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

· Public charity

Catalyst California

CATALYST CALIFORNIA advocates for racial justice by building power and transforming public systems.

$670k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$378k
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 Benefit$3.4MCivil Rights$1.4MHuman Services$1.2MCommunity Improvement$1.0MHealth$108kYouth Development$106kEnvironment$105kEducation$68kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $602,436, the rows itemized in this filing. The $669,587 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $67,151 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 · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $22k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $203k
  • $250k+1 grant · $378k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CALIFORNIA CALLS EDUCATION FUND$377,736
CALIFORNIANS FOR JUSTICE$153,000
CALIFORNIA BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER$50,000
TIDES ADVOCACY$7,700
ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITIES$7,000
OC ACTION$7,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $1.4M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 46% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%JUNTOS: $10k → 22%FIRST 5 ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA: $6k → 10%PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW AMERICANS: $12k → 11%TIDES CENTER: $63k → 10%PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW AMERICANS: $12k → 11%PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW AMERICANS: $8k → 11%TODEC LEGAL CENTER: $17k → 11%CHILDREN NOW: $85k → 10%CA CHILD CARE RESOURCE & REFERRAL NETWORK: $30k → 10%HOUSING CALIFORNIA: $15k → 12%HOUSING CALIFORNIA: $9k → 12%CHILDREN NOW: $23k → 10%TIDES CENTER - DREAM DEFENDERS: $500k → 10%HOUSING CALIFORNIA: $8k → 12%COLEMAN ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH: $25k → 10%STRATEGIC CONCEPTS IN ORGANIZING & POLICY: $60k → 14%INNERCITY STRUGGLE: $133k → 14%INNERCITY STRUGGLE: $10k → 14%INNERCITY STRUGGLE: $227k → 14%INNERCITY STRUGGLE: $34k → 14%INNERCITY STRUGGLE: $15k → 14%INNERCITY STRUGGLE: $7k → 14%THE CHILDREN'S PARTNERSHIP: $50k → 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

IL
PA
CA
AZ
TN
DC
LA
MS
FL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 8% of Catalyst California’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Catalyst Californialessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.4M · 34 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +77% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 30 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
46

Total granted

$6.4M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+77%
+15%

Still filing today

97%
85%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $14k 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
Civil RightsHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementPublic BenefitYouth DevelopmentCrime & LegalOther
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

  • CC
    CALIFORNIA CALLS EDUCATION FUND
    7× · 2018–2025 · $2.4M · revenue +49%
  • CALIFORNIA BUDGET & POLICY CENTER
    4× · 2022–2025 · $725k · revenue +88%
  • IS
    INNERCITY STRUGGLE
    6× · 2018–2024 · $427k · revenue +27%

Funded once

  • FR
    FM3 RESEARCH
    one grant, 2022 · $164k
  • PC
    POWER CALIFORNIA
    one grant, 2024 · $115k · revenue 0%
  • EB
    East Bay Alliance For A Sustainable Economygraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $115k · revenue +25%
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
Jobs with Justice San Francisco

A long-term, strategic alliance of labor, community, faith-based, and student organizations working together to build greater economic power for workers and community members through employee rights at work and access to good jobs,…

Employment
2
California Forward

Ca fwd drives action to identify solutions that can be taken to scale to meet the challenges the state is facing. the organization is driven by the belief that regional solutions across the state will help ensure economic, environmental,…

Public Benefit
3
California Donor Table

California Donor Table anchors a hub of donors, foundations, and community leaders. We pool together our resources to shape California into a truly democratic state that works for the people, not the powerful. Rooted in our commitment to…

Civil Rights
4
California Center for Movement Legal Services

The California Center for Movement Legal Services (Movement Legal) provides legal services in the pursuit of improving the lives of California's traditionally underserved residents, carrying out legal work that fosters community led policy…

Crime & Legal
5
Cooperation L a

The L.A. Co-op Lab is a collective that builds capacity for worker ownership in Los Angeles as a pathway toward a more equitable and democratic economy.

Arts & Culture
6
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
7
American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

The american civil liberties union of northern california (aclu nc union) defends and advances the principles of freedom, equality and justice contained in the united states constitution. aclu nc union, a california mutual benefit…

—
8
Coalition for Responsible and Equitable Economic Development Los Angeles

To ensure that the workers in the construction industry in Los Angeles are highly trained and professional. The organization seeks the creation of good jobs, safety for workers, health care and a secure retirement for working families.

Community Improvement
9
Centro Legal De La Raza

Centro Legal De La Raza is a comprehensive legal services agency protecting and advancing the rights of low-income immigrant communities throguh culturally competent bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy.

Crime & Legal
10
Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy

CAUSE's mission is to build grassroots power to realize social, economic and environmental justice for the people of the Central Coast Region through policy research, leadership development, organizing and advocacy.

Community Improvement
11
Mid-City Community Advocacy Network

Mid-city community advocacy network works to build a safe, productive, and healthy community for the residents of city heights and greater san diego through collaboration, advocacy, and organizing.

Community Improvement
12
Water Education for Latino Leaders

Well educates and trains local latino elected officials about california water policy to promote timely and equitable actions that serve to develop a robust economy, healthy communities, and a resilient environment for all californians.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cangress Dba Los Angeles Community Action Network; the most unlike its peers is Regional Educational and Environmental Program. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

77 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. 77 of the 85 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
26
Early backer (in before they grew)
77/77
Grantees still filing
55/77
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CALIFORNIA CALLS EDUCATION FUND: $2,426,887 · Civil RightsCALIFORNIA CALLS EDUCATION FUNDCalifornians For Justice Education Fund: $335,750 · Civil RightsCalifornians For Justice Education FundMI FAMILIA EN ACCION: $116,401 · Civil Rights+15 more: $285,279 · Civil Rights+15 moreTIDES CENTER: $562,525 · Human ServicesTIDES CENTERINNERCITY STRUGGLE: $426,986 · Human ServicesINNERCITY STRUGGLECHILDREN NOW: $108,236 · Human ServicesCHILDREN NOWStrategic Concepts In Organizing & Policy Education: $60,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN'S PARTNERSHIP: $50,000 · Human Services+8 more: $162,386 · Human Services+8 moreCOMMUNITY COALITION FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT: $280,347 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY COAL…COMMUNITY PARTNERS: $235,626 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY PART…FAITH IN ACTION NETWORK: $156,403 · Community ImprovementFAITH IN ACTIO…POWER CALIFORNIA: $115,000 · Community ImprovementPOWER CALIFORN…LA VOICE: $90,500 · Community ImprovementLA VOICECANGRESS DBA LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK: $63,832 · Community ImprovementCANGRESS DBA L…Fresno Building Healthy Communities: $60,000 · Community ImprovementFresno Buildin…+2 more: $27,000 · Community ImprovementCALIFORNIA BUDGET & POLICY CENTER: $725,000 · EducationCALIFORNIA…+4 more: $63,000 · Education+4 moreFM3 RESEARCH: $164,000 · OtherFM3 RESEARCHTIDES ADVOCACY: $122,700 · OtherTIDES ADVOCACYNALEO EDUCATIONAL FUND: $116,401 · OtherNALEO EDUCATIONAL …EAST YARD COMMUNITIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: $58,400 · OtherCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherCALIFORNIA COMMUNI…KHMER GIRLS IN ACTION: $135,900 · OtherKHMER GIRLS IN ACT…COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS CALIFORNIA: $104,615 · OtherCOUNCIL ON AMERICA…LOS ANGELES ALLIANCE FOR A NEW ECONOMY: $60,000 · OtherPACOIMA BEAUTIFUL: $46,428 · Other+22 more: $439,907 · Other+22 moreASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $212,052 · Crime & LegalLEGACY LA YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CORP: $20,900 · Crime & LegalAsian Law Caucus: $20,750 · Crime & LegalCALIFORNIA RURAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE INC: $20,750 · Crime & LegalEQUALITY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE: $127,018 · Public BenefitEast Bay Alliance For A Sustainable Economy: $115,000 · Public BenefitOne Voice: $10,000 · Public BenefitPoder in Action: $10,000 · Public Benefit+1 more: $7,150 · Public Benefit
Civil Rights$3,164,317Human Services$1,370,133Community Improvement$1,028,708Education$788,000Other$1,348,351Crime & Legal$274,452Public Benefit$269,168

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCALIFORNIA CALLS EDUCATION FUND: $2,426,887 over 7y, 7.9% of budgetCALIFORNIA BUDGET & POLICY CENTER: $725,000 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetTIDES CENTER: $562,525 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetINNERCITY STRUGGLE: $426,986 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetCalifornians For Justice Education Fund: $335,750 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetCOMMUNITY COALITION FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT: $280,347 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $235,626 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $212,052 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetFAITH IN ACTION NETWORK: $156,403 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetKHMER GIRLS IN ACTION: $135,900 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetEQUALITY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE: $127,018 over 3y, 5.3% of budgetTIDES ADVOCACY: $122,700 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMI FAMILIA EN ACCION: $116,401 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetNALEO EDUCATIONAL FUND: $116,401 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetPOWER CALIFORNIA: $115,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetEast Bay Alliance For A Sustainable Economy: $115,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetCHILDREN NOW: $108,236 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetCOUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS CALIFORNIA: $104,615 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetCALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLA VOICE: $90,500 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetCOALITION FOR HUMANE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS: $65,936 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCANGRESS DBA LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK: $63,832 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetLOS ANGELES ALLIANCE FOR A NEW ECONOMY: $60,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetStrategic Concepts In Organizing & Policy Education: $60,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetFresno Building Healthy Communities: $60,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetEAST YARD COMMUNITIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: $58,400 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S PARTNERSHIP: $50,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetPACOIMA BEAUTIFUL: $46,428 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION: $42,875 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetBLACK WOMEN FOR WELLNESS: $40,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetSOCIAL JUSTICE LEARNING INSTITUTE: $35,800 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetADVANCING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER: $33,400 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetLOS ANGELES BROTHERHOOD CRUSADE - BLACK UNITED FUND INC: $33,400 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF NONPROFITS: $32,536 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetDISABILITY RIGHTS CALIFORNIA: $32,536 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHOUSING CALIFORNIA INC: $32,536 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW AMERICANS: $32,250 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetCalifornia Child Care Resource and Referral Network: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGRANTMAKERS CONCERNED WITH IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES: $25,750 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $25,307 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetColeman Children and Youth Services dba Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCASA OF LOS ANGELES: $22,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR LOS ANGELES SCHOOLS: $22,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND: $22,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDUCATION FUND: $21,375 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetLEGACY LA YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CORP: $20,900 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetMALDEF - MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND: $20,750 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAsian Law Caucus: $20,750 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

The California Endowm…The James Irvine Foun…The California Wellne…Weingart FoundationAmalgamated Charitabl…California Community …NEO Philanthropy IncTides FoundationLiberty Hill Foundati…Community PartnersMarguerite Casey Foun…Common Counsel Founda…
The California EndowmentCA61.3× affinity33 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The California Endowment · The James Irvine Foundation · The California Wellness Foundation · Weingart Foundation · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · California Community Foundation · NEO Philanthropy Inc · Tides Foundation · Liberty Hill Foundation · Community Partners · Marguerite Casey Foundation · Common Counsel 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 Catalyst California funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Catalyst California. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    28report 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 85 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Catalyst California’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