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California · Public charity

San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc

The SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS WISH BOOK FUND INC. Supports local charity organizations and individuals in silicon valley and surrounding counties with a series of holiday-season articles about some of their specific needs.

$1.2M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
41
Grants FY2025
46
Organizations funded FY2024
52%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$25,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$60,000
Organizations funded a year
20 to 84
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
1
Total assets, FY2025
$397k

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 52% of the organizations San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 60% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 40% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $760k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthEducationFood & NutritionHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving41$1.2M32%
FY202446$1.3M52%
FY202359$1.9M31%
FY202284$1.4M82%
FY202121$998k62%
FY202027$611k52%
FY201924$434k92%
FY201820$499k90%
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$2.2MHealth$1.6MFood & Nutrition$1.3MHousing & Shelter$1.0MEducation$531kYouth Development$523kEmployment$332kCrime & Legal$194kOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 207 grantees
All grantees of San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen$169,92841%
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley$159,23842%
First Place for Youth$152,72230%
The Health Trust$142,60550%
Hearts & Minds Activity Center$139,86742%
Beyond Emancipation$129,35742%
Martha's Kitchen$126,00021%
Shine Together Inc$116,28042%
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County$110,00020%
Healthier Kids Foundation$109,90031%
Lifemoves$108,96430%
Swords to Plowshares Veterans Rights Organization$107,00040%
Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley$100,05011%
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley$96,96120%
Pivotal Connections$95,00012%
Shelter Inc$94,00040%
Bay Area Community Health$88,17820%
Hunger at Home$88,00021%
Immigration Institute of the Bay Area$87,84831%
Sunnyvale Community Services$87,50030%
Silicon Valley Independent Living Center$84,70032%
Opportunity Junction Inc$83,00041%
Easter Seals Central California$82,00012%
Homefirst Services of Santa Clara County$71,00010%
Battle Tested Kids INC$69,500318%
Sourcewise$65,53930%
District Council of Contra Costa County Society of St Vincent de Paul Diocese$65,41430%
Mbolden Change$65,00025%
Youth Science Institute$64,17825%
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region$64,00021%
Service Opportunity for Seniors$62,52521%
Jacobs Heart Childrens Cancer Support Services$62,00022%
Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa$62,00031%
Cityteam Ministries$60,05020%
Live in Peace$60,00012%
Coastal Kids Home Care$60,00011%
California Community Opportunities Inc$60,00011%
Sunday Friends Foundation$60,00032%
Center for Employment Training$60,00010%
Pajaro Valley Shelter Services$59,00015%
Valley Health Foundation (Vhf)$58,50020%
Ecumenical Hunger Program$57,82111%
West Valley Community Services of Santa Clara County Inc$56,00020%
South County Compassion Center$56,00018%
African American Community Service Agency$55,24312%
Alum Rock Counseling Center Inc$55,00020%
Friends of Independence Network Students Inc$55,0001n/a
Fostering Promise$55,00019%
Hopes Corner Inc$54,94429%
Via Rehabilitation Services Inc$54,45031%
Valley Churches United$54,40022%
Bill Wilson Center$54,00020%
Abode Services$52,50020%
Homeless Garden Project$52,45522%
Bay Area Womens Sports Initiative$51,55033%
Winter Nights Family Shelter Inc$50,08425%
Thiebaut Method$50,050111%
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano$50,00310%
San Jose Day Nursery$50,00012%
California Clubhouse DBA Aspire House$50,00017%
Shopmonkey Foundation AKA Maintenance for Moms$50,000141%
Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice and Enpowerment$50,00011%
San Jose State University Research Foundation$50,00010%
Paralyzed Veterans of America Bay Area &$50,000114%
The Tower Foundation of San Jose State University$50,00010%
Lions Center for the Visually Impaired Inc$49,60033%
Bay Area Crisis Nursery$49,00031%
Paws In Need$47,72129%
Civicorps$47,68220%
College of Adaptive Arts$47,50022%
Healthright 360$47,50010%
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program$45,62032%
Showerhouse Ministries$45,1224n/a
Meals on Wheels Contra Costa Inc$45,00011%
Helping Hands Silicon Valley$45,000135%
Jobtrain Inc$42,50020%
Trinity Center Walnut Creek$42,50031%
Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County$42,00041%
Reading Partners$41,31930%
Auxiliary of the Good Samaritan Hospital of Santa Clara Valley$40,000125%
Peninsula Food Runners Inc$40,00012%
Friends for Youth Inc$40,00013%
The Berkeley Friends Church$39,5003n/a
White Pony Express$39,00020%
Cristo Rey San Jose High School$39,00010%
Recovery Cafe San Jose$38,47523%
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center$38,00020%
Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford$37,50010%
Open Heart Kitchen of Livermore Inc$37,00021%
Goodness Village$37,00031%
Lita of Contra Costa$36,5003n/a
Foothill-Deanza Community Colleges Foundation$36,02520%
Womensv$36,00016%
Avenidas$36,00020%
The Asian Americans for Community Involvement of Santa Clara County Inc$35,00010%
Horizon Services Inc$35,00010%
School of Arts and Culture at Mhp$35,00011%
Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley$35,00017%
The Alliance for Community Wellness DBA La Familia Counseling Services$35,00010%
Rubicon Programs Inc$35,00010%
Portuguese Organization for Social Services and Opportunities$34,00013%
The Dreampower Foundation$33,60015%
Pink Ribbon Good Inc$32,50010%
Resource Area for Teaching$32,50011%
Trust for Hidden Villa$32,50011%
East Bay Innovations Inc$32,41020%
Senior Coastsiders Inc$31,50012%
Early Alert Canines$31,32533%
Young Men's Christian Association of Silicon Valley$31,23020%
Bay Area Furniture Bank$31,18017%
Abilitypath Housing$31,0001n/a
Parents Helping Parents Inc$31,00021%
Tri-City Volunteers Inc$31,00011%
Insight Housing FKA Berkeley Food and Housing Project$30,60420%
St Vincents Day Home$30,39920%
Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area$30,00031%
Peninsula Family Connections$30,00013%
Lincoln$30,00020%
The Heal Project$30,00014%
Live Oak Adult Day Services$30,00013%
Community Services Agency of Mountain View Los Altos and Los Altos Hills Inc$30,00020%
Bay Area Rescue Mission$29,00020%
The Network of Care$28,000126%
East Bay Childrens Law Offices Inc$28,00020%
Good Karma Bikes Inc$27,50013%
National Ambucs Inc$27,3151n/a
Loved Twice$26,98614%
Grateful Gatherings$26,50031%
Life Services Alternatives Inc$26,32010%
Pacific Hearing Connection$26,222117%
Wehope$26,18011%
Legal Assistance for Seniors$26,02121%
Child Advocates of Silicon Valley Inc$25,30021%
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence$25,00011%
Path$25,00010%
Hope Services$25,00010%
Latinas Contra Cancer$25,00016%
Abilitypath$25,00010%
Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley$25,00011%
Berkeley Baby Book Project$25,000222%
Cancer Carepoint Inc$25,00011%
United Effort Organization Inc$25,0001n/a
Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley$25,00011%
Camp Kaleidoscope$25,00017%
Brighter Beginnings$24,50020%
The Peninsula College Fund$24,00011%
Heart of the Valley Services for Seniors Inc$24,000119%
Housing Choices Coalition for Persons With Developmental Disabilities Inc$23,12110%
Pitstop Outreach$22,500135%
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula$21,60010%
Caminar$21,00010%
St Francis Center of Redwood City$20,61110%
Jasper Ridge Farm$20,05015%
Sacred Heart Nativity School$20,0001n/a
Friends of Grace Baptist Community Center$20,0001n/a
Empowered Aging Inc$20,0001n/a
Schmahl Science Workshops Inc$20,00014%
Pacific Autism Center for Education$20,00010%
Animal Assisted Happiness Inc$19,44014%
Tri-Valley Haven For Women$19,00020%
Las Trampas School Inc$17,90020%
Sunflower Hill$17,44912%
Monument Impact$17,24410%
First Presbyterian Church San Jose$16,9001n/a
Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired$16,75020%
Society of St Vincent de Paul Particular Council of San Mateo Inc$16,50010%
Learning & Loving Education Center$16,00014%
Rising Sun Center for Opportunity fka RISING SUN ENERGY CENTER$16,00020%
Achievekids$16,00010%
Futures Explored Inc$15,56810%
Front Porch Communities Foundation$15,00010%
Breakthrough Silicon Valley$15,00011%
Easy Does It Emergency Services Program$15,00011%
Girls on the Run of the Bay Area Inc$15,00012%
Onroute22$15,000157%
We Care Services For Children$14,00010%
Hijas del Campo$14,00014%
Low-Income Self-Help Center$13,5801n/a
Live Earth Farm Discovery Program$12,95912%
Lupus Foundation of Northern California$12,50014%
Berkeley Food Network$12,00013%
Contra Costa Crisis Center$12,00010%
Centro Legal de la Raza$11,74010%
City of Richmond Ca$11,5001n/a
Veterans Accession House$11,50012%
Veggielution$11,4002n/a
Science Is Elementary Inc$11,05023%
Hers Breast Cancer Foundation$11,00012%
Far West Wheelchair Athletic Association Incorporated$10,50013%
San Jose Grail Family Services$10,00011%
Breathe California of the Bay Area Golden Gate and Central Coast$10,00011%
Pathways Home Health and Hospice$10,00010%
Options Recovery Services$10,00010%
Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County$9,00011%
Eden I & R Inc$9,00010%
City of San Jose$8,4001n/a
Hively$8,00010%
Assistance League of Diablo Valley$8,00011%
First Baptist Head Start$8,0001n/a
Mental Health Association of San Francisco$8,00010%
Monumental Toy Drive$8,000123%
City of Hayward$8,0001n/a
Womens Cancer Resource Center$8,00010%
Acts of Grace Bay Area Foundation$7,0001n/a
Happy Hollow Foundation$5,00011%
County of Santa Clara$1251n/a
Shop With a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley$501n/a

Plus 3 recipients with no EIN on record ($103k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 5 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 187 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLoaves & Fishes Family Kitchen: $169,928 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetJewish Family Services of Silicon Valley: $159,238 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetFirst Place for Youth: $152,722 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetThe Health Trust: $142,605 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetHearts & Minds Activity Center: $139,867 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetBeyond Emancipation: $129,357 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetMartha's Kitchen: $126,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetShine Together Inc: $116,280 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetCatholic Charities of Santa Clara County: $110,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHealthier Kids Foundation: $109,900 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetLifemoves: $108,964 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSwords to Plowshares Veterans Rights Organization: $107,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHabitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley: $100,050 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSecond Harvest of Silicon Valley: $96,961 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPivotal Connections: $95,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetShelter Inc: $94,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetBay Area Community Health: $88,178 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHunger at Home: $88,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetImmigration Institute of the Bay Area: $87,848 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSunnyvale Community Services: $87,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetSilicon Valley Independent Living Center: $84,700 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetOpportunity Junction Inc: $83,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetEaster Seals Central California: $82,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetHomefirst Services of Santa Clara County: $71,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBattle Tested Kids INC: $69,500 over 3y, 18% of budgetSourcewise: $65,539 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetDistrict Council of Contra Costa County Society of St Vincent de Paul Diocese: $65,414 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetMbolden Change: $65,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetYouth Science Institute: $64,178 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetMeals on Wheels Diablo Region: $64,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetService Opportunity for Seniors: $62,525 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetJacobs Heart Childrens Cancer Support Services: $62,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetLoaves and Fishes of Contra Costa: $62,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetCityteam Ministries: $60,050 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLive in Peace: $60,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetCoastal Kids Home Care: $60,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCalifornia Community Opportunities Inc: $60,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSunday Friends Foundation: $60,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetCenter for Employment Training: $60,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPajaro Valley Shelter Services: $59,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetValley Health Foundation (Vhf): $58,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetEcumenical Hunger Program: $57,821 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetWest Valley Community Services of Santa Clara County Inc: $56,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSouth County Compassion Center: $56,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetAfrican American Community Service Agency: $55,243 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetAlum Rock Counseling Center Inc: $55,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetFostering Promise: $55,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetHopes Corner Inc: $54,944 over 2y, 8.9% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 187.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Los Altos Mountain View Community FoundationCA105.2× affinity53 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation · Kaiser Foundation Hospitals · The Sobrato Family Foundation · Destination Home SV co Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Sunlight Giving · East Bay Community Foundation · Second Harvest of Silicon Valley · The Health Trust · United Way of the Bay Area · Valley Health Foundation (Vhf) · Sutter Bay Hospitals · Heffernan Group 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.

Compare San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc?

Find your warmest path to San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc 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.

About San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc

How much does San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc give?
San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc reported 41 grants totaling $1,238,594 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 20 and 84 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Human Services (25%), Health (19%), Food & Nutrition (15%).
Who are San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen ($170k), Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley ($159k), First Place for Youth ($153k).
Does San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 52% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, The Sobrato Family Foundation.
Where is San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc based?
San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Fund Inc is based in CA.

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 212 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

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