California · Private foundation
The Brunson Foundation
Dedicated to animal welfare and ethical treatment of all animals. Also, dedicated to promoting human health through medical research and treatment. In addition, dedicated to advancing educational programs for young people. Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the…
- $4.8M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 12
- Grants FY2025
- 7
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 71%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $97,900
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $3,100,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 2 to 16
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 1
- Total assets, FY2025
- $104M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 71% of the organizations The Brunson Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 63% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 37% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $510k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 12 | $4.8M | 50% |
| FY2024 | 7 | $813k | 71% |
| FY2023 | 2 | $2.0M | 100% |
| FY2022 | 16 | $4.8M | 50% |
| FY2021 | 8 | $304k | 63% |
| FY2020 | 7 | $191k | 86% |
| FY2019 | 10 | $169k | 70% |
| FY2018 | 13 | $233k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2018 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of California Irvine Foundation | $3,200,000 | 2 | 1% |
| The Michelson Found Animals Foundation Inc | $3,000,000 | 1 | 25% |
| Michelson Philanthropies Inc | $2,000,000 | 1 | 30% |
| The Cat House on the Kings Inc | $1,047,000 | 2 | 25% |
| Eastwood Ranch Foundation | $445,000 | 3 | 10% |
| Coalition of Pet and Public Safety | $276,926 | 5 | 98% |
| Taco Bell Foundation Inc | $240,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Spay4la Inc | $225,000 | 1 | 24% |
| Child Guidance Center Inc | $158,370 | 3 | 1% |
| Choc Foundation | $150,400 | 1 | 0% |
Show all 48 grantees
What it could do for these grantees
Plus 4 recipients with no EIN on record ($1.3M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
The Brunson Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 4 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 43 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: The Michelson Found Animals Foundation Inc · Petco Love · Best Friends Animal Society · The Duffield Family Foundation Dba Maddie's Fund · Mary Jo and Hank Greenberg Animal Welfare Foundation · Margaret Perenchio Foundation · Petsmart Charities Inc · The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals · Greater Good Charities · Sempra Foundation · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Network for Good
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Brunson Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Brunson 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 Brunson Foundation
- How much does The Brunson Foundation give?
- The Brunson Foundation reported 12 grants totaling $4,803,300 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 2 and 16 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does The Brunson Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2018 to FY2025, its largest causes are Animals (68%), Education (26%), Youth Development (3%).
- Who are The Brunson Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2018 to FY2025: University of California Irvine Foundation ($3.2M), The Michelson Found Animals Foundation Inc ($3.0M), Michelson Philanthropies Inc ($2.0M).
- Does The Brunson Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 71% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Brunson 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 Brunson Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Michelson Found Animals Foundation Inc, Petco Love, Best Friends Animal Society.
- Where is The Brunson Foundation based?
- The Brunson Foundation is based in CA.
Play a game based on Brunson’s filings →