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Clay Foundation - West at a glance

· Private foundation

Clay Foundation - West

Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$728k
Granted FY2026still arriving
22
Grants FY2026still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
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 2025.

Arts & Culture$1.9MEducation$499kScience & Tech$338kHuman Services$282kHealth$175kYouth Development$173kRecreation & Sports$153kCommunity Improvement$90kOther$0
02FY2026 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $439k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $281k
$30,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$3.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Sebastiani Theatre Foundation$100,000
San Francisco Playhouse$66,300
Marin Theatre Company$65,000
Sonoma Arts Live$50,000
Sonoma Valley Education Found$45,900
Exploratorium$45,000
Cinnabar Theater$40,000
La Luz Center$40,000
Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation$35,000
Chinese American International Scho$30,000
Jack London Park Partners$30,000
American Conservatory Theatre$30,000
Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance$20,000
Smuin Ballet$20,000
Brooks School$20,000
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 (FY17–26, $392k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%La Luz Center: $40k → 9%La Luz Center: $35k → 9%La Luz Center: $30k → 9%La Luz Center: $30k → 9%La Luz Center: $30k → 9%Compass Family Services: $8k → 10%Compass Family Services: $8k → 10%La Luz Center: $20k → 9%Compass Family Services: $8k → 10%Compass Family Services: $8k → 10%Compass Family Services: $8k → 10%Compass Family Services: $8k → 10%Compass Family Services: $5k → 10%Compass Family Services: $3k → 10%Compass Family Services: $3k → 10%Compass Family Services: $3k → 10%Sonoma Community Center: $15k → 9%La Luz Center: $15k → 9%La Luz Center: $15k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $15k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $15k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $15k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $11k → 9%La Luz Center: $10k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $10k → 9%La Luz Center: $10k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $5k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $5k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $5k → 9%Sonoma Community Center: $3k → 9%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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

100%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.4M · 31 repeat orgs$13k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

31 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2026, 9 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

31
2

Total granted

$4.4M
$13k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+19%

Still filing today

71%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
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

  • SF
    San Francisco Playhouse
    10× · 2017–2026 · $653k · revenue +100%
  • SA
    Sonoma Arts Live
    10× · 2017–2026 · $271k · revenue +33%
  • LL
    LA LUZ CENTER
    10× · 2017–2026 · $235k · revenue +30%

Funded once

  • SONOMA VALLEY COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +19%
  • OC
    Oakes Children's Center
    one grant, 2018 · $3k · revenue -85%
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
Sonoma Botanical Garden
—
2
Silicon Valley Shakespeare

Silicon valley shakespeare is innovating the classics through unique and relevant theatrical experiences that illuminate and inspire modern audiences.

Arts & Culture
3
Sebastopol Center for the Arts

Enriching Lives Through the Arts

Arts & Culture
4
San Lorenzo Valley Mountain Community Theater
Arts & Culture
5
San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company

Sfbatco unites artists and audiences through live theatre that is reflective of the authentic perspectives and history of the san francisco bay area.

Arts & Culture
6
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is devoted to building community around art and presents four to five exhibitions per year and offers educational programs and events, actively engaging people of all ages.

Arts & Culture
7
Theatre Bay Area

(cont from page 1) democratic society, and invaluable as a source of personal enrichment and growth.

Arts & Culture
8
San Francisco Film Society

SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM connects and inspires audiences, students and teachers, and filmmakers through our film…

—
9
Marin School of the Arts Foundation

Our mission is to create opportunities for Marin School of the Arts to innovate and support a quality arts education experience for all of its students.

Education
10
The Aurora Theatre Company

Aurora Theatre Company inspires new audiences and longtime theatre lovers alike with the visceral power of live theatre. Our venues, the most intimate professional stages in the Bay Area, highlight great acting, nuanced language, and an…

Arts & Culture
11
Sonoma Valley Education Foundation

The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation exists to improve education by enriching teaching, inspiring learning, and advancing innovative programs that enable every student to succeed.

Philanthropy
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Sonoma Valley Community Health Center; the most unlike its peers is Valley of the Moon Natural History Association. 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

24 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. 24 of the 33 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/24
Grantees still filing
18/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

San Francisco Playhouse: $653,100 · Arts & CultureSan Francisco PlayhouseMarin Theatre Company: $389,400 · Arts & CultureMarin Theatre CompanyTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $275,000 · Arts & CultureTHE EXPLORATORIUMSonoma Arts Live: $271,000 · Arts & CultureSonoma Arts LiveSebastiani Theatre Foundation Inc: $156,000 · Arts & CultureSebastiani Theatre Foundation IncAMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE FOUNDATION: $149,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE FOUNDATIONMAGIC THEATRE INC: $102,500 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $105,500 · Arts & CultureCinnabar Theater: $357,000 · OtherCinnabar TheaterSonoma Valley Education Found: $250,900 · OtherSonoma Valley Educatio…Mission Science Workshop: $123,000 · OtherMission Science Worksh…Sonoma Valley Authors FestivalMarin: $57,500 · OtherSonoma Valley Authors …Reading Partners of the SF Bay Area: $39,000 · Other+6 more: $60,000 · Other+6 moreBROOKS SCHOOL: $180,000 · EducationBROOKS SCHOOLSonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance: $170,000 · EducationSonoma Valley M…CHINESE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: $120,000 · EducationCHINESE AMERICA…UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $80,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF C…Sonoma Speaker Series: $30,450 · Education+1 more: $5,000 · EducationLA LUZ CENTER: $235,000 · Human ServicesLA LUZ CEN…SONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER: $99,000 · Human ServicesSONOMA COM…COMPASS FAMILY SERVICES: $57,500 · Human ServicesCOMPASS FA…VALLEY OF THE MOON NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION: $182,500 · EnvironmentSONOMA VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $135,000 · HealthSAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER: $100,000 · Community Improvement
Arts & Culture$2,102,000Other$887,400Education$585,450Human Services$391,500Environment$182,500Health$135,000Community Improvement$100,000

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 budgetSan Francisco Playhouse: $653,100 over 10y, 2.6% of budgetMarin Theatre Company: $389,400 over 9y, 2.6% of budgetTHE EXPLORATORIUM: $275,000 over 10y, 0.1% of budgetSonoma Arts Live: $271,000 over 10y, 24% of budgetLA LUZ CENTER: $235,000 over 10y, 1.7% of budgetVALLEY OF THE MOON NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION: $182,500 over 10y, 3.0% of budgetBROOKS SCHOOL: $180,000 over 10y, 0.1% of budgetSonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance: $170,000 over 10y, 2.8% of budgetSebastiani Theatre Foundation Inc: $156,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetAMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE FOUNDATION: $149,500 over 10y, 0.1% of budgetSONOMA VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetCHINESE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: $120,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMAGIC THEATRE INC: $102,500 over 7y, 1.9% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER: $100,000 over 10y, 0.3% of budgetSONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER: $99,000 over 10y, 0.9% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 10y, 0.0% of budgetSmuin Ballet: $65,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCOMPASS FAMILY SERVICES: $57,500 over 10y, 0.0% of budgetSonoma Plein Air Foundation: $32,500 over 7y, 1.9% of budgetSonoma Speaker Series: $30,450 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetSONOMA VALLEY COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetValley of the Moon Music Festival: $8,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budget826 Valencia: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOakes Children's Center: $2,500 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.

  • Who funds San Francisco Playhouse ↗
  • Who funds Marin Theatre Company ↗
  • Who funds THE EXPLORATORIUM ↗
  • Who funds Sonoma Arts Live ↗
  • Who funds LA LUZ CENTER ↗
  • Who funds VALLEY OF THE MOON NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds BROOKS SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance ↗
  • Who funds Sebastiani Theatre Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SONOMA VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHINESE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds MAGIC THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds SONOMA COMMUNITY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Smuin Ballet ↗
  • Who funds COMPASS FAMILY SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds Sonoma Plein Air Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Sonoma Speaker Series ↗
  • Who funds SONOMA VALLEY COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Valley of the Moon Music Festival ↗
  • Who funds 826 Valencia ↗
  • Who funds Oakes Children's Center ↗

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.

McNabb FoundationMarin Community Found…Sonoma County Communi…Simon Blattner Family…The Vadasz Family Fou…Gaia FundThe San Francisco Fou…Sanderson Family Foun…John Christopher Bunt…Khr McNeely Family Fo…Jewish Community Fede…The Ayco Charitable F…
McNabb FoundationDE27.5× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: McNabb Foundation · Marin Community Foundation · Sonoma County Community Foundation · Simon Blattner Family Foundation · The Vadasz Family Foundation · Gaia Fund · The San Francisco Foundation · Sanderson Family Foundation · John Christopher Bunting Foundation · Khr McNeely Family Foundation · Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin & Sonoma · The Ayco Charitable 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 Clay Foundation - West funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Clay Foundation - West. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 33 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-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Clay Foundation - West’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