Gesner Johnson Foundation
Pennington, NJ · EIN 41-1890875. Reported 95 grants totalling $3,749,534 to 77 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. Gesner Johnson 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.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $44,800. Half of everything it gave fell between $25,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Both Ends Believing | Plano, TX | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Huntington Hospital-Pasadena Hosp Assn | Pasadena, CA | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Urban Impact | Seattle, WA | $129,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| World Relief Western Washington | Kent, WA | $125,400 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Agros International | Seattle, WA | $115,403 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Centered | Seattle, WA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| San Diego Rescue Mission | San Diego, CA | $94,700 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Divine Alternatives for Dads (dad) | South Seattle, WA | $82,297 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Our Arts Foundation | Solana Beach, CA | $81,689 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Olive Crest | San Diego, CA | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Going Home II | Portland, OR | $68,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking | Seattle, WA | $66,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| A Place Called Home | Los Angelos, CA | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Optimist Youth Homes | Loas Angeles, CA | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Five Acres - Boys & Girls Aid Society | Altadena, CA | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Journey House | Pasadena, CA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Just in Time for Foster Youth | San Diego, CA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Outdoor Outreach | San Diego, CA | $56,275 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Black Coffee Northwest | Shoreline, WA | $55,800 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| A New Leaf Cottages Inc | Mesa, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alabaster Jar Project | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bridges of Hope | Brainerd, MN | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Center for Community Solutions | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Challenged Athletes Foundation | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Family Hope | Pasadena, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Feeding San Diego | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Five Acres | Atladena, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hope Refuge Inc | Goleta, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Lucky Duck Foundtion | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Organization for Prostitution Survivors | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pasadena Senior Center | Pasadena, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Phoenix Dream Center Fdn | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| PROMISE2KIDS | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Seattle School of Theology & Psychology | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Seattle's Union Gospel | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Stepping Forward La | Los Angelos, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Way of Pierce | Tacoma, WA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Voices for Children | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Volunteers of America Inc | Alexandria, VA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Walden Family Services | San Diego, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Your Neighbor to Love Coalition | Nisswa, MN | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mamas Kitchen | San Diego, CA | $47,375 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Solutions for Change | Vista, CA | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Union Station Homeless Services | Pasedena, CA | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Urban Voices | Los Angeles, CA | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| My Neighbor to Love Coalition | Nisswa, MN | $42,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Neighbors Empowering Youth Ne | Altadena, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Testimony Gospel Brand Ministries Inc | Rch Palos Vrd, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Girls Rising Above Child Exploitation (grace) | San Diego, CA | $39,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Dads | Seattle, WA | $37,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Operation Hope North | Vista, CA | $36,410 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| All Peoples Community Center | Los Angeles, CA | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Alliance for Hope International | San Diego, CA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Friends in Deed (the Fid Group) | Pasadena, CA | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Innovations Htc | Olympia, WA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rwanda Rise | Edmonds, WA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cura Smiles Inc | San Diego, CA | $33,530 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Seed House Project | Glendale, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Way of Pierce County | Tacoma, WA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Pasadena | Pasadena, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Forever Kids | Covina, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mary's Place Seattle | Seattle, WA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| School on Wheels | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Studio Ace | Oceanside, CA | $22,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rise Urban Leadership Institute of San Diego | San Diego, CA | $21,300 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Antioch Adoptions | Redmond, WA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Generate Hope | San Diego, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mana De North County San Diego | Oceanside, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Emerald City Bible | Seattle, WA | $19,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Community Resource Center | Encinitas, CA | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Impact Latin America | Seattle, WA | $13,350 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Community Resource | Encinitas, CA | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Montessori Community School | Honolulu, HI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Steward Ag Foundation | Isleton, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| A Sense of Home (asoh) | Hawthorne, CA | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Father Mcgivney Food Bank Our Lady of Guadalupe Church | Queen Creek, AZ | $7,805 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Young & Healthy | Pasadena, CA | $6,200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
13 of 77 (17%) 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 12%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. 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.
- Seattle's Union Gospel
UNRESTRICTED GENERAL SUPORT - Union Station Homeless Services
GRANT TO LEASE AND INSTALL
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 66 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.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | $713,608 | $45,000 |
| 2022 | 24 | $944,847 | $41,000 |
| 2023 | 18 | $671,200 | $50,000 |
| 2024 | 16 | $709,785 | $48,687 |
| 2025 | 19 | $710,094 | $40,000 |
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
57% 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.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $44,800. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in California.
- 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.
- 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
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Gesner Johnson 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 1532 Aft, Pennington, NJ, 08534. 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 41-1890875 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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