California · Nonprofit
SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 47 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,537,898 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($1,330,465). 26 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 59% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.1M
- Funders on record
- 47
- Grants received
- $7.5M
- Net assets
- $6.3M
What San Jose Public Library Foundation does
Mission
The san jos public library foundation supports educational programs and resources through the public library, schools, and community-based organizations, to create an educated, equitable, empowered and engaged community.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Build the workforce: these programs help individuals develop careers and facilitate new entries into the workforce, fostering community resilience and economic growth in san jose.
$3,002,425 spentof which $465,173 as grants49% of program spendingEnable lifelong learning: from early childhood education initiatives to adult literacy programs, we believe in the power of education to inspire curiosity, ignite passions, and expand horizons at every stage of life.
$1,822,388 spentof which $1,200,322 as grants30% of program spendingDrive digital empowerment: in the heart of silicon valley, ensuring equitable access to devices, wi- fi, and steam (science, technology, engineering, arts & math) education is a high priority.
$883,945 spentof which $600,685 as grants15% of program spendingPromote diverse arts and culture: support san jose's vibrant culture through diverse arts and culture programs, fostering creativity, preserving heritage, and enriching community life.
$359,311 spentof which $339,055 as grants6% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $6,068,069.
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 2023 to 2024, from $17M to $9.6M (−42%).
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: 2017 15% · 2018 64% · 2019 59% · 2020 20% · 2021 31% · 2022 90% · 2023 43% · 2024 61% · 2025 52%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
96% of SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 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.
Chief executive
Dawn Coppin
CEO
Board chair
Meri Maben
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $240k → $983k.
13 of 47 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 59% 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 JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 47 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 JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 18% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
61% 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 JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 42% · 2018 30% · 2019 51% · 2020 23% · 2021 49% · 2022 39% · 2023 28% — 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
35% of SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 55% 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
59% of SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION'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 $3.1M that is directly attributable, 52% of it comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $4.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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.
Against its field
SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 9,615 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,615 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY 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
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
95%
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 JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY 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 SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION?
- SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 47 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,537,898 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($1,330,465). 26 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 59% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 47 organizations giving $7,537,898 in grants to SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION, 26 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,330,465 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY 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 47 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