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Robert V and Laraine M Sanford Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert V and Laraine M Sanford Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$17k
Granted FY2024still arriving
3
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Religion$567kAnimals$267kPhilanthropy$156kYouth Development$87kEducation$37kArts & Culture$37kHuman Services$20kRecreation & Sports$13kOther$0
02FY2024 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$2k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Save A Child Foundation$10,000
Orcat Inc$5,000
Lassen Park Foundation$2,000
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 (FY20–20, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Vita Forte Foundation: $3k → 12%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

ME
NY
NJ
CT
CA
CO
MO
DC
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 14 repeat orgs$54k to everyone else

14 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 12 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
16

Total granted

$1.1M
$49k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+32%

Still filing today

50%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 71% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationAnimalsYouth DevelopmentReligionInternationalPhilanthropyOther
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
    Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County
    7× · 2017–2023 · $261k · revenue +88%
  • RC
    RANCHO CIELO INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $85k · revenue +63%
  • PP
    Paraphrase Productions
    3× · 2017–2019 · $32k · revenue +21% · 29% of their budget

Funded once

  • SO
    Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation
    one grant, 2017 · $18k · revenue -47%
  • MP
    MONTEREY PENINSULA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $5k · revenue -29%
  • MP
    Monterey Peninsula College Foundation
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue -3%
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
Monterey County Film Commission

To inspire and facilitate film and media production throughout monterey county, creating positive economic impact.

Arts & Culture
2
Monterey County Interfaith Alliance
—
3
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
4
Santa Catalina School

Santa catalina school exists to develop in each student a striving for excellence, a maturing awareness of moral and spiritual values, a sense of responsible purpose, and a determination to serve the world with courage, grace, and…

Education
5
Paso Pacifico

We apply principles of ecology to ensure that our innovative programs integrate advances in scientific and economic understanding to ensure the viability of coastal forests and the livelihoods of the people who live in them.

Animals
6
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.

Environment
7
Marin Academy

Marin academy asks every individual to think, question, and create in an environment of encouragement and compassion, and challenges each person to accept the responsibilities posed by education in a democratic society.

Education
8
The International School of San Francisco

Guided by the principles of academic rigor and diversity, the international school of san francisco offers programs of study in french and english to prepare its graduates for a world in which the ability to think critically and to…

Education
9
San Diego Christian College

San Diego Christian College exists to educate and inspire students through the truth of scripture and the development of competencies that prepare graduates whose purpose is to impact the world.

Education
10
Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association

Our mission is to support california farmers and communities by providing farmers markets for our diverse bay area neighborhoods. we do this by operating certified farmers markets in six bay area counties. these farmers markets provide…

—
11
Pitzer College

Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity.…

Education
12
Alaska Whale Foundation

Alaska Whale Foundation is dedicated to marine mammal conservation through research monitoring and education.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Monterey Peninsula College Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Trinity Christian High School. 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

22 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. 22 of the 31 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)
19/22
Grantees still filing
13/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Shoreline Community Church: $396,000 · OtherShoreline Community ChurchCommunity Foundation for Monterey C: $150,500 · OtherCommunity Foundation for Monterey CParaphrase Productions: $32,000 · Other+14 more: $43,245 · Other+14 moreSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County: $261,427 · AnimalsSociety for the Preventio…+2 more: $6,000 · AnimalsORGANIC OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL INC: $170,000 · ReligionORGANIC OUTREACH…+1 more: $1,000 · ReligionRANCHO CIELO INC: $85,000 · Youth Development+2 more: $4,500 · Youth DevelopmentSentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation: $18,000 · EducationTrinity Christian High School: $9,000 · EducationMonterey Peninsula College Foundation: $5,150 · EducationPALMA SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $5,000 · EducationMONTEREY PENINSULA FOUNDATION: $5,350 · PhilanthropyEL SISTEMA USASALINAS INC: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$621,745Animals$267,427Religion$171,000Youth Development$89,500Education$37,150Philanthropy$5,350Arts & Culture$5,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County: $261,427 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetORGANIC OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL INC: $170,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetRANCHO CIELO INC: $85,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetParaphrase Productions: $32,000 over 3y, 29% of budgetSentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation: $18,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTrinity Christian High School: $9,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetLASSEN PARK FOUNDATION: $8,200 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetMONTEREY PENINSULA FOUNDATION: $5,350 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMonterey Peninsula College Foundation: $5,150 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEL SISTEMA USASALINAS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPALMA SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetORCAT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR MONTEREY COUNTY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARKETPLACE MEETS MISSION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBREAST CANCER ASSISTANCE GROUP: $150 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWreaths Across America: $75 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Monterey Peninsula Fo…Small World Foundatio…Community Hospital of…Pebble Beach Company …The Ayco Charitable F…Silicon Valley Commun…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…
Monterey Peninsula FoundationCA17.7× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Monterey Peninsula Foundation · Small World Foundation (Previously Known as Bright Star Foundation) · Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula · Pebble Beach Company Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc

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 Robert V and Laraine M Sanford Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert V and Laraine M Sanford Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%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
    5report 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 31 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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    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