The David Geffen Foundation
Los Angeles, CA · EIN 95-4085811. Reported 380 grants totalling $440.7M to 189 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. 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". The David Geffen 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
5 of the organizations The David Geffen Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 8 grants totalling $1,125,000 to them. That is 0% of the $258.4M 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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | grantmaking organization | California | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 | Its form does not ask |
| Federation of Jewish Communities of the | community foundation | New York | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| The Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles | community foundation | California | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| Liberty Hill Foundation | community foundation | California | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
| Entertainment Industry Foundation | federated giving programme | California | $5,000 | 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 $5,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $50.0M.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La County Museum of Art | Los Angeles, CA | $100.0M | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| UCLA Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $74.5M | 6 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lincoln Center for Performing Arts | New York, NY | $65.0M | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $60.0M | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Museum of Modern Art | New York, NY | $50.0M | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Columbia University | New York, NY | $33.3M | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Academy Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $20.0M | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | New York, NY | $10.0M | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream | Santa Monica, CA | $6,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration | Radnor, PA | $4,000,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| 92ND Street Y | New York, NY | $3,007,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Library of Israel USA | New York, NY | $2,800,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Elton John AIDS Foundation | New York, NY | $2,050,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Young Eisner Scholars | Inglewood, CA | $1,400,000 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| UCLA Foundation (geffen Playhouse) | Los Angeles, CA | $1,103,540 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Motion Picture & Television Fund | Woodland Hills, CA | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of the Israel Defense Forces | New York, NY | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of United Hatzalah Inc | New York, NY | $205,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| World Jewish Congress American Section | New York, NY | $205,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Film Institute | Los Angeles, CA | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Lambda Legal Defenseeduc Fnd | New York, NY | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Friends of Magen David Adom | New York, NY | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Soroka Medical Center | Scarsdale, NY | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Simon Wiesenthal Center | Los Angeles, CA | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Skirball Cultural Center | Los Angeles, CA | $120,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Encorps STEM Teachers Program | Redondo Beach, CA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Israel Defense Forces | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Glaad | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Harlem School of the Arts | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hetrick-Martin Institute | New York, NY | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hillel at UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jewish National Fund | Rockville Ctr, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Save the Children | Fairfield, CT | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Success Academy Charter Schools | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Whitney Museum of American Art | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Healing and Hospice Center of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| City Year | Los Angeles, CA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bucks Rock Camp | New Milford, CT | $72,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Safe Horizon | New York, NY | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| People for the American Way | Washington, DC | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Anti-Defamation League | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Anti-Defamation League | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Clooney Foundation for Justice | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Exceptional Minds | Sherman Oaks, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Federation of Jewish Communities of the Cis Inc | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hammer Museum | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| International Medical Corp | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| International Rescue Committee | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mayors Fund for Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chrysalis | Los Angeles, CA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Project Angel Food | Los Angeles, CA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Angels at Risk | Los Angeles, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Breast Cancer Research Foundation | New York, NY | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Downtown Women's Center | Los Angeles, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Food Forward | North Hollywood, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| New York Public Library | New York, NY | $40,000 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation | West Hollywood, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| New York Restoration Project | New York, NY | $31,250 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Friends of the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled | Deerfield, IL | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Homeless Not Toothless | Brentwood, CA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| J Street Education Fund | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Rape Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Students Run Americastudents Run La | Tarzana, CA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Society for Yad Vashem | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Society for Yad Vashem | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Baby 2 Baby | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Children's Diabetes Foundation | Aurora, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society | Silver Spring, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ikhodi Inc | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jazz Foundation of America | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mlk Health and Wellness Community Development Corporation | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Music Center | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Musicares | Santa Monica, CA | $25,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| One Archives Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| One Campaig | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Campaign | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Safe Space Pictures Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tikva Children's Home | West Caldwell, NJ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Meserve-Kunhardt Foundation the Gordon Parks Foundation | Pleasantville, NY | $22,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Algemeiner Inc | New York, NY | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bet Tzedek | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Beverly Hills Fireman's Relief Fund | Beverly Hills, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Beverly Hills Police Officers Association | Beverly Hills, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Children's Action Network | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| City of Hope | Duarte, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Equality California Institute | Sacramento, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Human Rights Campaign Foundation | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Jenkins Penn Haitian Relief Organization | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Liberty Hill Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Malaria No More | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| People for the American Way Foundation | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sage | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St Joseph Center | Venice, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Venice Family Clinic | Venice, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Women's Guild of Cedars-Sinai | Beverly Hills, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Cinematheque | Los Angeles, CA | $17,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| ACLU Foundation of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | $16,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Actors' Fund of America | New York, NY | $16,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $16,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Ali Forney Center | New York, NY | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American Theatre Wing | New York, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| California-Hawaii Elks Major Projects Inc | Playa Del Rey, CA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Camp Bravo | Northridge, CA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Laurel Foundation | Pasadena, CA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust | Los Angeles, CA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| National Breast Cancer Coalition | Los Angeles, CA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| New York Landmarks Conservancy | New York, NY | $14,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pen America | New York, NY | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Als Association the | Agora Hills, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Jewish Committee | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Amfar | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Breast Cancer Research Foundation | Pasadena, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Creative Time | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Doe Fund the | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Feminist Majority Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Foundation Thinkagain | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| God's Love We Deliver | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Guild Hall of East Hampton | East Hampton, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hollywood Community Housing Corporation | Hollywood, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Housing Works | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Inner City Law Center | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Institute of American Indian Arts Trust | Santa Fe, NM | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Legal Action Center | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Los Angeles Ballet | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Los Angeles Conservancy | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Los Angeles County Police Canine Association | Santa Monica, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New Jewish Home | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| New York-Presbyterian Fund - Youth Anxiety Center | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | Cleveland, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sansum Clinic | Santa Barbara, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Save Venice | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Songwriters Hall of Fame | Katonah, NY | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| St Jude Children's Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Friends of the Children | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jewish Big Brothers of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Municipal Art Society of New York | Katonah, NY | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Museum of Television & Radio | New York, NY | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Los Angeles Press Club | Los Angeles, CA | $7,100 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Debbie Allen Dance Academy | Los Angeles, CA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Public Counsel | Los Angeles, CA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Race to Erase Ms | Los Angeles, CA | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Roundabout Theatre Company | New York, NY | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Brigham and Women's Hospital | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Brotherhood Crusade | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chabad of Calfornia | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Children's Defense Fund | Culver City, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| City Year | Dorchester, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Earth League International | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Entertainment Industry Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Greenway Arts Alliance | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hawn Foundation the | Santa Monica, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Heal the Bay | Santa Monica, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Juilliard School the | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kristen Ann Carr Fund | Holmdel, NJ | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Los Angeles Police Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Museum of the City of New York | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Alliance on Mental Illness | Arlington, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Breast Cancer Coalition | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| National Queer Theater | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Studio in a School | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Southern California - Neighborhood Academic Initiative | Beverly Hills, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Xavier Mission | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Vida School the | Agoura Hills, CA | $3,250 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| La Free Clinic | Los Angeles, CA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Saban Community Clinic | Los Angeles, CA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Theater Hall of Fame | New York, NY | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Crohn's & Colitis Foundation | New York, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| International Myeloma Foundation | Studio City, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Broadway Caresequity Fights AIDS | New York, NY | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jewish Big Brothers of Los Angeles Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los | Los Angeles, CA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Los Angeles, CA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Garry Marshall Theatre | Burbank, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ladies' Village Improvement Society of Easthampton Long Island New York I | Easthampton, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wikimedia Foundation | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Better World Fund | Los Angeles, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
90 of 189 (48%) received money in more than one year over the 4 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 61%, across 3 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, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 242 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 | 98 | $107.8M | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 103 | $90.6M | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 86 | $129.7M | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 93 | $112.5M | $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
47% of its giving went to organizations in California.
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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 The David Geffen Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). 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: 12011 San Vicente Blvd Suite 606, Los Angeles, CA, 90049. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 95-4085811 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.