Funders › California

The Robinson Foundation

Los Angeles, CA · EIN 95-3681443. Reported 117 grants totalling $788,875 to 49 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$2,500median grant
$788,875granted, 2021-2024
49recipients, as named on its returns
79%of grantees funded again the next year
$4,617,712assets, latest filing

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 Robinson 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.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $875 and the largest $60,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
1 grant
$1,000 - $5,000
74 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
16 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
18 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
6 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
2 grants

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
California State University Fullerton Philanthropic FoundationFullerton, CA$180,000442024
The First Church of Christ Scientist BostonBoston, MA$124,387442024
Ylhs Baseball Boosters - Yorba Linda High SchoolYorba Linda, CA$55,000442024
Troy Baseball Boosters Co Troy High SchoolFullerton, CA$47,500442024
Ability Connection Colorado IncDenver, CO$45,000442024
Uci Foundation(the Leslie Ann Ferree Memorial Compassion Award)Irvine, CA$40,000442024
Ocfa Benevolent Association (maui Firefighters)Irvine, CA$17,000112023
Alpha Delta Pi FoundationAtlanta, GA$16,000442024
Orange County Riptide Baseball California Collegiate LeagueRancho Santa Margarita, CA$15,000222022
Spin(serving People in Need Inc)Costa Mesa, CA$15,000442024
Age Well Senior Services IncLake Forest, CA$12,500442024
Higher Ground Youth & Family Services IncAnaheim, CA$12,500332023
Peo Star Scholarship FundDes Moines, IA$10,500332024
Chorale Bel CantoWhittier, CA$10,000442024
Los Angeles Firemen's Relief AssociationLos Angeles, CA$10,000112024
Outward Bound AdventuresPasadena, CA$10,000442024
Pacific SymphonyIrvine, CA$10,000442024
Padre FoundationOrange, CA$10,000442024
Adventure Unlimiteddiscoverybound FoundationGreenwood Village, CO$9,250442024
Berkeley Hall School FoundationLos Angeles, CA$9,250442024
Clairbourn SchoolSan Gabriel, CA$9,250442024
The Cedars Camps IncManchester, MO$9,250442024
Diabetes Camping and Educational Services IncSignal Hill, CA$7,500332024
No Limits Learning CenterBrea, CA$7,500112022
Providence St Jude Memorial FoundationFullerton, CA$7,500332024
Whittier Regional SymphonyWhittier, CA$7,500332024
Concordia University IrvineIrvine, CA$5,000222022
Danny's Farm Petting Zoo Co Cal Poly PomonaShadow Hills, CA$5,000222022
MiraclefeetChapel Hill, NC$5,000112024
North Carolina Community FoundationRaleigh, NC$5,000112024
OneocSanta Ana, CA$5,000112024
Oneoc-Deed & TruthSanta Ana, CA$5,000222023
The Salvation ArmyTustin, CA$5,000112021
Think Together (in Memory of Mike Frobenius)Santa Ana, CA$5,000112023
First Church of Christ Scientist BerkeleyMoraga, CA$4,488442024
Swim With Mike FoundationYorba Linda, CA$4,000112023
Jessie Rees FoundationIrvine, CA$3,000112021
Assistance League FullertonFullerton, CA$2,500112024
BABY2BABYLos Angeles, CA$2,500112024
Concussion Legacy FoundationBoston, MA$2,500112022
Hope HarborTustin, CA$2,500112024
Mount of Olives ChurchMission Viejo, CA$2,500112023
Mount of Olives Church Robert H Lange PreschoolMission Viejo, CA$2,500112024
Project CampLos Angeles, CA$2,500112024
Steadfast LaLos Angeles, CA$2,500112024
Tara's ChanceFullerton, CA$2,500112021
The Lighthouse Project IncBig Bear Lake, CA$2,500112024
Volunteer Florida Foundationflorida Disaster FundTallahassee, FL$2,500112022
World Central KitchenWashington, DC$2,500112024

27 of 49 (55%) 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 79%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 46 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.

Education
10 grants
Diseases & Disorders
7 grants
Environment
4 grants
Arts & Culture
4 grants
Medical Research
4 grants
Youth Development
3 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202127$177,500$2,500
202228$169,500$2,500
202328$213,750$2,500
202434$228,125$2,500

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

71% 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.

California
$557K
Massachusetts
$127K
Colorado
$54K
Georgia
$16K
Iowa
$10K
North Carolina
$10K
Missouri
$9K
District of Columbia
$2K

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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.

Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc22 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund20 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc20 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program15 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust14 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc12 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,500. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in California.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Foundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding environment in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Robinson 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: 515 South Figueroa St 2060, Los Angeles, CA, 90071. 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 95-3681443 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.