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California · Private foundation

Adams Fund

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
57
Grants FY2025
43
Organizations funded FY2024
19%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$7,500
Largest grant, FY2025
$300,000
Organizations funded a year
42 to 77
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
11
Total assets, FY2025
$2.3M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 19% of the organizations Adams Fund funded were first-time grantees, receiving 8% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $72k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHealthEducationPublic BenefitYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving56$1.3M30%
FY202443$940k19%
FY202342$1.0M36%
FY202251$861k16%
FY202157$1.0M30%
FY202063$973k30%
FY201977$753k49%
FY201861$679k52%
96% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$2.4MEducation$1.9MArts & Culture$561kHousing & Shelter$493kCommunity Improvement$308kEmployment$308kPhilanthropy$288kReligion$269kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
NH
WA
ID
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NC
DC
HI
GA
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Harmon Killebrew-Danny Thompson Memorial Cancer Foundation Inc$561,28996%
Meaning Foundation$307,00049%
California Art Club$262,400910%
World Business Academy$257,500915%
Polytechnic School$233,04260%
Adams Cowan Foundation$224,451679%
Harvard-Westlake School$169,00060%
Homeboy Industries$159,76580%
Junipero Serra Catholic High School$145,00050%
St Francis High School$131,4003n/a
Show all 137 grantees
All grantees of Adams Fund by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Harmon Killebrew-Danny Thompson Memorial Cancer Foundation Inc$561,28996%
Meaning Foundation$307,00049%
California Art Club$262,400910%
World Business Academy$257,500915%
Polytechnic School$233,04260%
Adams Cowan Foundation$224,451679%
Harvard-Westlake School$169,00060%
Homeboy Industries$159,76580%
Junipero Serra Catholic High School$145,00050%
St Francis High School$131,4003n/a
Children's Hospital Los Angeles$120,00060%
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians$111,0004n/a
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$110,00080%
Stand Together Foundation$105,00030%
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute$105,00021%
Libertas Network$100,00020%
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation$100,00020%
Breakthrough T1d$91,13920%
Hollenbeck Palms$90,00030%
St Phillip the Apostle School$80,0003n/a
The Dream Program Inc$60,00031%
The Center for Early Education$55,00060%
Saint John's Health Center Foundation$50,00010%
Kore Venture Inc$50,00016%
Portal Schools$50,00015%
Laguna Beach Education Foundation$45,00032%
Samaritan's Purse$45,00040%
Las Madrinas$39,25042%
PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital$35,50040%
St Vincent Foundation Howard B Grobstein Liquidating Trustee$35,00064%
Marlborough School$33,00070%
Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center$31,25041%
Mission One Inc$30,00031%
St John's Healthcare Foundation$30,00021%
Five Acres The Boys and Girls' Aid Society of Los Angeles County$30,00060%
Catalyst California$26,25070%
New Village Charter School Inc$25,70080%
Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation$25,00010%
Pasadena Hospital Association Ltd$24,26020%
Life Skills FORE Pasadena YouthInc$23,95032%
Santa Monica Malibu Unifed School District$23,5003n/a
Education for All Children$22,0001n/a
Southern California Public Radio$21,00070%
Camarillo Arts Council$20,000456%
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara$20,00010%
Hospice of Santa Barbara Inc$20,00011%
Shriners Hospitals for Children$20,00010%
Backpacks for Life Inc$20,00017%
American Heart Association Inc$20,00010%
Goleta Valley South Little League Inc$20,000111%
The Rape Foundation$17,75070%
Focused Intensity Foundation$16,8002n/a
Youth Policy Institute Inc$16,25020%
Health Care Foundation for Ventura County Inc$15,00011%
The Salvation Army$10,0001n/a
Alliance for Children's Rights$10,00010%
Project Veritas$10,00020%
The Backstoppers Inc Fka Policemen & Firemen Fund of St Louis$10,00010%
Cato Institute$10,00020%
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation$10,00010%
Camarillo Rotary Foundation Inc$10,00029%
Friends of the Los Angeles River$9,00041%
Autry Museum of the American West$9,00030%
The Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California Inc$8,66010%
Casa of Ventura County Inc$8,00021%
Coro Southern California Inc$7,50011%
Art Center College of Design$7,50070%
Michigan State University$7,5001n/a
Ojai Valley School$7,50030%
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles$7,50070%
The School House$7,5009n/a
Sherman Foundation$7,00020%
Prager University Foundation$6,00020%
Los Angeles Youth Network$6,00010%
Chp 11-99 Foundation$6,00010%
Navy Seal Foundation Inc$5,2251n/a
The Anti-Recidivism Coalition$5,00010%
Point Defiance Zoological Society$5,00010%
Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities & Public Policy Inc$5,00010%
The Lowell Whiteman School$5,00010%
Mikva Challenge Grant Foundation$5,00010%
Jonathan Art Foundation$5,00014%
California Science Center Foundation$4,50030%
Small Wonders Foundation$4,4505n/a
Mammoth Lakes Foundation$4,00040%
Facing History & Ourselves Inc$4,00030%
Children's Defense Fund$3,70020%
Westmont College$3,50010%
The Plymouth School$3,50011%
Public Counsel$3,00010%
El Morro Elementary PTA$3,00021%
Camarillo Fiesta Association Inc$3,00012%
United Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County$2,50010%
Theater & Arts Foundation of San Diego County Dba la Jolla Playhouse$2,50010%
The Colorado College$2,50010%
The Friendship Paddle$2,00011%
Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association Inc$2,00010%
Hillsides$2,00020%
Cambodian Childrens Fund$1,80010%
Golden State Opportunity$1,50010%
Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation$1,50012%
Ethical Culture Fieldston School$1,50010%
Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles$1,50020%
Family Equality$1,20010%
Mayfield Senior School of the Holy Child Jesus$1,0571n/a
Women for Women International$1,00010%
California Institute of the Arts$1,00010%
Smithsonian Institution$1,00010%
Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation dba River LA$1,00010%
Institute for Humane Studies$1,00010%
Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach$1,00010%
Committee to Protect Journalists Inc$1,00010%
Esophageal Cancer Action Network Inc$1,00010%
Chapman University$1,00010%
Inner City Law Center$1,00020%
Kona Historical Society$1,00010%
Los Angeles Conservancy$1,00010%
Didi Hirsch Psychiatric Service$1,00010%
Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation$1,0001n/a
Catholic Charities of Los Angeles Inc$1,00010%
Think Together$1,00010%
Children's Burn Foundation$80020%
The Promises Foundation Attn Bryan Moeller Chairman$5001n/a
Pasadena Christian School$50010%
Friends of Oasis$50010%
Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants Inc$50010%
Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles$50010%
Union Rescue Mission$50010%
Protect Our Defenders Foundation % Russell H Miller$50010%
Experience Camps$50010%
Pasadena Conservatory of Music$50010%
Project Restore$50010%
Vermont Works for Women Inc$50010%
Safe Place for Youth Inc$40010%
Imagine Los Angeles Inc$25010%
Actor's Gang Inc$25010%
The Jester & Pharley Phund$25010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 83 recipients with no EIN on record ($3.2M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Adams Fund supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 123 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHarmon Killebrew-Danny Thompson Memorial Cancer Foundation Inc: $561,289 over 9y, 6.5% of budgetMeaning Foundation: $307,000 over 4y, 9.1% of budgetCalifornia Art Club: $262,400 over 9y, 10.0% of budgetWorld Business Academy: $257,500 over 9y, 15% of budgetPolytechnic School: $233,042 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetAdams Cowan Foundation: $224,451 over 6y, 79% of budgetHarvard-Westlake School: $169,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetHomeboy Industries: $159,765 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetJunipero Serra Catholic High School: $145,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetChildren's Hospital Los Angeles: $120,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMedecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc: $110,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetStand Together Foundation: $105,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSansum Diabetes Research Institute: $105,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetLibertas Network: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSanta Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation: $100,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBreakthrough T1d: $91,139 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHollenbeck Palms: $90,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetThe Dream Program Inc: $60,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetThe Center for Early Education: $55,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSaint John's Health Center Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKore Venture Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetPortal Schools: $50,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetLaguna Beach Education Foundation: $45,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetSamaritan's Purse: $45,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLas Madrinas: $39,250 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetPIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital: $35,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSt Vincent Foundation Howard B Grobstein Liquidating Trustee: $35,000 over 6y, 3.8% of budgetMarlborough School: $33,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSilverlake Independent Jewish Community Center: $31,250 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetMission One Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetSt John's Healthcare Foundation: $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetFive Acres The Boys and Girls' Aid Society of Los Angeles County: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCatalyst California: $26,250 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNew Village Charter School Inc: $25,700 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetPetersen Automotive Museum Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPasadena Hospital Association Ltd: $24,260 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLife Skills FORE Pasadena YouthInc: $23,950 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetSouthern California Public Radio: $21,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCamarillo Arts Council: $20,000 over 4y, 56% of budgetScholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHospice of Santa Barbara Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetShriners Hospitals for Children: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBackpacks for Life Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGoleta Valley South Little League Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetThe Rape Foundation: $17,750 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetYouth Policy Institute Inc: $16,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHealth Care Foundation for Ventura County Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 123.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

California Community FoundationCA43.1× affinity35 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Community Foundation · The Ahmanson Foundation · Weingart Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · The Rose Hills Foundation · The Annenberg Foundation · Pasadena Community Foundation · Orange County Community Foundation · Adams Cowan Foundation · Liberty Hill Foundation · The Confidence Foundation · Robert a Waller Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Compare Adams Fund with peer funders

About Adams Fund

How much does Adams Fund give?
Adams Fund reported 57 grants totaling $1,305,013 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 42 and 77 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Adams Fund fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Health (30%), Education (24%), Arts & Culture (7%).
Who are Adams Fund's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Harmon Killebrew-Danny Thompson Memorial Cancer Foundation Inc ($561k), Meaning Foundation ($307k), California Art Club ($262k).
Does Adams Fund fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 19% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Adams Fund accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Adams Fund?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include California Community Foundation, The Ahmanson Foundation, Weingart Foundation.
Where is Adams Fund based?
Adams Fund is based in CA.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 225 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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