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The Manzanita Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Manzanita 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.

$228k
Granted FY2024still arriving
5
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$1.6MEducation$1.2MHealth$901kArts & Culture$505kAnimals$335kScience & Tech$225kCommunity Improvement$120kSocial Science$51kOther$0
02FY2024 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $3k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $225k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES$75,000
CANCER ANGELS OF SAN DIEGO$50,000
SAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM$50,000
THE COMFORT CUB$50,000
FACE FOUNDATION$3,000
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 (FY24–24, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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%THE COMFORT CUB: $50k → 11%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.
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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.8M · 9 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
19

Total granted

$3.8M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+23%

Still filing today

56%
68%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k 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
HealthAnimalsArts & CultureEducationScience & TechPublic BenefitOther
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

  • SD
    SAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $505k · revenue +16%
  • CA
    Cancer Angels of San Diego
    6× · 2018–2024 · $489k · revenue +101% · 31% of their budget
  • RC
    RANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY
    5× · 2017–2023 · $285k · revenue +141%

Funded once

  • US
    UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $400k · revenue +45%
  • SH
    SCRIPPS HEALTHgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $250k · revenue +37%
  • UP
    UNLEASH PROSPERITY INC
    one grant, 2021 · $120k · revenue +23%
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 Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
2
University of Southern California

The central mission of the university of southern california is the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. the principal means by which our mission is…

Education
3
San Diego Humane Society and Spca

Create a more humane world by inspiring compassion, providing hope and advancing the welfare of animals and people.

Animals
4
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

At la jolla institute for immunology, our scientists focus on understanding how the immune system works in order to promote human health and prevent disease. our discoveries apply to many diseases, ranging from diabetes to heart disease,…

—
5
California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy

To harness the power of the human immune system and advanced computing technologies to create and translate scientific discoveries into next generation vaccines and therapies for prevention, control and cure of chronic diseases, enabling…

Health
6
600 Million Stray Dogs Need You Corporation

To end the #1 cause of suffering and death for dogs and cats globally, by developing food that will spay and neuter them, without surgery and end the overpopulation problem without killing.

Animals
7
San Diego Biomedical Research Institute

The SDBRI mission is to find new ways to predict and prevent cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disease, neurological disorders and HIV infection, and to accelerate medical advances that maintain health and improve quality of life.

Health
8
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

To ensure every companion animal has access to quality medical care, compassionate shelter, and a loving home.

Animals
9
Santa Barbara Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Santa barbara humane operates two campuses located in santa barbara and santa maria providing care for community-owned and homeless animals. both campuses offer affordable high quality veterinary care, compassionate behavior training…

Animals
10
The Peregrine Fund Inc

To change the future for nature and humanity by conserving birds of prey worldwide.

—
11
Doheny Eye Institute

To further the conservation, improvement and restoration of human eyesight" (mrs. doheny - 1947).

—
12
Amazing Dogs

Our mission is to save dogs in distressing conditions on both sides of the California/Mexican border. We provide them with essential medical treatment and care to help them regain their health, and ultimately match them with loving homes…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Uc San Diego Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Saving America's Mustangs. 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

19 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. 19 of the 29 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/19
Grantees still filing
12/19
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BELLA DAKOTA FOUNDATION: $1,894,177 · OtherBELLA DAKOTA FOUNDATIONTHE COMFORT CLUB: $295,000 · OtherTHE COMFORT CLUBCommittee to Unleash Properity: $91,000 · Other+12 more: $280,500 · Other+12 moreCancer Angels of San Diego: $488,500 · HealthCancer Angels of Sa…SCRIPPS HEALTH: $250,000 · HealthSCRIPPS HEALTHTHE FOUNDATION FOR AIDS RESEARCH: $50,000 · HealthTHE FOUNDATION FOR …ANGEL FLIGHT WEST INC: $48,394 · HealthANGEL FLIGHT WEST I…+1 more: $14,000 · HealthSAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC: $504,500 · Arts & CultureSAN DIEGO AI…THE AYN RAND INSTITUTE THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF OBJECTIVISM: $51,466 · Arts & CultureTHE AYN RAND…UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $400,000 · EducationUC SAN DI…SAVING AMERICA'S MUSTANGS: $25,000 · EducationSAVING AM…RANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $285,000 · AnimalsThe Bulldog Club of America Charitable Fund: $20,000 · Animals+1 more: $5,000 · AnimalsThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $225,000 · Science & TechUNLEASH PROSPERITY INC: $120,000 · Public Benefit
Other$2,560,677Health$850,894Arts & Culture$555,966Education$425,000Animals$310,000Science & Tech$225,000Public Benefit$120,000

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 budgetSAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC: $504,500 over 7y, 5.2% of budgetCancer Angels of San Diego: $488,500 over 6y, 31% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $400,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRANCHO COASTAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $285,000 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetSCRIPPS HEALTH: $250,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies: $225,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNLEASH PROSPERITY INC: $120,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetTHE AYN RAND INSTITUTE THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF OBJECTIVISM: $51,466 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetThe Comfort Cub Program Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetTHE FOUNDATION FOR AIDS RESEARCH: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetANGEL FLIGHT WEST INC: $48,394 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSean Eduardo Sanchez SES Tennis Center: $36,000 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetSAVING AMERICA'S MUSTANGS: $25,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetFREEDOMWORKS FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION INC: $14,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetYORKIE911 RESCUE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetWhole Child International: $1,000 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.

Aerospike Foundation …Jewish Community Foun…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Aerospike Foundation IncNY15.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Aerospike Foundation Inc · Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 The Manzanita Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Manzanita Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%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
    1report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Manzanita Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Manzanita 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.

    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 29 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

    Play a game based on Manzanita’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