California · Nonprofit
PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION
PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,500 to it, the largest being ROBERT & ELIZABETH FERGUS FOUNDATION ($5,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2020
- $72k
- Funders on record
- 2
- Grants received
- $7k
- Net assets
- $129k
What Palo Alto Recreation Foundation does
Mission
The Palo Alto Recreation Foundation was created to assist the city of palo alto recreation division in sponsoring and funding programs and special events to promote the social, cultural and recreational needs of palo alto residents and visitors.
As stated on its FY2020 Form 990.
Program
Community recreation programs and social/cultural activities benefiting the greater palo alto community.
The first program described on its most recent Form 990, which lists programs largest first by expense.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $89k to $129k (+44%).
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.
82% of PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (39% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 4 reported years ran a deficit.
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.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2020: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $5k → $2k.
From the IRS filings of PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION’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
PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 77% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 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.
Where its funders are
PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION draws 77% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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.
Against its field
PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 11,774 recreation & sports nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,774 recreation & sports nonprofits under $100k, FY2020
Organizations like PALO ALTO RECREATION 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
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
99% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PALO ALTO RECREATION 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.
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 PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION?
- PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,500 to it, the largest being ROBERT & ELIZABETH FERGUS FOUNDATION ($5,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $6,500 in grants to PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION.
- Who is the largest funder of PALO ALTO RECREATION FOUNDATION?
- ROBERT & ELIZABETH FERGUS FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PALO ALTO RECREATION 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 FY2020 (financials across 2017–2020), and the filings of 2 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