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California · Nonprofit

CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION

CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 55 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,442,819 to it, the largest being THE STEPHENS FAMILY FOUNDATION ($1,145,000). 45 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$3.5M
Funders on record
55
Grants received
$4.4M
Net assets
$48M
45/55 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 33%
01What it does

What California Masonic Foundation does

Mission

The California Masonic Foundation's mission is to apply masonic principles in support of education, leadership, and communities through several important programs that touch the lives of thousands each year.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Distressed worthy brother fund was created by masonic homes to provide critical relief to masons and their families.

    $1,222,818 spentof which $1,222,818 as grants
    29% of program spending

  2. Annual college scholarship helps make the dream of college a reality for hundreds of tomorrow's leaders.

    $380,000 spentof which $380,000 as grants
    9% of program spending

  3. Masonic education leadership training (melt) develops future masonic leaders and enriches masonic education through sponsorship of the wardens leadership retreats, lodge management certification program and enhanced education opportunities. The foundation underwrites a great portion of the program expenses each year.

    $340,460 spentof which $340,460 as grants
    8% of program spending

  4. Masonic public education - raising a reader, masons 4mitts, management of scholarships, oversight and encouragement to more than 350 local masonic lodges, sponsor of the annual california teachers of the year, and annual leadership grant to masonic youths.

    $2,343,698 spentof which $1,474,405 as grants
    55% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,286,976.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($5.7M) Expenses 100 ($2.0M) Net assets 100 ($35M)2018 Revenue 108 ($6.2M) Expenses 209 ($4.2M) Net assets 99 ($35M)2019 Revenue 60 ($3.4M) Expenses 136 ($2.8M) Net assets 107 ($38M)2020 Revenue 38 ($2.2M) Expenses 123 ($2.5M) Net assets 111 ($39M)2021 Revenue 83 ($4.7M) Expenses 175 ($3.5M) Net assets 134 ($47M)2022 Revenue 88 ($5.0M) Expenses 135 ($2.7M) Net assets 112 ($40M)2023 Revenue 28 ($1.6M) Expenses 175 ($3.5M) Net assets 112 ($39M)2024 Revenue 70 ($4.0M) Expenses 164 ($3.3M) Net assets 128 ($45M)2025 Revenue 62 ($3.5M) Expenses 242 ($4.9M) Net assets 137 ($48M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (62)Expenses (242)Net assets (137)

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $49M to $41M (−16%).

$35M
$37M
$40M
$41M
$49M
$41M
$40M
$46M
$49M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

$3.7M
’17
$1.9M
’18
$669k
’19
−$329k
’20
$1.2M
’21
$2.3M
’22
−$1.9M
’23
$670k
’24
−$1.4M
’25
3.6
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Board chair

Michael D Thibodeaux

Chairman (thru 10/25)

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Listed161922191819212326
Joined·+3+6+1+1+5+2+9+8
No longer listed·03424075
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 12 funders to 26 funders, grant income rose $120k → $540k.

Funder
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
'25*
total
funders
12
28
30
38
33
34
26
18
6

4 of 55 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 4% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

Left out of every figure on this page: $357k from 3 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest California Masonic Memorial Temple). These are real filings, and they are not money CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION raised.

From the IRS filings of CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 55 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% of grant income, and it takes 7 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 7 funders to its left

71% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION.

26%
largest funder
38%
top three
~11
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 21% · 2018 10% · 2019 14% · 2020 11% · 2021 12% · 2022 10% · 2023 36% — growing more concentrated.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

54% of CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 82% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

100% of CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION's grant income comes from California funders.

CT
CA
TX

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
California out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $179k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Organizations like CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In California

California Masonic Memorial Temple89%Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of California88%California School Boards Foundation85%The Basic Fund83%California State University San Marcos Foundation83%California Scottish Rite Foundation83%California Dental Association Foundation83%Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central Ca83%

Nationally

California Masonic Memorial Temple89%Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of California88%California School Boards Foundation85%Masonic Brotherhood Foundation Inc84%The Basic Fund83%Masonic Charity Foundation of Ct83%California State University San Marcos Foundation83%California Scottish Rite Foundation83%
05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

88% of spending goes to programs.

Program 88%Management 8%Fundraising 4%

Governance

18
board members
94%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

70%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

CA

Part of a family of 5 related entities

  • California Masonic Memorial Temple · exempt
  • Acacia Creek a Masonic Senior Living Community at Union City · exempt
  • Grand Lodge of the Free & Accepted Masons of California · exempt
  • Masonic Homes of California · exempt
  • Nob Hill Masonic Center Inc · corp_trust

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION?
CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 55 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,442,819 to it, the largest being THE STEPHENS FAMILY FOUNDATION ($1,145,000). 45 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION have?
IRS filings report 55 organizations giving $4,442,819 in grants to CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION, 45 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION?
THE STEPHENS FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,145,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like CALIFORNIA MASONIC FOUNDATION find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 55 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing