California · Nonprofit
THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC
THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC (California) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,825,013 to it, the largest being B QUEST ($635,000). 14 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.1M
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $1.8M
- Net assets
- $3.9M
What The Childrens Initiative Inc does
Mission
The Childrens Initiative, Inc. (the Organization) was established in 1992, by five local San Diego foundations and more than 40 community and public leaders, to serve as an advocate and custodian for effective policies, programs and services that support the health and well-being of children, youth and families in San Diego County. The Organization seeks to improve outcomes for children and youth in health, education, safety, and economic security. The Organization builds and sustains strategic alliances with all sectors of the community, providing direct operational and organizational support and technical assistance to community-based programs, government institutions, schools and businesses. The Organizations principal activities involve education, community safety and community health.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Community SafetyThe Organization works to increase community safety and healthy families by developing and strengthening positive youth development and juvenile justice prevention and intervention strategies, programs and policies. The Organization convenes local stakeholders and national experts to improve our systems of care by incorporating national best practices in policies, programs and service delivery in San Diego. We work with both government entities and community providers to ensure youth and families are receiving supportive services in their communities that promote positive youth development, strong families and safe communities. To support efforts in preventing and responding to child abuse and neglect, the Organization facilitates the San Diego County Board of Supervisor Child and Family Strengthening Advisory Board. The Organization works to support best practices in child abuse prevention and family strengthening and to develop cross- sector collaboration in the child welfare system to ensure the safety and well-being of children and families.
$919,213 spent$240,033 earned by the program46% of program spendingCommunity healththe organization develops and produces the san diego children & families data hub on children families, and community. The data hub presents trend data of 25 health and well-being indicators for children, youth and families that together present a snapshot the health of san diego children. In addition to providing data, the data hub provides nationally recognized best practices in prevention/intervention and recommendations for specific actions for improvement in san diego county. The organization also facilitates the childhood injury prevention program providing trainings for parents and childcare providers on injury prevention strategies to make homes and communities safer and healthier for young children. This program provides low-income parents and families with home safety kits (I.e. Smoke and carbon dioxide monitors, cabinet/drawer latches, and electric plug rotectors), health/safety resources and other safety equipment (I.e. Car seats, carbon monoxide).
$573,628 spent28% of program spendingEducationIn collaboration with the San Diego County Office of Education and San Diego County local school districts, the Organization provides leadership and oversight to the San Diego County Expanded Learning Consortium, supporting expanded learning (before-, after-, and summer school) programs by providing professional development, technical assistance, and supplies/resources.
$522,050 spent$1,683,150 earned by the program26% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,014,891.
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 2022 to 2023, from $3.6M to $4.3M (+19%).
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: 2019 8% · 2020 1% · 2021 1% · 2022 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
8% of THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (82% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Sandra Mcbrayer
CEO
Board chair
William Lansdowne
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 9 funders to 3 funders, grant income fell $541k → $115k.
4 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 2% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $281k from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The San Diego Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC raised.
From the IRS filings of THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 22 of 24 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
THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 35% of grant income and the top three 73%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
30% 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 THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 57% · 2018 63% · 2019 57% · 2020 40% · 2021 63% · 2022 79% · 2023 87% — growing more concentrated.
“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
39% of THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC'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
57% of THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $44k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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
THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 1,504 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,504 philanthropy nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $8.3M on record.
- Department of Justice$8.3M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC
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
96% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
71%
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 THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC: 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 THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC?
- THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC (California) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,825,013 to it, the largest being B QUEST ($635,000). 14 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $1,825,013 in grants to THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC, 14 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC?
- B QUEST is the largest funder on record, with $635,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE CHILDRENS INITIATIVE INC 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 24 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