Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation DossiersMostly funded, not a grantmaker — see who funds it →
Plinth

· Public charity

California State University Foundation

Established in 1962, the foundation is the central foundation for the california state university (csu) system and serves the office of the chancellor.

$4.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$1.0M
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 FY2017–2025.

Education$27MHousing & Shelter$1.1MYouth Development$190kPublic Safety & Disaster$148kScience & Tech$132kPublic Benefit$75kPhilanthropy$70kArts & Culture$67kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 21 grants below total $1,735,400 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $4,084,108 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $2,348,708 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 · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $38k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $208k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $456k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.0M
$20,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$58M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TRUSTEES OF THE CSU$1,033,000
CAL STATE LA UNIVERSITY AUXILIARY SVC$119,000
CSU LONG BEACH RESEARCH FOUNDATION$108,000
CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION$95,000
CSU SAN BERNARDINO PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION$84,000
SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY$50,000
CSU FULLERTON PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION$46,000
CSU NORTHRIDGE$26,400
CHICANO LATINO YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROJECT$20,000
CSU LOS ANGELES$20,000
CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS INSTITUTE$20,000
HISPANIC ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES$15,000
TELACU EDUCATION FOUNDATION$15,000
TELACU EDUCATION FOUNDATION$15,000
CAL POLY POMONA PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION$11,000
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 (FY18–20, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 50% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%ASIAN AND PACIFIC AMERICANS IN HIGHER ED (APAHE): $5k → 10%THE MIDNIGHT MISSION: $5k → 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

MN
IA
PA
NJ
CA
AZ
AR
DC
TX

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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$29M · 38 repeat orgs$668k to everyone else

38 repeat relationships — 15 still active in FY2025, 23 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

38
37

Total granted

$29M
$608k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+35%

Still filing today

71%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $60k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationPhilanthropyPublic BenefitArts & CultureHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentOther

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

  • CS
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    4× · 2018–2025 · $860k · revenue +25%
  • CS
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY DOMINGUEZ HILLS PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION
    5× · 2018–2025 · $739k · revenue +248%
  • CS
    CAL STATE FULLERTON PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION
    5× · 2018–2025 · $713k · revenue +87%

Funded once

  • RO
    REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    one grant, 2021 · $150k
  • NA
    NAFSA ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS
    one grant, 2017 · $50k · revenue -6%
  • CS
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FRESNO
    2× · 2021–2022 · $41k

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 State University Foundation

Established in 1962, the foundation is the central foundation for the california state university (csu) system and serves the office of the chancellor. the foundation exists to support excellence in teaching and learning, and to serve the…

Philanthropy
2
California State University Alumni Association

Connect, engage and celebrate alumni, students and friends of sacramento state while building lifelong relationships that support the future of our university.

Education
3
California State Student Association

CSSA as a student-led organization strives to improve the lives of California State University (CSU) students by advocating for student needs and engaging students in systemwide, state, and federal higher education policy making.

Education
4
California State University Los Angeles Alumni Association Inc

To foster relationships among alumni, students and community by providing services and activities that build loyalty, support and a lifelong connection to the university.

—
5
Califonia State University East Bay Foundation Inc

Csu east bay foundation is an auxiliary organization of california state university east bay and the california state university system. the organization's mission is to provide services that aid, supplement, and advance the educational…

Education
6
Cal State University Fullerton Alumni Association

To build lifelong alumni relationships by contributing to a positive csuf image, promoting university and alumni accomplishments, providing a network of opportunities to alumni interaction, and developing economic and social benefits for…

Education
7
University of California Student Association

The University of California Student Association (UCSA) is a coalition of students and student governments that aims to provide a collective voice for all students through advocacy and direct action. UCSA participates in the shared…

Education
8
Cal State East Bay Educational Foundation

To accept and manage restricted and unrestricted gifts benefiting california state university east bay. additionally, the trustees support the university through advocacy, development, personal contributions and counsel to the university's…

Education
9
The Uc Davis Foundation

The mission of the uc davis foundation is to secure, steward and manage private gifts for uc davis.

Education
10
California Aggie Alumni Association

California aggie alumni association's (caaa) mission is to advance the interest and promote the welfare of the university and its alumni.

Education
11
Association of California School Administrators

The association serves its members by creating resources that enable california school administrators to develop and apply creative leadership and management skills and in turn, improve the educational process for all students.

—
12
Foundation for California Community Colleges

The foundation's mission is to benefit, support, and enhance the missions of the california community college system.

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California State University Long Beach Research Foundation and the most unlike its peers is Orange County Visitors Association. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 30 years old; the field is 13. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number24%0%<5yr15%2%5–10yr20%30%10–20yr17%32%20–35yr11%13%35–55yr13%23%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value24%0%<5yr15%1%5–10yr20%25%10–20yr17%30%20–35yr11%15%35–55yr13%29%55yr+

The field is 24% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 1% lost their exemption, against 14% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
1%1/83
the rest of the field
14%
19,813/138,239

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

58 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. 58 of the 79 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
57/58
Grantees still filing
43/58
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

TRUSTEES OF THE CSU — $13,497,979 · OtherTRUSTEES OF THE CSUCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY — $9,400,085 · OtherCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY+33 more — $1,524,483 · Other+33 moreCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $859,576 · EducationCALIFORNIA ST…CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY DOMINGUEZ HILLS PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $738,520 · EducationCALIFORNIA ST…CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES AUXILIARY SERVICES INC — $621,491 · EducationCALIFORNIA ST…CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE FOUNDATION — $213,607 · EducationCALIFORNIA ST…CAL POLY POMONA FOUNDATION INC — $149,844 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY CORPORATION SAN FRANCISCO STATE — $144,000 · EducationCOLLEGE BRIDGE — $139,000 · Education+22 more — $532,162 · Education+22 moreCAL STATE FULLERTON PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $712,680 · PhilanthropyCSUSB PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $203,843 · PhilanthropyCAL POLY POMONA PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $33,000 · Philanthropy+2 more — $28,000 · PhilanthropyCHICANO & LATINO YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROJECT — $180,000 · Youth DevelopmentCalifornians Dedicated to Education Foundation — $37,500 · Youth DevelopmentGREAT MINDS IN STEM — $70,000 · Public BenefitCalifornian Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute Inc — $15,000 · Public BenefitTHE CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION — $10,000 · Public BenefitCALIFORNIA FORWARD — $10,000 · Public BenefitNAFSA ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS — $50,000 · InternationalNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION — $25,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF LATIN AMERICAN ART — $10,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM MOUNTAIN VALLEY CHAPTER — $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$24,422,547Education$3,398,200Philanthropy$977,523Youth Development$217,500Public Benefit$105,000International$50,000Arts & Culture$40,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $859,576 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY DOMINGUEZ HILLS PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $738,520 over 5y, 11% of budgetCAL STATE FULLERTON PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $712,680 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES AUXILIARY SERVICES INC — $621,491 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE FOUNDATION — $213,607 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetCSUSB PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $203,843 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetCHICANO & LATINO YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROJECT — $180,000 over 7y, 17% of budgetCAL POLY POMONA FOUNDATION INC — $149,844 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY CORPORATION SAN FRANCISCO STATE — $144,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCOLLEGE BRIDGE — $139,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetTELACU EDUCATION FOUNDATION — $135,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetCSU FULLERTON AUXILIARY SERVICES CORPORATION — $86,530 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGREAT MINDS IN STEM — $70,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetCALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $57,426 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCALIFORNIA COALITION FOR PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION — $55,000 over 4y, 29% of budgetHISPANIC ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES — $55,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetNAFSA ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS — $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCalifornians Dedicated to Education Foundation — $37,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetAfrican American Male Education Network — $35,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetCAL POLY POMONA PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATION — $33,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY ENTERPRISES INC — $25,874 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOUNCIL FOR ADVANCEMENT AND SUPPORT OF EDUCATION — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION — $25,000 over 5y, 6.5% of budgetSAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION SDSU RESEARCH FOUNDATION — $22,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY MONTEREY BAY — $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES FOUNDATION — $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetYOUTH 2 LEADERS EDUCATION FOUNDATIO — $18,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FRESNO FOUNDATION — $15,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY BAKERSFIELD FOUNDATION — $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION AT SACRAMENTO STATE — $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCalifornian Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute Inc — $15,000 over 3y, 6.8% of budgetORANGE COUNTY VISITORS ASSOCIATION — $12,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetBIOCOM INSTITUTE — $12,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION — $10,000 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetCALIFORNIA FORWARD — $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLONG BEACH STATE FOUNDATION — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOS ANGELES AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION — $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS — $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEXCELENCIA IN EDUCATION INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBAY AREA BIOSCIENCE CENTER DBA CALIFORNIA LIFE SCIENCES INSTITUTE — $6,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCAL POLY HUMBOLDT FOUNDATION — $5,132 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MIDNIGHT MISSION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe University Foundation California State University Chico — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITE-LA INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLA PROMISE FUND — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM MOUNTAIN VALLEY CHAPTER — $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS FOUNDATION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

National Collegiate A…Foundation for Califo…California Community …The California Endowm…The San Diego Foundat…Cal Poly Pomona Found…Folds of Honor Founda…American Chemical Soc…University Enterprise…California Institute …Desert Community Foun…Gates Foundation
National Collegiate Athletic AssociationIN34.7× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Collegiate Athletic Association · Foundation for California Community Colleges · California Community Foundation · The California Endowment · The San Diego Foundation · Cal Poly Pomona Foundation Inc · Folds of Honor Foundation · American Chemical Society · University Enterprises Inc · California Institute for Biodiversity · Desert Community Foundation · Gates 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 State University Foundation 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 · 10%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    8report 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 79 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 2025, released 2025. 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