The Sharks Foundation
San Jose, CA · EIN 77-0374062. Reported 88 grants totalling $4,222,528 to 70 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For The Sharks Foundation, by its IRS classification it raises and distributes funds for youth development (NTEE O12).
- How spread out its giving is. 70 distinct organizations, with 37% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 21% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 2 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $25,712. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $33,429; the smallest was $5,185 and the largest $906,327. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See Statement a | San Jose, CA | $1,579,540 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Npower Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $215,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Valley Health Foundation Vhf | San Jose, CA | $185,700 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Bill Wilson Center | Santa Clara, CA | $163,429 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Cityteam Ministries | San Jose, CA | $140,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Braven Incorporated | Chicago, IL | $115,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Peninsula College Fund | San Jose, CA | $115,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Latino Education Advancement Foundation | San Jose, CA | $85,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Loved Twice | Oakland, CA | $83,429 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Save the Bay | Oakland, CA | $79,715 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Sharks Alumni Foundation | San Jose, CA | $72,433 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Scientific Adventures | Oakland, CA | $59,715 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Second Harvest of Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $56,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Narika | Fremont, CA | $55,715 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Canine Companions for Independence | Santa Rosa, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Special Olympics Northern California Inc | Pleasant Hill, CA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Teen Kitchen Project | Soquel, CA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $36,360 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Child Advocates of Silicon Valley Inc | San Jose, CA | $33,429 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Habitat for Humanity International Inc | Oakland, CA | $33,429 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hope Services | San Jose, CA | $33,429 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Family Service of Silicon Valley | Los Gatos, CA | $33,429 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Self-Estem | Oakland, CA | $33,429 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wayfinder Family Services | View Park, CA | $31,165 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kids & Art Foundation | Burlingame, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Local Color | Campbell, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| San Francisco Earthquakes Lgbtq Plus Ice Hockey Club | Sacramento, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Walden West Outdoor School Foundation | Saratoga, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Access Books Bay Area | San Francisco, CA | $29,715 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| George Mark Childrens Fund | Castro Valley, CA | $29,715 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hack the Hood Inc | Oakland, CA | $29,715 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Okizu Foundation | Novato, CA | $29,715 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Life Counseling Center | San Carlos, CA | $28,700 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Adolescent Counseling Services | Redwood City, CA | $25,715 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Blood Cancer United Inc | Rye Brook, NY | $25,715 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Elevate Tutoring Inc | San Jose, CA | $25,715 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Movimiento De Arte Y Cultura Latino Americana De San Jose Incorporated | San Jose, CA | $25,715 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| International Association for Human Values | Washington, DC | $25,710 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| 10000 Degrees | San Rafael, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities | Castro Valley, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| One Step Beyond Inc | Peoria, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Science Is Elementary Inc | Mountain View, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $23,400 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jessie Rees Foundation | Rcho Sta Marg, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities-Bay Area | Palo Alto, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Shine Together Inc | Milpitas, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 | |
| Save Our Shores | Santa Cruz, CA | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jasper Ridge Farm | Woodside, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Service Organizations Inc | Arlington, VA | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vitalant | Scottsdale, AZ | $13,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cancer Carepoint Inc | San Jose, CA | $12,960 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Side By Side | San Anselmo, CA | $12,585 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation | Alameda, CA | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Techbridge Girls | Sacramento, CA | $11,815 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Art of Living Foundation | Walnut Creek, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Running for a Better Oakland | Oakland, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation Inc | San Jose, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| San Jose Parks Foundation | San Jose, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bay Area Womens Sports Initiative Inc | San Jose, CA | $9,145 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Marthas Kitchen | San Jose, CA | $8,900 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| There With Care of the Bay Area | Redwood City, CA | $8,650 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Friends for Youth Inc | Palo Alto, CA | $8,170 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Breakthrough T1D | New York, NY | $7,787 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Dec My Room Inc | Houston, TX | $7,365 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Cancer Society Inc | Atlanta, GA | $6,145 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Give US the Floor | San Francisco, CA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Summer Search | Oakland, CA | $5,930 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Inc | Washington, DC | $5,200 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
17 of 70 (24%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- See Statement a
GENERAL CHARITABLE PURPOSE - Vmc Foundation Turningwheels for Kids
GENERAL CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 64 of 70 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | $673,213 | $673,213 |
| 2021 | 1 | $906,327 | $906,327 |
| 2022 | 37 | $918,978 | $12,960 |
| 2023 | 28 | $854,300 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 21 | $869,710 | $30,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
89% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. 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 grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $25,712 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Sharks Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 525 West Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA, 95113.
EIN 77-0374062 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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