Funders › California

Donald M Slager Sunset Foundation

Bishop, CA · EIN 91-2150933. Reported 183 grants totalling $2,320,038 to 78 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$2,320,038granted, 2021-2025
78recipients, as named on its returns
70%of grantees funded again the next year
$12.1Massets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Donald M Slager Sunset Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $12,500; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $167,500. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
19 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
89 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
62 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
8 grants
$100,000 and Up
5 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Individual Scholarship ProgramBishop, CA$734,482552025
Kern Community College DistrictBishop, CA$156,000552025
Northern Inyo Healthcare DistrictBishop, CA$100,000552025
Mammoth HospitalMammoth Lakes, CA$80,000442025
Eastside Student CenterBishop, CA$75,000442025
Bishop Sunrise Rotary ClubBishop, CA$72,000552025
San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA$70,000442025
University of Nevada RenoReno, NV$63,500552025
Cal State Polytechnic Univ SloSan Luis Obispo, CA$55,000552025
Inyo County Search & RescueBishop, CA$50,000552025
Mono County Search & RescueMammoth Lakes, CA$50,000552025
University of California BerkeleyBerkeley, CA$50,000552025
University of RedlandsRedlands, CA$45,000442025
Northern Inyo Hospital AuxiliaryBishop, CA$40,314442025
University of California DavisWest Sacramento, CA$40,000332023
University of Calif Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA$29,500332025
Westmont CollegeSanta Barbara, CA$26,000222025
California State University SacramSacramento, CA$25,000552025
University of California IrvineIrvine, CA$25,000332023
University of California Los AngeleLos Angeles, CA$25,000442024
Bishop Unified School DistrictBishop, CA$21,075422023
United Methodist Social ServicesBishop, CA$21,000552025
Fort Lewis CollegeDurango, CO$20,000442024
Mammoth Hospital FoundationMammoth Lakes, CA$20,000112023
San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA$20,000442025
University of California Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA$19,667222023
California State Univ Maritime AcaVallejo, CA$15,000332024
Great Basin College ElkoElko, NV$15,000332025
Salvation ArmyBishop, CA$15,000552025
San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco, CA$15,000332025
University of California San DiegoSan Diego, CA$15,000332024
Texas Christian UniversityFort Worth, TX$13,000332025
American River CollegeSacramento, CA$10,000222022
Bishop Area Bike OrganizationBishop, CA$10,000112022
Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UT$10,000222025
California State University ChicoChico, CA$10,000112021
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY$10,000222025
Eastern Sierra Interpretive AssnBishop, CA$10,000112022
Endicott CollegeBeverly, MA$10,000222023
Indiana UniversityIndianapolis, IN$10,000222022
Montana State UniversityBozeman, MT$10,000222023
Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara, CA$10,000222025
Seton Hill UniversityGreensburg, PA$10,000222025
Stanford UniversityStanford, CA$10,000112022
University of St Augustine AustinAustin, TX$10,000222025
Eastern Sierra Cancer AllianceBishop, CA$9,500442025
Lassen CollegeSusanville, CA$6,000112025
Lewis & Clark CollegePortland, OR$6,000112025
Santa Barbara City CollegeSanta Barbara, CA$6,000112025
University of Calif Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA$6,000112025
University of MiamiMiami, FL$6,000112025
Weatherford CollegeWeatherford, TX$6,000112025
Cal Poly HumboldtArcata, CA$5,000112022
Cal State Polytechnic Univ PomonaPomona, CA$5,000112021
California State Univ NorthridgeNorthridge, CA$5,000112023
Concordia University IrvineIrvine, CA$5,000112023
Eastern Sierra ArtistsBishop, CA$5,000112022
Iowa State UniversityAmes, IA$5,000112024
John Jay CollegeNew York, NY$5,000112024
Knox CollegeGalesburg, IL$5,000112023
Oklahoma State UniversityStillwater, OK$5,000112023
Oregon Institute of TechnologyKlamath Falls, OR$5,000112025
Perdue UniversityWest Lafayette, IN$5,000112025
Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette, IN$5,000112023
Riverside City CollegeRiverside, CA$5,000112022
Sierra ForeverBishop, CA$5,000112025
Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA$5,000112021
United Tribes Technical CollegeBismarck, ND$5,000112022
University of Calif San DiegoSan Diego, CA$5,000112025
University of California RiversideRiverside, CA$5,000112024
University of Nevada Las VegasLas Vegas, NV$5,000112021
University of OregonEugene, OR$5,000112021
University of San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA$5,000112021
University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA$5,000112025
Walden UniversityChicago, IL$5,000112025
Utah State UniversitySeattle, WA$3,000112025
Alan Hancock CollegeSanta Maria, CA$2,500112021
Wildcare Eastern SierraBishop, CA$2,500112025

41 of 78 (53%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 70%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 78 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.

Education
45 grants
Health Care
5 grants
Public Safety & Disaster Relief
5 grants
Mental Health
5 grants
Diseases & Disorders
4 grants
Youth Development
4 grants
Religion
4 grants
Animal Welfare
3 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202128$359,667$5,250
202239$495,025$5,000
202339$473,532$5,000
202434$471,000$5,000
202543$520,814$5,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

89% of its giving went to organizations in California. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

California
$2.1M
Nevada
$84K
Texas
$29K
Colorado
$20K
Indiana
$20K
Oregon
$16K
New York
$15K
Pennsylvania
$15K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.

Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc26 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund22 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program20 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust20 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc17 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation15 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in California.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding health care in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Donald M Slager Sunset Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.

Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 51, Bishop, CA, 93515. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 91-2150933 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.