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Plinth

· Public charity

California Humanities

CALIFORNIA HUMANITIES was founded in 1975 with a defined mission to connect californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
41
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2018–2024.

Arts & Culture$7.4MEducation$1.6MCommunity Improvement$307kHuman Services$235kEnvironment$232kYouth Development$222kPhilanthropy$127kCivil Rights$98kOther$0
02FY2024 · 41 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 41 grants below total $857,605 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $1,059,044 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $201,439 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $55k
  • $10k–50k29 grants · $703k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
$24,520
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FROM THE HEART PRODUCTIONS INC$50,000
FJC$50,000
KARTEMQUIN EDUCATIONAL FILMS$45,000
VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS$40,000
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY ASSOCIATION$35,000
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RESOURCE CENTER$30,000
WRITING DOWNTOWN INC$30,000
MENDOCINO COUNTY PUBLIC BROADCASTING$30,000
BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION INC$30,000
MEXICALI BIENNIAL INC$25,000
MADERA COUNTY LIBRARY$25,000
LITQUAKE FOUNDATION$25,000
ECOARTS OF LAKE COUNTY DBA MIDDLETOWN ART CENTER$25,000
SANTA MONICA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC$25,000
KOREATOWN YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTER$25,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

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

show:

Your human-services grants (FY18–24, $234k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 87% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CAMPTONVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER ADVOCATES: $5k → 15%WRITING DOWNTOWN INC: $30k → 13%LA FAMILIA COUNSELING CENTER INC: $5k → 12%SHERMAN HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CENTER: $20k → 11%SONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER: $25k → 9%FILIPINO-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $20k → 10%KOREATOWN YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTER: $25k → 14%KOREATOWN YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTER: $5k → 14%J-SEI: $5k → 10%MISSION EDGE SAN DIEGO: $25k → 11%DONALDINA CAMERON HOUSE: $30k → 10%COMMUNITY LITERATURE INITIATIVE: $9k → 14%SOUTH ASIAN NETWORK INC: $5k → 14%SPECIAL SERVICE FOR GROUPS INC: $5k → 14%THAI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $20k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

WA
IL
NY
MA
NV
NJ
CT
CA
DC

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

58%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$6.2M · 143 repeat orgs$4.4M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +45% since the first grant, against +36% for the ones you funded once.

143 repeat relationships — 20 still active in FY2024, 123 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

143
301

Total granted

$6.2M
$4.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+36%

Still filing today

81%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 47% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $427k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC
    5× · 2018–2024 · $185k · revenue +264%
  • WM
    WOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC
    4× · 2019–2023 · $185k · revenue +82%
  • VC
    VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA
    7× · 2018–2024 · $133k · revenue +213%

Funded once

  • FR
    Fort Ross Conservancy
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue -52%
  • SF
    SWELL FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $40k · revenue ×18
  • PA
    PACIFIC ARTS MOVEMENTgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $38k · revenue +106%

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

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
California Institute of Contemporary Art
—
2
Pasadena Museum of California Art

To present the breadth of california art and design through exhibitions that explore the cultural dynamics and influence that are unique to california.

—
3
Museo De Las Americas

The Museo De Las Americas is dedicated to educating our community through collecting preserving interpreting and exhibiting the diverse arts and cultures of the Americas from ancient to contemporary through innovative exhibitions and…

Arts & Culture
4
Galeria Studio 24

Galeria's mission is to foster public awareness and appreciation of Chicano/Latino art. Galeria sees itself as a laboratory where emerging and established artists explore contemporary issues in Latino art, culture and civic society.…

Arts & Culture
5
Movimiento De Arte Y Cultura Latino Americana De San Jose Incorporated

MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana is an inclusive contemporary arts space grounded in the Chicano/Latino experience that incubates new visual, literary and performance art in order to engage people in civic dialogue and…

Arts & Culture
6
California Film Institute

The california film institute celebrates film and videos as art and education. its goal is to present and support emerging and established independent filmakers whose works address issues relevant to contemporary society. this is…

Arts & Culture
7
18TH Street Arts Complex

Support local artists through workshops, gallery exhibitions, and other educationalevents which reach out to the community at large; support local and internationalartists through renting spaces at rates below market value to artists…

Arts & Culture
8
Kearny Street Workshop Incorporated

Ksw makes artists out of community members and community members out of artists. since 1972, ksw has nurtured the creative spirit, and offered an important platform for new voices to be heard -full statement on schedule o

Arts & Culture
9
Art Foundation
Arts & Culture
10
Asian Art Museum Foundation of San Francisco

The asian art museum celebrates, preserves, and promotes asian and asian american art and cultures for local and global audiences. we provide a dynamic forum for exchanging ideas, inviting collaboration, and fueling imagination to deepen…

Arts & Culture
11
Occidental Center for the Arts

Occidental Center for the Arts exists to provide a welcoming and accessible venue for the performing and visual arts in Sonoma County California for local regional national and international artists. our mission is to enrich our community…

Arts & Culture
12
Californians for the Arts

Our mission at Californians for the Arts is to ensure that the arts are accessible to all Californians; are an ongoing part of the public dialogue and to encourage Californians to care about the arts as a critical component of their own…

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California Center for the Arts Escondido Foundation and the most unlike its peers is Mineral King Preservation Society. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyArts & Cultural Organizatio…Housing & Crisis SupportCalifornia Policy & Advocac…Asian Faith CommunitiesJewish Community Organizati…Education Foundation Fundra…Youth & Family Behavioral H…Youth Sports ProgramsSenior Affordable HousingFamily Philanthropic Founda…Regional Business ChambersPublic Charter Schools
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 31 years old; the field is 13. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number25%2%<5yr16%6%5–10yr20%19%10–20yr17%31%20–35yr11%25%35–55yr12%17%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value25%1%<5yr16%5%5–10yr20%14%10–20yr17%32%20–35yr11%33%35–55yr12%15%55yr+

The field is 25% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 1% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.8% lost their exemption, against 14% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.8%4/500
the rest of the field
14%
21,203/146,401

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

425 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 425 of the 467 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

10
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
149
Early backer (in before they grew)
417/425
Grantees still filing
295/425
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC — $366,000 · Arts & CultureINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INCTHE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC — $185,000 · Arts & CultureWOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC — $185,000 · Arts & Culture+101 more — $3,738,455 · Arts & Culture+101 moreREGENTS UNIV OF CALIFORNIA — $79,802 · Other+59 more — $1,979,649 · Other+59 moreSAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION SDSU RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $61,483 · EducationSAN DIEGO…UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — $54,470 · EducationUNIVERSIT…THE OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND — $45,000 · EducationTHE OAKLA…SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $44,567 · EducationSAN JOSE …CAL POLY POMONA FOUNDATION INC — $40,000 · EducationCAL POLY …CITIZEN FILM INC — $40,000 · EducationCITIZEN F…CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FRESNO FOUNDATION — $39,829 · EducationCALIFORNI…FRED T KOREMATSU INSTITUTE — $30,000 · EducationBay Area Creative BAC — $28,037 · EducationMINERAL KING PRESERVATION SOCIETY — $27,500 · EducationCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS CORPORATION — $27,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE — $27,500 · EducationSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE — $25,000 · EducationLOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY — $25,000 · EducationCSU BAKERSFIELD AUXILIARY FOR SPONSORED PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION — $24,999 · EducationPEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — $24,815 · EducationSTREET POETS INC — $22,500 · Education+2 more — $40,000 · Education+2 moreCOMMUNITY PARTNERS — $122,800 · Community ImprovementBayview-Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology DBA BAYCAT — $60,000 · Community ImprovementLA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES — $45,000 · Community ImprovementEAST BAY SANCTUARY COVENANT — $25,000 · Community ImprovementEASTERN SIERRA ARTISTS — $23,000 · Community ImprovementWriting Downtown Inc — $30,000 · Human ServicesKOREATOWN YOUTH AND COMMUNITY CENTER — $30,000 · Human ServicesDONALDINA CAMERON HOUSE — $30,000 · Human ServicesMISSION EDGE SAN DIEGO — $25,000 · Human ServicesSONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER — $25,000 · Human ServicesTIDES CENTER — $24,432 · Human ServicesSherman Heights Community Center Corporation — $20,000 · Human ServicesEarth Island Institute Inc — $65,000 · EnvironmentNORTHERN CALIFORNIA RESOURCE CENTER — $30,000 · EnvironmentSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INC — $29,298 · EnvironmentSUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION — $21,603 · EnvironmentVISUAL COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA — $132,500 · Social Science
Arts & Culture$4,474,455Other$2,059,451Education$628,200Community Improvement$275,800Human Services$184,432Environment$145,901Social Science$132,500

Showing your 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC — $366,000 over 7y, 1.3% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY INC — $185,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetWOMEN MAKE MOVIES INC — $185,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetVISUAL COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA — $132,500 over 7y, 4.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS — $122,800 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetKALW PUBLIC MEDIA INC — $117,500 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetFILM INDEPENDENT — $109,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetThe Bay Area Video Coalition Incorporated — $95,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetIndependent Arts & Media — $90,900 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetMUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY AT THE MCPHERSON CENTER — $90,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetTHE LITQUAKE FOUNDATION — $70,000 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc — $65,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSan Francisco Film Society — $65,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetKITCHEN SISTERS — $65,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetFILMMAKERS COLLABORATIVE — $64,000 over 4y, 3.8% of budgetLOS ANGELES POVERTY DEPARTMENT — $62,500 over 3y, 11% of budgetSAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION SDSU RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $61,483 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetArhoolie Foundation — $60,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetBayview-Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology DBA BAYCAT — $60,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetLTSC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION — $60,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWhite Ash Broadcasting Inc — $57,500 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetJAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM — $57,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMUSEUM OF LATIN AMERICAN ART — $55,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — $54,470 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTEADA PRODUCTIONS — $52,500 over 2y, 9.8% of budgetMEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO — $50,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetFort Ross Conservancy — $50,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetInternational Media Project — $50,000 over 2y, 7.6% of budgetFJC — $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAlliance for California Traditional Arts — $50,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetSANTA MONICA HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $50,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetOUTSIDE THE LENS — $50,000 over 3y, 2.8% of budgetEl Teatro Campesino — $50,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetFrom The Heart Productions — $50,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSan Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles — $49,121 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RURAL STUDIES — $45,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetKARTEMQUIN EDUCATIONAL FILMS — $45,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetTHE OAKLAND PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND — $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCSUSB PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $45,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMUSEUM OF SONOMA COUNTY — $45,000 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetLA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES — $45,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $44,567 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSan Diego Chinese Historical Society and Museum — $44,115 over 3y, 8.1% of budgetAPI Cultural CenterInc Oakland Asian Cultural Center — $43,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetUPTOWN TENDERLOIN INC — $42,500 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetSOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS — $42,500 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetOXNARD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CORP — $42,500 over 2y, 7.0% of budgetGET LIT - WORDS IGNITE INC — $42,500 over 3y, 1.2% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

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

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Zellerbach Family…Walter and Elise Haas…The J Paul Getty TrustCenter for Cultural I…Kenneth Rainin Founda…The James Irvine Foun…Fleishhacker Foundati…The California Endowm…Phyllis C Wattis Foun…The San Francisco Fou…The Conrad Prebys Fou…The Ralph M Parsons F…
The Zellerbach Family FoundationCA74.3× affinity42 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Zellerbach Family Foundation · Walter and Elise Haas Fund · The J Paul Getty Trust · Center for Cultural Innovation · Kenneth Rainin Foundation · The James Irvine Foundation · Fleishhacker Foundation · The California Endowment · Phyllis C Wattis Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization California Humanities funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%your 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
  • Documentary Educational Resources Inc — 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
71report 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

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 467 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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