Skip to content
Munger Tolles & Olson Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Munger Tolles & Olson Foundation

Donations to organizations described in sections 501(c)(3) and 170(c) of the internal revenue code.

$3.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
54
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$1.9M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Civil Rights$4.2MCrime & Legal$3.3MEducation$663kCommunity Improvement$240kArts & Culture$231kHealth$208kFood & Nutrition$188kYouth Development$187kOther$0
02FY2024 · 54 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 54 grants below total $3,245,076, the rows itemized in this filing. The $3,312,076 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $67,000 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k41 grants · $752k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $566k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.9M
$18,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation$1,883,592
LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS OF THE SAN FRA$242,005
BET TZEDEK$100,000
EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS$93,000
CALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS$80,000
LEGAL AID FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES$51,000
WESTERN JUSTICE CENTER FOUNDATION$35,000
ACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA$32,500
CITY OF HOPE$25,000
JUSTICE IN AGING$25,000
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES INC$25,000
LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW$25,000
TEACH DEMOCRACY$25,000
YOUTH IMPROVING NON-PROFITS FOR CHILDREN$25,000
WESTERN CENTER ON LAW AND POVERTY INC$25,000
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 (FY20–24, $120k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%DOWNTOWN WOMEN'S CENTER: $18k → 14%DOWNTOWN WOMEN'S CENTER: $15k → 14%DOWNTOWN WOMEN'S CENTER: $13k → 14%DOWNTOWN WOMEN'S CENTER: $10k → 14%YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN L: $8k → 14%YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN L: $8k → 14%UNITED FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN: $10k → 14%UNITED FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN: $10k → 14%YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN: $10k → 14%UNITED FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN: $10k → 14%SKECHERS FOUNDATION: $10k → 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
NY
NV
PA
NJ
CA
MD
DC
MS
AL
GA
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.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.2M · 63 repeat orgs$3.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

63 repeat relationships: 44 still active in FY2024, 19 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

63
44

Total granted

$6.2M
$1.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+24%

Still filing today

97%
95%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 38% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Crime & LegalCivil RightsEducationArts & CultureHealthPhilanthropyOther
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

  • AF
    ACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
    5× · 2020–2024 · $867k · revenue +15%
  • CC
    CALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS
    5× · 2020–2024 · $481k · revenue +65%
  • LC
    Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
    5× · 2020–2024 · $332k · revenue +64%

Funded once

  • LA
    LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN DEBATE COMMISSION
    one grant, 2020 · $250k · revenue -56%
  • CV
    CHARITABLE VENTURES OF ORANGE COUNTY
    one grant, 2021 · $160k · revenue -20%
  • EL
    EDUCATION LAW CENTER INC
    one grant, 2021 · $140k · revenue +2%
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
Legal Aid Association of California

The Legal Aid Association of California, the statewide membership of legal services nonprofits, serves its members through advocacy and other support in efforts to provide legal assistance to low-income Californians and ensure access to…

—
2
Los Angeles County Bar Association (Lacba)

Meeting the professional needs of los angeles lawyers, and improving the administration of justice.

—
3
Counsel for Justice

CFJ promotes access to justice for underserved communities seeking to assert their legal rights. Our pro bono-based projects bridge the gap for underserved communities seeking safety, stability, and justice. CFJ engages volunteer attorneys…

—
4
Asian Law Caucus

The Asian Law Caucus's mission is to promote, advance, and represent the legal and civil rights of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist…

Crime & Legal
5
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…

—
6
Equal Justice Center

The Equal Justice Center is a non-profit law firm and employment justice organization which empowers low-income families, workers, and communities to achieve fair treatment in the workplace, in the justice system, and in our shared society…

Civil Rights
7
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
8
Lawyers for Civil Justice

The purposes for which the corporation is organized are to provide a means for defense trial lawyers and others to be heard, state a position and motivate reform of the United States civil justice system. See Schedule O

—
9
California Western School of Law

California western school of law is an independent, aba/aals and wasc senior college and university commission (wscuc) accredited s.d. law school that prepares graduates for the practice of law through a carefully sequenced program of…

Education
10
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
11
Association of Legal Administrators

Ala is the catalyst for growth by providing: diverse educational experiences, engaged peer communities, strategic solutions, dynamic resources, and trusted networks.

—
12
The Bar Association of San Francisco

The bar association of san francisco champions equal access to justice and promotes humanity, excellence, and diversity in the legal profession. we provide legal services to disadvantaged and underserved individuals in san francisco. we…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is California Changelawyers; the most unlike its peers is Henry E Huntington Library and Art Gallery. 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

111 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. 111 of the 118 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)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
111/111
Grantees still filing
77/111
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $1,883,592 · Civil RightsAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUND…ACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $866,753 · Civil RightsACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORN…+13 more: $446,700 · Civil Rights+13 moreEQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $414,580 · Crime & LegalEQUAL JUSTICE WORKSLegal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: $274,000 · Crime & LegalLegal Aid Foundation o…AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE: $200,000 · Crime & LegalAMERICAN LAW INSTITUTEPUBLIC COUNSEL: $150,000 · Crime & LegalPUBLIC COUNSELWESTERN JUSTICE CENTER FOUNDATION: $135,000 · Crime & LegalWESTERN JUSTICE CENTER…Inner City Law Center: $127,000 · Crime & LegalInner City Law CenterWestern Center on Law & Poverty Inc: $125,000 · Crime & LegalWestern Center on Law …THE CONNIE RICE INSTITUTE FOR URBAN PEACE: $100,000 · Crime & LegalAmerican Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education: $82,500 · Crime & LegalSILICON VALLEY CAMPAIGN FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $75,000 · Crime & Legal+13 more: $316,929 · Crime & Legal+13 moreLawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area: $332,005 · OtherLawyers Committee for Civil Rights …BET TZEDEK: $240,000 · OtherBET TZEDEKLawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: $145,000 · OtherLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $114,500 · OtherHeartland Alliance for Human Needs and Rights: $107,384 · Other+55 more: $2,117,300 · Other+55 moreLOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN DEBATE COMMISSION: $250,000 · EducationEDUCATION LAW CENTER INC: $140,226 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY LAW LIBRARY: $85,000 · EducationAppellate Project Inc: $75,000 · EducationYLEANA LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $26,125 · Education+3 more: $45,225 · EducationCALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS: $481,300 · Social ScienceCHARITABLE VENTURES OF ORANGE COUNTY: $160,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: $40,000 · Community ImprovementRACE FORWARD: $30,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY COALITION FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT: $30,000 · Community ImprovementSTREET LAW INC: $10,000 · Community ImprovementPASADENA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $125,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $65,000 · PhilanthropyST BALDRICK'S FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION COUNCIL OF GREATER LA: $30,000 · PhilanthropyGIANTS COMMUNITY FUND: $9,200 · Philanthropy+1 more: $5,500 · Philanthropy
Civil Rights$3,197,045Crime & Legal$2,000,009Other$3,056,189Education$621,576Social Science$481,300Community Improvement$270,000Philanthropy$264,700

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 budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $1,883,592 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetACLU FOUNDATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $866,753 over 5y, 4.8% of budgetCALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS: $481,300 over 5y, 8.8% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE WORKS: $414,580 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetLawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area: $332,005 over 5y, 4.6% of budgetLegal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: $274,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetLOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN DEBATE COMMISSION: $250,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetBET TZEDEK: $240,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE: $200,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCHARITABLE VENTURES OF ORANGE COUNTY: $160,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPUBLIC COUNSEL: $150,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetLawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: $145,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetEDUCATION LAW CENTER INC: $140,226 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetWESTERN JUSTICE CENTER FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetInner City Law Center: $127,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetPASADENA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $125,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetWestern Center on Law & Poverty Inc: $125,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetLOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK: $114,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHeartland Alliance for Human Needs and Rights: $107,384 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: $100,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetA MILTON MILLER MEMORIAL FUND INC: $95,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $92,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNeighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County: $89,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART LOS ANGELES: $85,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetJUSTICE IN AGING: $85,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSouthern Center for Human Rights: $85,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY LAW LIBRARY: $85,000 over 5y, 9.2% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY SERVICES INC: $84,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetAmerican Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education: $82,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCAIR-FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: $75,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetYOUTH IMPROVING NON-PROFITS FOR CHILDREN: $75,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetSILICON VALLEY CAMPAIGN FOR LEGAL SERVICES: $75,000 over 5y, 8.7% of budgetAppellate Project Inc: $75,000 over 3y, 3.8% of budgetNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES: $75,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: $65,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED JEWISH APPEAL-FEDERATION OF JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF NEW YORK INC: $65,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe Rand Corporation: $60,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY CENTER OF THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO: $60,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetEQUALITY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE: $56,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetPUBLIC ADVOCATES INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HONORABLE TINA BROZMAN FDTN INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetDOWNTOWN WOMEN'S CENTER: $55,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK: $50,150 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTeach Democracy: $50,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGIFFORDS LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: $45,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER: $45,000 over 2y, 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.

The Sidley Austin Fou…The Morrison & Foerst…The Gibson Dunn & Cru…The Wilson Sonsini Go…California Changelawy…The Ralph M Parsons F…The California Endowm…Equal Justice WorksLittler Mendelson Fou…California Community …The California Wellne…Weingart Foundation
The Sidley Austin FoundationIL48.3× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Sidley Austin Foundation · The Morrison & Foerster Foundation · The Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Foundation · The Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation · California Changelawyers · The Ralph M Parsons Foundation · The California Endowment · Equal Justice Works · Littler Mendelson Foundation Inc Attn Tax Manager · California Community Foundation · The California Wellness Foundation · Weingart 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 Munger Tolles & Olson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Munger Tolles & Olson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%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
    1get no government money at all
    40report 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 118 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Munger Tolles & Olson’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