The Jean and Alvin Sternlieb
Berkeley, CA · EIN 95-4852744. Reported 150 grants totalling $301,250 to 92 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. The Jean and Alvin Sternlieb 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 $2,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $2,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $9,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilung Foundation | Langley, WA | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood | Washington, DC | $13,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Feeding America | Washington, DC | $12,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Sb Organic Soup Kitchen | Santa Barbara, CA | $9,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Kqed Inc | San Francisco, CA | $8,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| African Schools of Kenya | Santa Barbara, CA | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mediators Foundation | Boulder, CO | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| ACLU | Washington, DC | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Mother Miracle | San Rafael, CA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| African Schhols of Kenya | Santa Barbara, CA | $5,750 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Direct Relief | Santa Barbara, CA | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Hospice of Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| International Rescue Committee | Albert Lea, MN | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mother Miracle Schools | San Rafael, CA | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Partners for Progressive Israel | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Save the Children | Fairfield, CT | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Save the Children | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | Montgomery, AL | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| St Judes | Memphis, TN | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| St Judes Childrens Hospital | Memphis, TN | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| US Holocaust Memorial Museum | Annapolis Junction, MD | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Equal Justice Initiative | Montgomery, AL | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Glide | Los Angeles, CA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research | New York, NY | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| NAACP | Baltimore, MD | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Oasis Legal Services | Berkeley, CA | $4,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Seva Foundation | Berkeley, CA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | Topeka, KS | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Unicef | New York, NY | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Women for Women International | Central Islip, NY | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American Jewish World Services | Etna, NH | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Berkeley Food Pantry | Berkeley, CA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Life Chronicles | Santa Barbara, CA | $3,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Project Angel Food | Los Angeles, CA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Project Open Hand | San Francisco, CA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Unicef | Washington, DC | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| US Holocaust Museum | Merrifield, VA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Alameda County Community Fund Bank | Oakland, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sb Hospice | Santa Barbara, CA | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Adl | New York, NY | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Alzheimers Association | Waltham, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Jewish World Service | Etna, NH | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Parkinson Disease Association | Merrifield, VA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| American Parkinson Disease Association | Alberta Lea, MN | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Anti Defamation League | Washington, DC | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement | Berkeley, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Children & Nature Network | Saint Paul, MN | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Climate Ride | Missoula, MT | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| David Lynch Foundation | New York, NY | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Dignity Period | St Louis, MO | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| E Global Family | Honolulu, HI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Glide Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| House of Ruth | Washington, DC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Human Rights Campaign | Washington, DC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Insight La | Santa Monica, CA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Joyful Heat Foundation | Brooklyn, NY | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kids in Need | New York, NY | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | San Jose, CA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Maharashtra Village School Transformation Foundation | Fairfield, IA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Miu Foundation | Fairfield, IA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Moshe House - Ukraine Fund | Encinitas, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| NAACP | Baltimore, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New Israel Fund | Philadelphia, PA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Parkinsons Foundation | Albert Led, MN | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sandy Hook Promise Foundation | Newtown, CT | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Seva | Berkeley, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Spirit Rock Center | Woodacre, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Spirit Rock Meditation | Woodacre, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Yellow Hammer Fund | Birmingham, AL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Young Chances Foundation | Philadelphia, PA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Meals on Wheels | Oakland, CA | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Oakland Elizabeth House | Berkely, CA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Barack Obama Foundation | Topeka, KS | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Eg Global Family | Honolulu, HI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Eglobal Family | Honolulu, HI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Eugene Zitwer Foundation | Brooklyn, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| First Place for Youth | Oakland, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Giffords | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Glide Church | San Francisco, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rose Foundation for Communities | Oakland, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Judes for Children | Memphis, TN | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Swim Across America | Charlotte, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Barack Obama Foundation | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Hope Alliance | Park City, UT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Upward Scholars | Redwood City, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| US Holocaust Memorial Museum | Merrifield, VA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Als Project | Huntington, MD | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Maitri Compassionate Care | San Francisco, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Oakland Service | Oakland, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Village Project | Seaside, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
37 of 92 (40%) 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 37%, 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.
- Kilung Foundation
FOR THE USE BY THE DONEE ORGANIZATION
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 | 26 | $54,000 | $2,000 |
| 2022 | 33 | $59,250 | $2,000 |
| 2023 | 30 | $60,000 | $2,000 |
| 2024 | 32 | $63,000 | $2,000 |
| 2025 | 29 | $65,000 | $2,000 |
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
36% 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 $2,000. 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 The Jean and Alvin Sternlieb'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: 111 Gravatt Drive, Berkeley, CA, 94705. 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 95-4852744 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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