Funders › California

The Sunwest Bank Charitable Foundation I

Irvine, CA · EIN 27-1607730. Reported 92 grants totalling $1,662,633 to 56 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$10,000median grant
$1,662,633granted, 2021-2024
56recipients, as named on its returns
61%of grantees funded again the next year
$3,695,595assets, 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 Sunwest Bank Charitable Foundation I 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,200 and $15,000; the smallest was $213 and the largest $160,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
11 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
21 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
6 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
35 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
6 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
10 grants
$100,000 and Up
3 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
Challenging HeightsNorth Kaneshie, Ghana$437,365442024
Orange County Rescue MissionTustin, CA$200,500442024
ThornManhattan Beach, CA$175,000332024
Collette's Children's HomeHuntington Beach, CA$95,000442024
Legado De Esperanza Foundation (legacy of Hope)Wilmington, DE$86,505112024
Nuevo Amanecer Juntos (new Dawn Together Assoc)Huanuco$60,757112024
FristersIrvine, CA$60,000442024
Human Options IncIrvine, CA$55,000442024
Teen Leadership FoundationNewport Beach, CA$55,000442024
Homeless Youth ConnectionAvondale, AZ$45,000332024
New Pathways for YouthPhoenix, AZ$37,016442024
Cos FoundationHouston, TX$30,000112023
Escuela De La CalleQuetzaltenango$25,000112024
Mary's PathSanta Ana, CA$25,000112024
The Jesse Tree of IdahoBoise, ID$20,500222022
Elevate PhoenixPhoenix, AZ$20,000222023
Miracles for KidsIrvine, CA$17,713112021
Surf & Turf TherapiesSan Juan Capistrano, CA$16,340332023
Community Action Partnership of Orange CountyGarden Grove, CA$15,000112021
Youth Employment Services of the Harbor AreaSanta Ana, CA$15,000112021
Project AccessOrange, CA$13,783112021
Friendly Center IncOrange, CA$12,000112024
Assistance League of FullertonFullerton, CA$10,000112021
Family Promises of Orange CountyAnaheim, CA$10,000112022
Family Support CenterSalt Lake City, UT$10,000112023
First Step HouseCosta Mesa, CA$10,000112021
Learning Labs IncCarden City, ID$10,000112022
Orangewood Children's FoundationOrange, CA$10,000112023
Reignite HopeSan Perdo, CA$10,000112024
Team Kids IncIrvine, CA$10,000112024
CASA of Orange CountySanta Ana, CA$7,500112021
Los Angeles Boys & Girls ClubLos Angeles, CA$6,050222022
Arizona Friends of Foster Children FoundationPhoenix, AZ$5,000112024
Assistance League of Phoenix ArizonaPhoenix, AZ$5,000112023
Arizona Tuition ConnectionScottsdale, AZ$4,435222023
Boy Scouts of America Central Fl CouncilApopka, FL$4,117222024
Access California ServicesAnaheim, CA$3,700222024
Tsic of Sarasota County IncSarasota, FL$3,000112024
We Care ManateeBradenton, FL$3,000112024
Haven Neighborhood ServicesLos Angeles, CA$2,700112023
Beyond BlindnessSanta Ana, CA$2,515222024
Bundle of BooksLos Alamitos, CA$2,500112021
BRIDGE21 Park City LLCPark City, UT$2,200112024
Family AdvocatesBoise, ID$2,069112021
United Way of Orange CountyIrvine, CA$2,000112021
Junior Achivement of IdahoBoise, ID$1,850112021
US2UGRANDA4LIFECapistrano Beach, CA$1,368112021
State College of Florida Foundation IncBradenton, FL$1,265112023
YMCA of Southwest FloridaSpring Hill, FL$1,250112024
Junior Achievement of IdahoBoise, ID$1,000222024
Working WardrobesIrvine, CA$639112021
Chapman UniveristyOrange, CA$500112021
Junior Achivement of Orange CountyCosta Mesa, CA$500112021
St Jude Children's Research HosptalMemphis, TN$446222024
Keep a Breast FoundationYucca Valley, CA$300112021
Families ForwardIrvine, CA$250112024

19 of 56 (34%) 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.

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 54 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.

Human Services
21 grants
Housing & Shelter
8 grants
Youth Development
7 grants
Education
6 grants
Crime & Legal
5 grants
Mental Health
1 grant
Health Care
1 grant
Civil Rights
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202128$464,762$8,750
202214$274,923$15,000
202323$377,603$10,000
202427$545,345$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.

Already committed for future years

Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. The Sunwest Bank Charitable Foundation I has 1 of them, worth $129,655. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.

OrganizationLocationApproved
Nuevo Amanecer Juntos (new Dawn Together Assoc)Huanuco$129,655

Where its money goes

54% 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
$846K
Ghana
$437K
Arizona
$116K
Delaware
$87K
Idaho
$35K
Texas
$30K
Florida
$13K
Utah
$12K

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund28 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc27 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc25 shared recipientsOrange County Community Foundation18 shared recipientsNatl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc17 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust17 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. 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 human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding youth development in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Sunwest Bank Charitable Foundation I'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: 2050 Main St Ste 300, Irvine, CA, 92614. 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 27-1607730 · 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.