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California · Nonprofit

California YIMBY

California YIMBY (California) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $14,678,913 to it, the largest being OPEN PHILANTHROPY ACTION FUND ($8,650,001). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$428k
Funders on record
9
Grants received
$15M
Net assets
$4.5M
3/9 repeat fundersgrants exceed reported revenue in one year
01What it does

What California YIMBY does

Mission

To empower Californians with the knowledge and tools to advocate for more housing and make our state affordable and accessible for everyone.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. California YIMBY education, outreach, and advocacy programIn 2024, California YIMBY successfully sponsored and played a key role in passing major legislation (mentioning six specific bills: SB 1123, SB 937, AB 1820, SB 1211, AB 3057, and AB 2580). These efforts involved multi-faceted campaigns, including coalition building, earned and social media engagement, digital activation, communication materials, and coordination with external partners to support their in-the-building lobbying work. They also supported other non-sponsored, high-priority bills.

    $929,525 spent
    63% of program spending
  2. California YIMBY grasstops partnerships and grassroots organizing programThrough its local elected program, the organization mobilized over 35 local elected officials to support its top priority legislation. This support was provided through sign-on letters, serving as expert witnesses in committee hearings, writing op-eds, and calling legislators.

    $359,680 spent
    24% of program spending
  3. California YIMBY legislative and political programIn 2024, the organization secured over 250 original news articles and opinion pieces in major media outlets. These pieces directly advanced their housing policy legislative agenda in Sacramento, including a series on the abuse of historic preservation to block new homes and coverage of the student housing crisis.

    $181,587 spent
    12% of program spending

The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,470,792.

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. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($440k) Expenses 100 ($130k) Net assets 100 ($310k)2018 Revenue 783 ($3.4M) Expenses 1200 ($1.6M) Net assets 709 ($2.2M)2019 Revenue 1437 ($6.3M) Expenses 2436 ($3.2M) Net assets 1729 ($5.4M)2020 Revenue 205 ($900k) Expenses 2404 ($3.1M) Net assets 1015 ($3.1M)2021 Revenue 804 ($3.5M) Expenses 2220 ($2.9M) Net assets 1227 ($3.8M)2022 Revenue 588 ($2.6M) Expenses 2419 ($3.1M) Net assets 1050 ($3.3M)2023 Revenue 1020 ($4.5M) Expenses 1396 ($1.8M) Net assets 1913 ($5.9M)2024 Revenue 97 ($428k) Expenses 1449 ($1.9M) Net assets 1446 ($4.5M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (97)Expenses (1449)Net assets (1446)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $3.5M to $6.9M (+94%).

$325k
$2.3M
$5.5M
$3.3M
$4.2M
$3.5M
$6.9M
$4.8M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
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
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

100% of California YIMBY’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (37% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 8,334 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$310k
’17
$1.9M
’18
$3.2M
’19
−$2.2M
’20
$657k
’21
−$547k
’22
$2.7M
’23
−$1.4M
’24
27
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

Nat Friedman

Chairman

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed3447771111
Joined·+1+1+3+0+0+4+1
No longer listed·0100001
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $108k → $3.0M.

Funder
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
total
Yimby Actionunclassified
$108k
NPH Action Fundunclassified
$25k
funders
1
2
3
2
3
4
1
2

1 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 9% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of California YIMBY’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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 YIMBY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 59% of grant income and the top three 90%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

95% 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 YIMBY.

59%
largest funder
90%
top three
~2
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 77% · 2019 55% · 2020 96% · 2021 75% · 2022 51% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.

“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

20% of California YIMBY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 33% give in more than one year at all.

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

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

96% of California YIMBY's grant income comes from California funders.

IL
CA

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. $1.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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

Against its field

California YIMBY holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 7,828 housing & shelter nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−338% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve26.6mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)−0% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,828 housing & shelter nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024

Organizations like California YIMBY

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

Nationally

05Profile & governance

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

Where the money goes

78% of spending goes to programs.

Program 78%Management 14%Fundraising 8%

Governance

4
board members
75%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy–Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

CA

Part of a family of 2 related entities

  • California YIMBY Victory Fund PAC · exempt
  • California YIMBY Education Fund · exempt

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for California YIMBY: 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.

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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 YIMBY?
California YIMBY (California) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $14,678,913 to it, the largest being OPEN PHILANTHROPY ACTION FUND ($8,650,001). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does California YIMBY have?
IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $14,678,913 in grants to California YIMBY, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of California YIMBY?
OPEN PHILANTHROPY ACTION FUND is the largest funder on record, with $8,650,001 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like California YIMBY 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 9 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