The Lowell Milken Family Foundation
Santa Monica, CA · EIN 95-4078354. Reported 153 grants totalling $43.8M to 84 recipients across tax years 2020-2023. 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 Lowell Milken Family 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
4 of the organizations The Lowell Milken Family Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 8 grants totalling $544,000 to them. That is 2% of the $24.4M 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 | $429,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Baton Rouge Area Foundation | community foundation | Louisiana | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 | Its form does not ask |
| Bighorn Golf Club Charities Inc | federated giving programme | California | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 | Its form does not ask |
| The New York Community Trust | community foundation | New York | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 | 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 $50,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $15,000 and $200,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $5,550,000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Foundation - School of Law | Los Angeles, CA | $7,962,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The UCLA Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $5,750,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Stephen Wise Temple | Los Angeles, CA | $4,831,531 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Milken Community School | Los Angeles, CA | $2,600,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of California Los Angeles - School of Law | Los Angeles, CA | $2,440,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Ariel | Boca Raton, FL | $2,050,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA | $2,000,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| National Philanthropic Trust | Jenkintown, PA | $1,500,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| NAMI Westside Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $1,351,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| UCLA Foundation - School of Music | Los Angeles, CA | $1,285,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Milken Community Schools | Los Angeles, CA | $950,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| The Lawfare Project | New York, NY | $850,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Zoa | New York, NY | $850,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes | Fort Scott, KS | $625,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Friends of the Israel Defense Forces | Los Angeles, CA | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs | Cedarhurst, NY | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jerusalem Center for Security & Foreign Affairs | Cedarhurst, NY | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Letter of the Law - Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center | Woodmere, NY | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Friends of Aish Hatorah - Western Region | Los Angeles, CA | $450,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $429,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music | Los Angeles, CA | $425,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jewish News Service Inc | Beaverton, OR | $400,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Parkinsons Foundation | Miami, FL | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Jewish News Syndicate | Beaverton, OR | $350,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Israel Global Initiative Fund | Glendale, WI | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Jewish Federation | Los Angeles, CA | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Michael J Fox Foundation | New York, NY | $300,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Memri - the Middle East Media and Research Institute | Washington, DC | $275,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Institute for Excellence in Teaching | Scottsdale, AZ | $225,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Parkinson Disease Association | Staten Island, NY | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Connect Israel | Los Angeles, CA | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Academic Exchange | Beverly Hills, CA | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| UCLA - Geriatric Medicine | Los Angeles, CA | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Pef Israel Endowment Funds | New York, NY | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Venice Family Clinic | Venice, CA | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute | Simi Valley, CA | $106,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Animas High School | Durango, CO | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Baton Rouge Area Foundation | Baton Rouge, LA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Friends of the Cultural Center - Mccallum Theatre | Palm Desert, CA | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Israel Defense and Security Forum | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Neeman Foundation - Ariel University | Newton, MA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| University of California Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Standwithus | Los Angeles, CA | $95,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Van Leer-Jerusalem Institutemilken Innovation Center | New York, NY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Jewish Community Studies | Cedarhurst, NY | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ariel University Foundation | Hoboken, NJ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Center for Jewish Community Studies | Baltimore, MD | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Friends of United Hatzalah | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Fuente Latina | Miami, FL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hightech Los Angeles | Van Nuys, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Israel America Academic Exchange | Beverly Hills, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jewish News Syndicate | Newton, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Neeman Foundation | Hoboken, NJ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Variety Childrens Charities of the Desert Tent 66 | Palm Desert, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Congregation Har Shalom | Durango, CO | $48,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| City Year Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $45,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Beit T'shuvah | Los Angeles, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| The Help Group | Sherman Oaks, CA | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| American Friends of Libi | Brookline, MA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation | Simi Valley, CA | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Keep Memory Alive | Las Vegas, NV | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Los Angeles Ballet | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Memri | Washington, DC | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Foster Nation | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Bighorn Cares | Palm Desert, CA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Brent Shapiro Foundation for Drug Awareness | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Los Angeles Youth Orchestra | Encino, CA | $9,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Topeka, KS | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hillel at UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Maccabi USA | Philadelphia, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Students Run La | Tarzana, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Breakthrough T1D | Tustin, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jdrf International | Tustin, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Los Angeles Police Reserve Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| New York Community Trust | New York, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Boys Town | Boys Town, NE | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Pepperdine University | Malibu, CA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Washoe K-12 Education Foundation | Reno, NV | $1,050 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Father Flanagan's Boys Town | Boys Town, NE | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jdrf | Tustin, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Inc | Rye Brook, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Inc | Dallas, TX | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
39 of 84 (46%) 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 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.
- UCLA Foundation - School of Law
HIGHER ED & RESEARCH INST. & PROGS - Milken Community School
PRESCHOOL - 12TH GRADE PROGRAMS - National Philanthropic Trust
COMMUNITY CENTERS & PROGRAMS - Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes
COMMUNITY CENTER PROGRAMS - Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute
CULTURAL, LIBRARIES & MUSEUMS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 88 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 38 | $9,756,227 | $50,000 |
| 2021 | 44 | $10.4M | $50,000 |
| 2022 | 41 | $13.6M | $100,000 |
| 2023 | 30 | $9,972,500 | $100,000 |
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.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. The Lowell Milken Family Foundation has 30 of them, worth $34.3M. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA Foundation - School of Law | Los Angeles, CA | $6,050,000 |
| Stephen Wise Temple | Los Angeles, CA | $5,500,000 |
| The UCLA Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $4,750,000 |
| University of California Los Angeles - School of Law | Los Angeles, CA | $3,650,000 |
| UCLA Foundation - School of Law | Los Angeles, CA | $2,600,000 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA | $1,600,000 |
| Milken Community Schools | Los Angeles, CA | $1,200,000 |
| Arielamerican Friends of | Boca Raton, FL | $1,000,000 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA | $1,000,000 |
| Stephen Wise Temple | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000,000 |
| Stephen Wise Temple | Los Angeles, CA | $974,000 |
| UCLA Foundation - Herb Alpert School of Music | Los Angeles, CA | $850,000 |
| NAMI Westside Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $800,000 |
| NAMI Westside Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $690,000 |
| Stephen Wise Temple | Los Angeles, CA | $500,000 |
Where its money goes
75% 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 Lowell Milken Family Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). 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: 1250 Fourth Street 520, Santa Monica, CA, 90401. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 95-4078354 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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