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

· Public charity

California YIMBY

To empower Californians with the knowledge and tools to advocate for more housing and make our state affordable and accessible for everyone.

$60k
Granted FY2020
2
Grants FY2020
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
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 2020.

Housing & Shelter$99kCivil Rights$75kArts & Culture$27kSocial Science$10kCommunity Improvement$10kEnvironment$2k
02FY2020 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CA Renters Legal Advocacy$50,000
CA Hispanic Chambers of Comm$10,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 97% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HARBORLIGHT COMMUNITY PARTNERS INC: $7k → 10%PEOPLE FOR HOUSING - OC CHARITABLE VENTURES: $15k → 10%CA Renters Legal Advocacy: $50k → 10%PEOPLE FOR OPEN SPACE: $2k → 10%GLOBAL POLICY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: $10k → 11%VARIOUS 501(C)(3) AND (C)(4) ENTITIES: $27k → 12%ABUNDANT HOUSING LA GRANT: $50k → 14%CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BUILDERS: $20k → 10%CA Hispanic Chambers of Comm: $10k → 12%SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES FIRST: $25k → 14%CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BUILDERS: $8k → 10%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.
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 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
California Housing Partner Corporation

The California Housing Partnership Corporation creates and preserves affordable and sustainable homes for Californians with low incomes by providing expert financial and policy solutions to nonprofit and public partners.

Unclassified
2
Californians to Stop Higher Property Taxes

To educate the public and policy makers about the history and purpose of California's property tax law.

—
3
Mutual Housing California Formerly Known As Sacramento Mutual Housing Association

The mission of mutual housing california is to develop, manage, and support sustainable affordable housing where residents are partners in advancing equitable communities.

Housing & Shelter
4
Abundant Housing La

To encourage, advocate for, and support the creation of an equitable and environmentally sustainable region where all current and future Angelenos can afford to live, including through legislation, regulations, and government programs.

—
5
Californians to Protect Community Healthcare

To protect business transactions between health care facilities and provider groups with private investors from excessive government overreach in California through public education and advocacy

—
6
Council of Community Housing Organizations

To provide technical assistance in affordable housing development to community based housing providers

—
7
Californians for Safe and Affordable Housing

To combat community deterioration, defend human and civil rights secured by law, and promote the common good and social welfare of the people by educating the public and advocating with respect to the importance of safe and affordable…

—
8
California Yimby

To empower Californians with the knowledge and tools to advocate for more housing and make our state affordable and accessible for everyone.

Housing & Shelter
9
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action

The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action is a grassroots, member-led, statewide community organization working with more than 16,000 members in six counties across California, dedicated to raising the voices of…

Human Services
10
California Chamber of Commerce

Represent members and cal employers to members of cal legislature and other agencies of state government through in-house legislative analysts, lobbying staff, and contract lobbyists. cal chamber publishes books and software related to…

—
11
Homes for California Dba Homes for Sonoma

Homes for Sonoma is a nonprofit developer creating quality workforce housing options that support safe and sustainable community, and finds efficient, scalable solutions to address the housing crisis in Sonoma County and throughout…

Housing & Shelter
12
Bay Area Housing Advocacy Coalition

BAHAC is a 501c4 that advocates for more housing at all levels of affordability at the state and local level.

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce; the most unlike its peers is Schools and Communities First. 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

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

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 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 8 of the 10 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
8/8
Grantees still filing
6/8
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Abundant Housing LA Education Fund: $50,000 · Housing & ShelterAbundant Housing LA Education FundCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BUILDERS INC: $27,500 · Housing & ShelterCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BUILDERS INCHARBORLIGHT COMMUNITY PARTNERS INC: $6,500 · Housing & ShelterHARBORLIGHT COMMUNITY PARTNERS INCCalifornia Housing Defense Fund: $50,000 · Civil RightsCalifornia Housing Defense FundSCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES FIRST: $25,000 · Civil RightsSCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES FIRSTVARIOUS 501(C)(3) AND (C)(4) ENTITIES: $26,512 · OtherVARIOUS 501(C)(3) AND (…California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce: $10,000 · OtherCalifornia Hispanic Cha…LeSar Development Consultants: $10,000 · OtherLeSar Development Consu…CHARITABLE VENTURES OF ORANGE COUNTY: $15,000 · Community ImprovementGREENBELT ALLIANCEPEOPLE FOR OPEN SPACE: $1,500 · Environment
Housing & Shelter$84,000Civil Rights$75,000Other$46,512Community Improvement$15,000Environment$1,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetAbundant Housing LA Education Fund: $50,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetCalifornia Housing Defense Fund: $50,000 over 1y, 36% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BUILDERS INC: $27,500 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetSCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES FIRST: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCHARITABLE VENTURES OF ORANGE COUNTY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCalifornia Hispanic Chambers of Commerce: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetHARBORLIGHT COMMUNITY PARTNERS INC: $6,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGREENBELT ALLIANCEPEOPLE FOR OPEN SPACE: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Silicon Valley Commun…The San Francisco Fou…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA13.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The San Francisco Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 YIMBY funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from California YIMBY. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • Harborlight Community Partners Inc: 6% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
typical government reliance, FY20–24
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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to California YIMBY?

Find your warmest path to California YIMBY through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 10 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2020, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on California YIMBY’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