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California Fire Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

California Fire Foundation

The CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION (cff) is a public benefit charity that provides assistance to victims of fire and conducts public education campaigns about fire safety and the devastating effects of fire.

$2.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
88
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Public Safety & Disaster$11MCrime & Legal$842kEnvironment$501kCommunity Improvement$244kCivil Rights$240kArts & Culture$130kHealth$105kHuman Services$101kOther$0
02FY2024 · 88 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 88 grants below total $1,492,051, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,588,421 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $1,096,370 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $50k
  • $10k–50k77 grants · $1.2M
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $247k
$15,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$21M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PROJECTCAMP$75,000
NORTHERN VALLEY CATHOLIC SOCIAL SER$65,000
HAWAII FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION L$57,166
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CA$50,000
OTHERS$48,124
THE CALIFORNIA LATINO LEGISLATIVE C$45,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NORTH S$25,000
EL DORADO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$25,000
NORTH COAST RESOURCE CONSERVATION &$25,000
TRAUMA INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOOTHIL$23,156
KETTENPOM-ZENIA VOLUNTEERS$23,000
CALAVERAS CONSOLIDATED FIRE PROTECT$22,624
BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES$21,000
JACKSON VALLEY FIRE PROTECTION DIST$18,500
RESCUE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT$17,500
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–24, $883k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 84% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%805 UNDOCUFUND: $25k → 10%LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $25k → 10%OROVILLE HOPE CENTER: $10k → 18%CHILDREN OF RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES: $9k → 6%805 UNDOCUFUND: $15k → 10%YUBA WATERSHED PROTECTION AND FIRE: $15k → 15%KNO'QOTI NATIVE WELLNESS INC: $20k → 17%IAFF FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%UP VALLEY FAMILY CENTERS OF NAPA CO: $10k → 9%LATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 10%YUBA WATERSHED PROTECTION AND FIRE: $10k → 15%COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP OF KER: $9k → 18%HAPPY CAMP COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 16%MENTIS: $10k → 9%SAN FRANCISCO FIREFIGHTERS TOY PROG: $8k → 10%SISKIYOU COMMUNITY RESOURCE COLLABO: $15k → 16%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF SANTA CLARA C: $10k → 8%ONE WARM COAT: $10k → 10%OROVILLE RESCUE MISSION INC: $10k → 18%PLUMAS RURAL SERVICES: $15k → 13%SCOPA HAS A DREAM: $25k → 9%LOS ANGELES COUNTY DELEGATION FOUND: $8k → 12%NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $250k → 18%CORAZON HEALDSBURG: $10k → 9%SISKIYOU DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & CRISIS: $10k → 16%NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $50k → 18%NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $15k → 18%FOUR PAWS TO FREEDOM: $15k → 12%NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $10k → 18%NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $10k → 18%NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $10k → 18%SERVICE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIFE: $15k → 14%CALIFORNIA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: $25k → 9%FIREFIGHTERS CANCER SUPPORT NETWORK: $10k → 14%LOS ANGELES POLICE FOUNDATION: $15k → 14%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

MI
MA
CA
CO
DC
HI
GA
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

58%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.3M · 136 repeat orgs$4.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

136 repeat relationships: 44 still active in FY2024, 92 since wound down; 41 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

136
275

Total granted

$6.3M
$3.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+19%

Still filing today

46%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 54% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $654k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Public Safety & DisasterHuman ServicesEnvironmentPhilanthropyHealthPublic BenefitOther
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.

Backed again, and grew

  • HF
    HAWAII FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOCAL 1463 INT'L ASSOCOF FIREFGHTR
    2× · 2023–2024 · $729k · revenue +12% · 31% of their budget
  • NC
    NORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC
    5× · 2019–2024 · $345k · revenue +49%
  • EI
    EmergencyRV Inc
    2× · 2021–2022 · $225k · revenue +19% · 49% of their budget

Funded once

  • IA
    INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $150k · revenue +45%
  • TP
    TINY PINE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $80k · revenue +47%
  • JL
    Jumpstart Labs Inc DBA Jewish JUMPSTART JSLABS
    one grant, 2021 · $35k · revenue -98%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Mariposa Fire Safe Council Inc

Promote fire safety in Mariposa County through educating home owners about clearing PRC Section 4291 defensible space, coordinating efforts with various agencies to clear PRC Section 4291 defensible space, etc. Obtain/administer/manage…

Public Safety & Disaster
2
Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade

Community members providing fire and emergency services to all of Big Sur with a spirit of teamwork, respect and integrity. This is accomplished mainly through fire suppression, fire prevention, medical response, and education.

—
3
California Volunteer Fire Dept

Provide volunteer firefighting and other emergency services for the community.

Public Safety & Disaster
4
Monterey Fire Safe Council Inc

To provide education, implement and fund projects in accordance with National and California Fire Plans, mobilize citizens and agencies to reduce losses from wildfires, exchange information and foster fire prevention and fire safety within…

Public Safety & Disaster
5
Three Rivers Fire Safe Council

To provide education, assist emergency services with finding homes and to help mitigate fire hazards around rural neighborhoods.

Public Safety & Disaster
6
Ramona Volunteer Fire Department
Public Safety & Disaster
7
Timberview Area Firewise Improvement

To reduce the risk of loss of life and property in the Timberview and adjacent areas through promotion of fire safety, education, prevention and suppression as well as related emergency procedures.

Public Safety & Disaster
8
California Fire Chiefs Ems Fire and Education Foundation

Education of Emergency First Responders.

Education
9
Cachagua Volunteer Firefighters Inc

To provide free, high quality fire and emergency medical response to the people of and visitors to the Cachagua Valley and surrounding areas.

Public Safety & Disaster
10
Calaveras Foothills Fire Safe Council

Fire prevention and safety

Public Safety & Disaster
11
Timber Cove Volunteer Fire Department dba Tcv Firefighters Association

Fire suppression, rescue and emergency medical first responders in this remote, rural coastal area. sonoma county service area #25.

—
12
Coast Ridge Community Forest

The mission is to bring resources to the coastal hills community to create a healthier and safer forest where all residents flourish.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Community Foundation of the Napa Valley; the most unlike its peers is Tuolumne Fire Safe Council. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

221 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 221 of the 468 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

13
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
62
Early backer (in before they grew)
212/221
Grantees still filing
130/221
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HAWAII FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOCAL 1463 INT'L ASSOCOF FIREFGHTR: $728,524 · OtherHAWAII FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOCAL 1463 INT'L ASSO…+145 more: $4,484,789 · Other+145 moreNORTH VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,258,005 · PhilanthropyNORTH VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NORTH STATE: $435,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NORTH…VENTURA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $425,000 · PhilanthropyVENTURA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATI…SONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $260,000 · PhilanthropySONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATIO…CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $250,000 · PhilanthropyCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MENDOCINO COUNTY: $250,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MENDOCINO…El Dorado Community Foundation: $125,000 · Philanthropy+5 more: $185,000 · Philanthropy+5 moreEmergencyRV Inc: $225,000 · Public Safety & DisasterEmergency…PROJECTCAMP: $190,000 · Public Safety & DisasterPROJECTCA…COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA: $50,000 · Public Safety & DisasterCOMMUNITY…OAKLAND FIRESAFE COUNCIL: $45,500 · Public Safety & DisasterCENTRAL VENTURA COUNTY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL INC: $40,000 · Public Safety & DisasterArcata Vol Firefighters Assn Inc: $35,000 · Public Safety & DisasterFIRE SAFE SONOMA: $33,920 · Public Safety & DisasterPINE RIDGE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $33,400 · Public Safety & DisasterKern Fire Safe Council: $30,000 · Public Safety & DisasterURBAN ASSOCIATION OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROFESSIONALS INC: $30,000 · Public Safety & Disaster+9 more: $184,500 · Public Safety & Disaster+9 moreNORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $345,000 · Human ServicesINTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS FOUNDATION: $150,000 · Human ServicesMIXTECO INDIGENA COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PROJECT: $40,000 · Human Services805 UNDOCUFUND: $40,000 · Human ServicesSCOPA HAS A DREAM INC DBA CORAZON HEALDSBURG: $35,000 · Human ServicesLATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 · Human ServicesYUBA WATERSHED PROTECTION AND FIRE SAFE COUNCIL: $25,000 · Human ServicesCALIFORNIA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $25,000 · Human Services+2 more: $40,000 · Human ServicesSAFETY BLITZ FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · Community ImprovementYouth Action Project Inc: $30,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP OF SONOMA COUNTY: $25,000 · Community ImprovementGreater Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau: $25,000 · Community ImprovementDIRECT RELIEF: $225,000 · InternationalUNITE TO LIGHT INC: $15,040 · InternationalKERN RIVER CONSERVANCY: $51,000 · EnvironmentTEHAMA CONSERVATION FUND: $50,000 · EnvironmentCultural Fire Management Council: $27,095 · EnvironmentNORTHERN CALIFORNIA RESOURCE CENTER: $27,000 · EnvironmentNORTH COAST RESOURCE CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL: $25,000 · EnvironmentCOASTAL HEADWATERS ASSOCIATION: $24,000 · EnvironmentMountain Rim Fire Safe Council Inc: $15,000 · Environment
Other$5,213,313Philanthropy$3,188,005Public Safety & Disaster$897,320Human Services$735,000Community Improvement$280,000International$240,040Environment$219,095

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNORTH VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,258,005 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetHAWAII FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOCAL 1463 INT'L ASSOCOF FIREFGHTR: $728,524 over 2y, 31% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE NORTH STATE: $435,000 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetVENTURA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $425,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetNORTH COAST OPPORTUNITIES INC: $345,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetSONOMA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $260,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MENDOCINO COUNTY: $250,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetEmergencyRV Inc: $225,000 over 2y, 49% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $225,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECTCAMP: $190,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetINTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetEl Dorado Community Foundation: $125,000 over 2y, 6.1% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC: $120,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetKERN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetNORTHERN VALLEY CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICE INC: $90,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTINY PINE FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetLATINO LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetFIREFIGHTERS BURN INSTITUTE: $64,817 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetSAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY: $64,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetBuilding Resilient Communities: $61,000 over 3y, 22% of budgetKERN RIVER CONSERVANCY: $51,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetTEHAMA CONSERVATION FUND: $50,000 over 3y, 6.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA: $50,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetJohn Burton Advocates for Youth: $50,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetTenants Together: $50,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetOAKLAND FIRESAFE COUNCIL: $45,500 over 4y, 17% of budgetLA FAMILY HOUSING CORPORATION: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWomen in California Leadership Inc: $44,662 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetThe Childrens Lifesaving Foundation: $44,308 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $42,120 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPeople For Irvine Community Health: $40,068 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetMIXTECO INDIGENA COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PROJECT: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCENTRAL VENTURA COUNTY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL INC: $40,000 over 3y, 9.9% of budget805 UNDOCUFUND: $40,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetNorth Bay Jobs With Justice: $40,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetPLUMAS CRISIS INTERVENTION AND RESOURCE CENTER: $40,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetConcerned Resource & Environmental Workers: $38,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetCommunity Bridges: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetArcata Vol Firefighters Assn Inc: $35,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetSCOPA HAS A DREAM INC DBA CORAZON HEALDSBURG: $35,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetJumpstart Labs Inc DBA Jewish JUMPSTART JSLABS: $35,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetLATINO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFIRE SAFE SONOMA: $33,920 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetPINE RIDGE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $33,400 over 2y, 9.7% of budgetCAMP ALTA: $32,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetCOMMUNITY ALLIANCE WITH FAMILY FARMERS: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetYouth Action Project Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

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 Fire Safe …United Way of the Win…Latino Community Foun…Public Health Institu…Kaiser Foundation Hos…United Way of Norther…North Valley Communit…Sierra Health Foundat…Humboldt Area Foundat…Sonoma County Communi…California Foundation…The PG&E Corporation …
California Fire Safe Council IncCA82.1× affinity42 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: California Fire Safe Council Inc · United Way of the Wine Country · Latino Community Foundation · Public Health Institute · Kaiser Foundation Hospitals · United Way of Northern California · North Valley Community Foundation · Sierra Health Foundation Center for Health Program Management · Humboldt Area Foundation · Sonoma County Community Foundation · California Foundation for Stronger Communities · The PG&E Corporation 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization California Fire Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from California Fire Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • The Center for Independent Documentary Inc: 6% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
31report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

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 468 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on California Fire’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home