How do I find funders for a science nonprofit in California?

Start with the funders already giving to science in California, currently Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation. Then look at who funds the science organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into California from out of state.

Who is the largest science funder in California?

Silicon Valley Community Foundation gives the most to science organizations in California, $1.5B across the 2022 and 2023 filings.

How much grant money goes to science in California?

$4.8B reached 691 science organizations in California, from 2,700 funders. 56% 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 · Science

Who funds science in California

One funder dominates the giving, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, at 30% of the total.

$4.8B

granted

691

organizations

56%

from in-state

The short version

2,700 funders gave $4.8B to 691 science organizations in California across the FY2022 and FY2023 IRS filings.
56% of that came from funders also based in California; the rest reached in from out of state.
The largest funder of science in California is Silicon Valley Community Foundation, at $1.5B.
The science organization drawing the most is Navigation Charitable Fund, at $1.3B.

Largest funders of science in California

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

1Silicon Valley Community Foundation$1.5B 2Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund$332M 3Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation$197M 4Musk Foundation$131M 5Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc$124M 6The Brinson Foundation$101M 7National Philanthropic Trust$80M 8Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation$75M 9Good Ventures Foundation$68M 10Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program$65M

Science organizations in California that draw the most

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

681 other science organizations$1.6B

Navigation Charitable Fund$1.3B California Institute of Technology$788M The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University$309M

How to find science funders in California

1
Start with the funders already active in California
The funders giving the most to science in California are Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation. A funder already writing science checks in your state is the warmest place to begin.
2
See who funds organizations like yours
Open the science 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
44% of science money in California comes from funders elsewhere, so national science funders are worth approaching even if they are not based in California.

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a science nonprofit in California?: Start with the funders already giving to science in California, currently Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation. Then look at who funds the science organizations on this page that resemble yours, and add the national funders reaching into California from out of state.
Who is the largest science funder in California?: Silicon Valley Community Foundation gives the most to science organizations in California, $1.5B across the 2022 and 2023 filings.
How much grant money goes to science in California?: $4.8B reached 691 science organizations in California, from 2,700 funders. 56% 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 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 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

Each grant is placed by its stated purpose and the recipient's mission, falling back to the recipient's IRS activity category where that is unclear; 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.