California · Nonprofit
SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY
SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY (California) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,444,771 to it, the largest being THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ($867,250). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 65% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.7M
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $1.4M
- Net assets
- $1.7M
What San Diego Regional Fire & Emergency does
Mission
To strengthen the system of fire and emergency services in san diego county. The foundation seeks strong & effective emergency services to provide quality fire protection and emergency services throughout san diego county; to give fire and emergency svc providers access to basic equipment, training and training materials; to facilitate multi-jurisdictinal coordination and cooperation; and to educate citizens about fire preparedness & safety precautions they can take & about the system of fire & emergency services.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
To provide basic fire and medical equipment and training needed by firefighters, the foundation conducts an annual grant program for all fire departments in san diego county, with an emphasis on those which are in underserved communities where the tax basis is not adequate to enable the acquisition of needed equipment. The foundations goal is for all residents to have the same level of service without regard to where they live and to strengthen the weakest link in our countys system of emergency and medical services. Due to the high risk of wildfires in our county resulting from the regions arid condition, rough terrain, heavy fuels and strong winds, it is critical that all fire agencies work effectively together, we cannot afford a weak link.
$1,666,205 spentof which $1,604,602 as grants63% of program spendingTo achieve the foundations ultimate goal of san diego being the safest county in the country, it is imperative to take action to prevent fires, as well as having top caliber fire departments to respond when there is a fire. To achieve this objective, the foundation partners with the regional fire safe council (fsc) and over 40 local community based fscs. With foundation grants, these local fscs identify fire-risk areas in their communities, perform brush management, provide chipping services and dumpsters for residents making their properties fire safe. In addition, community education sessions are held informing residents of actions needed to make their property safer, and what to do and what to take with them if they must evacuate their homes.
$846,415 spentof which $769,410 as grants32% of program spendingThree interrelated community issues are 1) lack of young people entering the fire services as a career, 2) fire department personnel lack the diversity of the community they service, and 3) young adults graduating from high school in disadvantaged communities often lack knowledge and awareness about fire career opportunities. Working with high schools and fire chiefs, the fire foundation is developing a high school curriculum to provide students with basic firefighting and medical background, knowledge, and experience to prepare them to become emts (emergency medical technicians) and qualified to enter the fire service at age 18. Additionaly scholarships are provided to attend a fire academy or paramedic school to low income young adults.
$129,701 spentof which $114,300 as grants5% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,642,321.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $773k to $1.7M (+125%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 9% · 2021 6% · 2022 37% · 2023 65% · 2024 70% · 2025 77%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 6 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.
Board chair
Frank Ault
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 4 funders, grant income fell $92k → $63k.
4 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 65% 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 SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 11 of 12 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
SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 60% of grant income and the top three 83%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
93% 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 SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 74% · 2019 78% · 2020 72% · 2021 34% · 2022 46% · 2023 65% — diversifying over time.
“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
80% of SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% give in more than one year at all.
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
65% of SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $509k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $936k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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.
Organizations like SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY
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
98% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
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 SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY: 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 SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY?
- SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY (California) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,444,771 to it, the largest being THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION ($867,250). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 65% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $1,444,771 in grants to SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY?
- THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $867,250 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SAN DIEGO REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY 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 2020–2025), and the filings of 12 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing