Foundations That Fund Youth Development in California

2,580 foundations reported 14,784 grants worth $425.5M to youth development organizations in California on their most recent tax filings. Here is who they are — and which ones actually accept applications.

27%accept unsolicited requests (707 of 2,580)
$5Kmedian grant
2,580funders
$425.5Mtotal granted
62%of grantees funded again next year
Why the first number matters. Most private foundations state on their tax return that they give only to organizations they select themselves. Applying to those is wasted effort. The figure above counts only the foundations in this group that did not check that box.

Repeat funding in youth development, California

Across 570 funder-year observations in this group, a typical foundation funded 62% of the same organizations again the following year. That is why a record of past giving is worth reading before writing to a foundation. It describes the organizations a foundation already supports, not whether it would add yours.

Foundations that fund youth development in California and accept requests

These are the funders worth your time first: each one granted to this cause in this state, and none of them told the IRS it only funds organizations it picks itself. Ordered by how many grants they made, not by dollars. That shows how widely each one gives, not whether any one of them would take a new applicant. Typical grant is the median, so you can judge whether you are their size.

FoundationBased inTypical grantGrants madeGranted here
The Bank of America CharitableCharlotte, NC$500394$1.6M
Enterprise Holdings FoundationSaint Louis, MO$2K174$810K
The Ralph M Parsons FoundationWest Hollywood, CA$50K76$3.7M
The Conrad Prebys FoundationSan Diego, CA$50K68$5.1M
Weingart FoundationLos Angeles, CA$5K63$3.1M
The California Wellness FoundationLos Angeles, CA$5K60$4.4M
The David and Lucile Packard FoundationLos Altos, CA$78K56$4.7M
Conrad N Hilton FoundationWestlake Village, CA$12K54$5.7M
The Gap FoundationSan Francisco, CA$25054$78K
Price Philanthropies FoundationLa Jolla, CA$20K51$1.9M
697 more foundations in California fund youth development and accept requests. The weekly email works through the funders that gave to youth development in California, up to five at a time, and never sends the same one twice. The weekly email has not started yet.

The largest funders — for reference

These give the most money to this cause in this state, but most do not accept unsolicited requests, and their grants are usually far larger than a small organization would seek. Useful context, not a target list.

FoundationTypical grantGranted hereApplications
Crankstart Foundation$250K$17.0MPreselected only
Lilly Endowment Inc$1.0M$16.1MAccepts requests
The California Endowment$50K$15.4MPreselected only
Technical Training Foundation$333K$10.6MAccepts requests
Windsong Trust$188K$6.9MPreselected only

Get the rest of the California youth development funders by email

We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.

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Where the money actually goes in California

Total granted to organizations in each city. Funding is usually far more concentrated than people expect, which matters when you are judging your own odds.

Los Angeles
$104.2M
San Francisco
$61.0M
Oakland
$51.2M
San Diego
$19.2M
Menlo Park
$15.3M
Richmond
$13.5M

How to use this list

  1. Start with the foundations that accept requests. The rest almost never respond to unsolicited approaches.
  2. Check whether they fund organizations your size. The median grant here is $5K — a funder writing $5K checks is unlikely to write you a six-figure one.
  3. Look for a local connection. Foundations concentrate their giving geographically, and repeat the same grantees year after year.
  4. Read their recent grants before writing. Past giving tells you what they actually fund, which is often narrower than their stated mission.
What this data can and cannot tell you. These figures come from foundations' own IRS filings, which are published about a year after the tax year ends. This is a record of who each foundation has funded, not a list of open application deadlines. It is a strong predictor — most foundations repeat most of their grantees — but it is history, not a live feed. Full methodology.