How do I find funders for a community development nonprofit in California?

Start with the funders already giving to community development in California, currently The California Endowment, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, The Chicago Community Trust. Then look at who funds the community development organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into California from out of state.

How much grant money goes to community development in California?

$1.3B reached 1,105 community development organizations in California, from 2,260 funders. 50% came from funders also based in California.

How recent is this data?

It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

Funding · California · Community development

Who funds community development in California

Community development funding in California is unusually spread out: no single organization draws even 12%, though Policylink leads, and the money reaches 1,105 groups.

$1.3B

granted

1,105

organizations

50%

from in-state

The short version

2,260 funders gave $1.3B to 1,105 community development organizations in California across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
50% of that came from funders also based in California; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of community development in California is The California Endowment, at $87M.
The community development organization drawing the most is Policylink, at $141M.

Largest funders of community development in California

The funders giving the most to community development organizations in California, in-state and out. Pick one for its dossier.

1The California Endowment$87M 2Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$69M 3The Chicago Community Trust$45M 4Freedom Together Foundation$41M 5Blue Meridian Partners Inc$39M 6The James Irvine Foundation$37M 7The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation$36M 8Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc$35M 9California Community Foundation$35M 10Silicon Valley Community Foundation$33M

Community development organizations in California that draw the most

Sized by grant dollars received. Pick one to see exactly who funds it.

1,095 other community development organizations$755M

Policylink$141M Community Partners$101M Movement Strategy Center$81M Common Counsel Foundation$74M

How to find community development funders in California

1
Start with the funders already active in California
The funders giving the most to community development in California are The California Endowment, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, The Chicago Community Trust. A funder already writing community development checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the community development organizations on this page that resemble yours in size or work, and look at who funds them. Shared funders are the strongest signal of fit.
3
Add the out-of-state funders reaching in
50% of community development money in California comes from funders elsewhere, so national community development funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in California.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a community development nonprofit in California?: Start with the funders already giving to community development in California, currently The California Endowment, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, The Chicago Community Trust. Then look at who funds the community development organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into California from out of state.
Who is the largest community development funder in California?: The California Endowment gives the most to community development organizations in California, $87M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to community development in California?: $1.3B reached 1,105 community development organizations in California, from 2,260 funders. 50% came from funders also based in California.
How recent is this data?: It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the two years with complete coverage. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

More from the funding graph

The regranting layer

51% of grant dollars pass through an intermediary

The DAF merry-go-round

$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds

Strange bedfellows

the named clusters of US funding

The camps

funders cluster by geography, not ideology

State money flows

the interactive map of money crossing state lines

Giving abroad

which US foundations fund each country

Cause is the recipient's NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File; location is the recipient's state on its most recent filing. Grant figures are read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, among recipients resolved by EIN. Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.