corporation | Woodland Hills, CA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Yes | Contribution is to a charity exempt under Section 501(c)(3)… |
| Geiser Schweers Family Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | General charitable purposes |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | Recover & Reimagine L.A |
| Visa Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | To support the development of the Milken Institute's Corpor… |
| The Annenberg Foundation | Conshohocken, PA | 8 | $245K | $23K | Preselected only | General operating support; The milken institute center for the future of aging |
| Alfred P Sloan Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $241K | $241K | Yes | To design and test a pilot survey about daily time-use deci… |
| Iherb Charitable Foundation | Irvine, CA | 1 | $240K | $240K | Preselected only | General operating 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 Santa Monica, California?
Sergey Brin Family Foundation C/O Pacific Foundation Services, Dauten Family Foundation C/O Kent P Dauten, Valhalla Foundation, Viola Foundation Inc, Good Ventures Foundation and 95 others reported grants to Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.