How do I find funders for a public benefit nonprofit in California?

Start with the funders already giving to public benefit in California, currently Musk Foundation, Gates Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Then look at who funds the public benefit organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into California from out of state.

Who is the largest public benefit funder in California?

Musk Foundation gives the most to public benefit organizations in California, $58M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.

How much grant money goes to public benefit in California?

$619M reached 503 public benefit organizations in California, from 1,605 funders. 47% 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 · Public benefit

Who funds public benefit in California

$619M reached 503 public benefit organizations in California, from 1,605 funders, with no single one dominating.

$619M

granted

503

organizations

47%

from in-state

The short version

1,605 funders gave $619M to 503 public benefit organizations in California across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
47% of that came from funders also based in California; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of public benefit in California is Musk Foundation, at $58M.
The public benefit organization drawing the most is The Rand Corporation, at $116M.

Largest funders of public benefit in California

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

1Musk Foundation$58M 2Gates Foundation$29M 3Silicon Valley Community Foundation$28M 4Good Ventures Foundation$27M 5Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$18M 6The California Endowment$18M 7The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation$17M 8National Philanthropic Trust$16M 9California Hospitals Committee on Issues$16M 10Blue Meridian Partners Inc$14M

Public benefit organizations in California that draw the most

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

493 other public benefit organizations$225M

The Rand Corporation$116M Code for America Labs Inc$71M X Prize Foundation Inc$70M Protect Our Healthcare$27M ChangeLab Solutions$25M Blue Star Families Inc$23M PICO California$21M Catalyst California$18M

How to find public benefit funders in California

1
Start with the funders already active in California
The funders giving the most to public benefit in California are Musk Foundation, Gates Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation. A funder already writing public benefit checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the public benefit 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
53% of public benefit money in California comes from funders elsewhere, so national public benefit funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in California.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a public benefit nonprofit in California?: Start with the funders already giving to public benefit in California, currently Musk Foundation, Gates Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Then look at who funds the public benefit organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into California from out of state.
Who is the largest public benefit funder in California?: Musk Foundation gives the most to public benefit organizations in California, $58M across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to public benefit in California?: $619M reached 503 public benefit organizations in California, from 1,605 funders. 47% 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.