California · Nonprofit
SAM FIRST
SAM FIRST (California) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $60,500 to it, the largest being THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION ($50,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $461k
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $61k
- Net assets
- $148k
What Sam First does
Mission
The mission of Sam First is to provide a vibrant center for regional, national, and international practitioners of jazz and to foster the growth and engagement of the jazz community in los angeles.as a space designed without an elevated stage, we seek to remove the boundary between performers and audiences to promote in-person collaboration, the formation of new relationships, and the creation of original music that takes risks and pushes boundaries.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Sam First is a nonprofit jazz club in the westchester neighborhood of los angeles, near the lax airport. Grammy-winning musician billy childs has called us "an essential part of the la music scene an important part of the cultural landscape of this city."we present live jazz five nights a week, every week. Artists perform two sets nightly (7:30 pm; 9:30 pm). Annually, we present 259 shows (518 sets), support 760+ musicians, and engage 15,000+ audience members in-person and via livestream through performances, a weekly community jam session, and our record label.we engage musicians in our community through our weekly tuesday happenings series - hosted primarily by grammy-nominated musician gerald clayton. Each tuesday, the house band plays a set; the second set is opened to community members who join the house band and participate in a community jam session (developing their artistry). We have everyone from first-timers on stage to professionals - all of whom have become regulars for these weekly nights, which have taken on a special culture of their own. We create an inclusive atmosphere that encourages the playfulness and relational community aspect of jazz.we also have our Sam…
The first program described on its most recent Form 990, which lists programs largest first by expense.
Who funds it, year by year
Grant support over time, funder by funder — shade shows the grant size each year.
From the IRS filings of SAM FIRST’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
SAM FIRST leans on a few funders — its largest provides 83% of grant income and the top three 99%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
“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
SAM FIRST draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 3 states in all.
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
SAM FIRST runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like SAM FIRST
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
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SAM FIRST: 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 SAM FIRST?
- SAM FIRST (California) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $60,500 to it, the largest being THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION ($50,000). 0 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SAM FIRST have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $60,500 in grants to SAM FIRST.
- Who is the largest funder of SAM FIRST?
- THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $50,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SAM FIRST 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 2024–2024), and the filings of 4 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