Sciarra Foundation
Aspen, CO · EIN 83-6920321. Reported 17 grants totalling $1,190,000 to 15 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation told the IRS it does not accept unsolicited requests: it contributes only to organizations it selects itself.
Does this foundation accept applications?
No -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation to check a box if it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds". Sciarra Foundation checked it on its most recent filing, as 78% of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered did. An unsolicited request is unlikely to go anywhere.
Organizations it funds that make grants of their own
3 of the organizations Sciarra Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 4 grants totalling $140,000 to them. That is 12% of the $1,190,000 of its giving we could match to a registered organization. Each is classified by the IRS as a philanthropy or grantmaking organization, reported grants to at least 25 organizations of its own, and has at least 10 funders behind it.
All of them file Form 990, which never asks whether an organization funds only groups it picks, so there is no answer on record either way.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application to any of them reaches this foundation's money. A private foundation's grant to a community foundation or a federated campaign is often a donor-advised fund or a gift designated for a purpose the foundation chose, and has nothing to do with any open programme the receiving organization runs. Its return's purpose text sometimes names a family fund or a designated purpose, which is the plainest case of money no applicant can reach; where it names none, neither return says which. The list is who this foundation paid that also makes grants. Whether any of them would fund you is a question for its own page.
| Grantmaker | Kind | State | Received | Grants | Years | Last | Only funds organizations it picks? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gofundmeorg | grantmaking organization | California | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| Aspen Community Foundation | community foundation | Colorado | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
| Los Altos Mountain View | community foundation | California | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
A floor, not a full list. A grantmaker appears here only where this foundation's return named it clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows, and only where that grantmaker has a page on this site. There may be more. Dollars here are summed by EIN across every spelling on its returns, so a figure can differ from the matching row in the full list below, which groups names as written. And the IRS classification cannot tell a grantmaker from a funders' association or a donor-advised fund sponsor, so a payment to one of these may be dues or an account rather than support for a grants programme.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $500,000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The American Independent Foundation | Washington, DC | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lifemoves | Menlo Park, CA | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Education Law Center | Newark, NJ | $120,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Gofundmeorg | West Hollywood, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Oshman Family Jewish Community Center | Palo Alto, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Bell Policy Center | Denver, CO | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Aspen Community Foundation | Basalt, CO | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| San Francisco Education Fund | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Anderson Arts Center | Anderson, SC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Aspen Country Day School | Aspen, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation | Aspen, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Jewish Resource Center | Ann Arbor, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation | Los Altos, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Buddy Program Inc | Aspen, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aspen Jewish Congregation | Aspen, CO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
2 of 15 (13%) 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 25%, across 2 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, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
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.
- The American Independent Foundation
To Foster strong, independent journalism that helps create positive societal change through increased public awareness of progressive issues - Lifemoves
GIFT TO SUPPORT LIFEMOVES, WHICH WORKS TO PROVIDE INTERIM HOUSING AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS IN SILICON VALLEY TO HELP THEM RAPIDLY RETURN TO STABLE HOUSING AND ACHIEVE LONG-TERM SELF-SUFFICIENCY. - Education Law Center
GIFT TO SUPPORT EDUCATION LAW CENTER, WHICH SERVES AS A VOICE FOR NEW JERSEY'S PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN AND ADVOCATES FOR EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY AND EDUCATION JUSTICE IN THE UNITED STATES. - Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
To enrich lives, build community and inspire jewish journeys. - The Bell Policy Center
TO ENSURE ECONOMIC MOBILITY FOR EVERY COLORADAN - Gofundmeorg
GIFT TO SUPPORT "STAND WITH UKRAINEPROVIDE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON REFUGEE AND HUMANITARIAN AID EFFORTS IN THE UKRAINE.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 12 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 | 3 | $295,000 | $120,000 |
| 2022 | 2 | $110,000 | $55,000 |
| 2023 | 2 | $200,000 | $100,000 |
| 2024 | 4 | $525,000 | $10,000 |
| 2025 | 6 | $60,000 | $10,000 |
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
42% of its giving went to organizations in District of Columbia.
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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. Unlike this foundation, none of them is on record as funding only organizations it picks, and each page says what its filings show.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Sciarra 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: 855 Chatfield Road, Aspen, CO, 81611. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 83-6920321 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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