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California · Private foundation

The Bravo Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$398k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
17
Grants FY2025
33
Organizations funded FY2024
36%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$25,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$50,000
Organizations funded a year
18 to 40
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
1
Total assets, FY2025
$14M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 36% of the organizations The Bravo Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 26% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $158k 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 ServicesEducationArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHealthRecreation & SportsOther
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 arriving17$398k6%
FY202433$598k36%
FY202340$581k33%
FY202218$200k22%
FY202125$319k12%
FY202030$380k47%
FY201929$394k72%
FY201835$498k69%
95% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Youth Development$762kEducation$559kHousing & Shelter$414kHealth$371kHuman Services$283kArts & Culture$223kPublic Safety & Disaster$200kFood & Nutrition$182kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
OR
NV
IN
PA
CA
NC
DC

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 81 grantees
All grantees of The Bravo Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Community Development Projects Inc$210,00087%
Outdoor Outreach$151,00072%
Orange County Rescue Mission Inc$129,50060%
Women in Animation Inc$128,500619%
American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches$110,00030%
Girls Leading Girls$91,10056%
Boys & Girls Club of Carson Inc$85,00051%
Girls Rising$80,000511%
Fresh Start Surgical Gifts$80,00051%
Juma Ventures Inc$75,00050%
Emilio Nares Foundation$75,00042%
The Freedom Writers Foundation$75,00052%
Summer Search$65,00040%
Feeding San Diego$65,00050%
Homeboy Industries$60,00030%
Homeless Prenatal Program Inc$55,00020%
Girls Leadership Institute Inc dba Girls Leadership$50,00041%
Ocean Discovery Institute$50,00030%
Casa Cornelia Legal Services$45,00021%
Words Alive$45,00041%
Mama's Kitchen$45,00031%
San Diego Council on Literacy$45,00025%
St Anne School$40,00050%
Pure Game$39,00038%
Community Resource Center$37,50030%
Proyecto Pastoral$32,00020%
Families Forward$30,00030%
Saving Jane Inc$30,000251%
Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County Inc$30,00021%
Episcopal Community Services$30,00020%
Boys and Girls Club of Vista Inc$30,00021%
Teach for America Inc$30,00020%
United States Soccer Federation$30,00020%
Casa de Amistad Centro de Ensenanza$25,00022%
Catholic Charities San Bernardino & Riverside Counties$25,00020%
Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank$22,00020%
Coastal Roots Farm$20,00021%
Alma Backyard Farm$20,00024%
Centro Las Olas$20,0001n/a
International Rescue Committee INC$20,00010%
Elementary Institute of Science$20,00021%
Workshops for Warriors Inc$20,00020%
United States Soccer Foundation Inc$18,50020%
Biocom Institute$18,00031%
Spark Sf Public Schools$16,00010%
Interfaith Community Services Inc$15,00010%
Mano A Mano$15,00012%
transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project$15,00016%
San Diego Public Library Foundation$15,00010%
Downtown Women's Center$15,00010%
Dance Brigade$15,00011%
California State University San Marcos Foundation$15,00010%
Crisis House$15,00010%
San Diego Children's Discovery Museum$15,00011%
Promises2kids Foundation$12,50010%
UNIDOS South OC Inc$10,00023%
Operation Homefront Inc$10,00010%
Ntc Foundation$10,00010%
Mana de San Diego$10,00012%
A Second Chance Charitable Foundation$10,000119%
Leah's Pantry$10,00011%
Sister League of San Diego Inc$10,00013%
St Vincent de Paul Village Inc$10,00010%
St Vincent Depaul$10,0001n/a
Escondido Community Child Development Center$10,00010%
Burn Institute$10,00011%
United Way of San Diego County$10,00010%
Dressember Foundation$10,00010%
YWCA of San Diego County$10,00010%
Hack the Hood Inc$10,00010%
Wesley House Student Residence Inc$9,00013%
House of Mexico$7,50019%
Los Angeles Lgbt Center$6,00020%
Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center Inc$5,00012%
All Girls STEM Society$5,0002n/a
Pacific Arts Movement$5,00011%
Palomar Health Foundation$5,00010%
Outside the Lens$5,00010%
Center for Community Solutions$5,00010%
Reading Legacies$5,00011%
Vista Unified School District$2,5001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 40 recipients with no EIN on record ($969k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The Bravo Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 77 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCommunity Development Projects Inc: $210,000 over 8y, 6.7% of budgetOutdoor Outreach: $151,000 over 7y, 2.0% of budgetOrange County Rescue Mission Inc: $129,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetWomen in Animation Inc: $128,500 over 6y, 19% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $110,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGirls Leading Girls: $91,100 over 5y, 5.5% of budgetBoys & Girls Club of Carson Inc: $85,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetGirls Rising: $80,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetFresh Start Surgical Gifts: $80,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetJuma Ventures Inc: $75,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetEmilio Nares Foundation: $75,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetThe Freedom Writers Foundation: $75,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetSummer Search: $65,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFeeding San Diego: $65,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHomeboy Industries: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHomeless Prenatal Program Inc: $55,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGirls Leadership Institute Inc dba Girls Leadership: $50,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetOcean Discovery Institute: $50,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCasa Cornelia Legal Services: $45,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWords Alive: $45,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetMama's Kitchen: $45,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSan Diego Council on Literacy: $45,000 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetSt Anne School: $40,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPure Game: $39,000 over 3y, 8.4% of budgetCommunity Resource Center: $37,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetProyecto Pastoral: $32,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFamilies Forward: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSaving Jane Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 51% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetEpiscopal Community Services: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBoys and Girls Club of Vista Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUnited States Soccer Federation: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCasa de Amistad Centro de Ensenanza: $25,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetCatholic Charities San Bernardino & Riverside Counties: $25,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetJacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank: $22,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCoastal Roots Farm: $20,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetAlma Backyard Farm: $20,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetElementary Institute of Science: $20,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetWorkshops for Warriors Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUnited States Soccer Foundation Inc: $18,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBiocom Institute: $18,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetSpark Sf Public Schools: $16,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetInterfaith Community Services Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMano A Mano: $15,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgettranscenDANCE Youth Arts Project: $15,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetSan Diego Public Library Foundation: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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 77.

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.

The San Diego FoundationCA59.2× affinity33 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The San Diego Foundation · Price Philanthropies Foundation · The Conrad Prebys Foundation · David C Copley Foundation · The Parker Foundation · The Nordson Corporation Foundation · Sempra Foundation · Walter J & Betty C Zable Foundation · Rancho Santa Fe Foundation · The Cushman Foundation · Samuel I & John Henry Fox Foundation · Pratt Memorial Fund

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 The Bravo Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Bravo Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Bravo Foundation 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 The Bravo Foundation

How much does The Bravo Foundation give?
The Bravo Foundation reported 17 grants totaling $397,500 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 18 and 40 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does The Bravo Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Youth Development (20%), Education (15%), Housing & Shelter (11%).
Who are The Bravo Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Community Development Projects Inc ($210k), Outdoor Outreach ($151k), Orange County Rescue Mission Inc ($130k).
Does The Bravo Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 36% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Bravo Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Bravo Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The San Diego Foundation, Price Philanthropies Foundation, The Conrad Prebys Foundation.
Where is The Bravo Foundation based?
The Bravo Foundation 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 122 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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