California · Nonprofit
THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION
THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 86 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,036,643 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($1,308,319). 41 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $7.7M
- Funders on record
- 86
- Grants received
- $5.0M
- Net assets
- $45M
What The Santa Monica College Foundation does
Mission
The Santa Monica College Foundation leads the private fundraising efforts of santa monica college in support of the college's mission to provide open and affordable access to high quality education. The foundation receives, disperses and invests private donations in support of college services and activities and raises annual gifts to initiate programs for the benefit of the college, its students and faculty.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Student programming and assistance: santa monica college's student services programs provide ongoing educational and counseling support to its students. From the veterans' resource center, black collegians program, and latino center to the center for students with disabilities, guardian scholars, and athletics teams, the foundation fundraises and supports the collective efforts to advance the programs. Additionally, the foundation raises funding to advance annual programs to increase enrollment (smc foundation meal project), and acknowledge outstanding achievements (public policy symposiums). Further, emergency relief for students and staff experiencing unforeseen hardship during the la fires was provided by the foundation's ability to secure funds.
$2,043,805 spentof which $2,043,805 as grants62% of program spendingScholarships: in an effort to eliminate financial barriers and to ensure academic success for smc students, the foundation provided $672,055 in scholarships. The awards were designated for qualified students who were incoming freshman, continuing, and transfer students, aiding and supporting them in achieving their higher education goals.
$672,055 spentof which $672,055 as grants20% of program spendingSanta monica college's emeritus program serves a population of older adults with a rich array of courses, free of charge. With over 80 different classes, the emeritus program engages nearly 3,000 students from santa monica and across the los angeles basin, who attend in person and online, continuing their goal as lifelong learners. The foundation serves as the fundraising partner to this program, supporting their efforts to raise money in order to offset the cost of the program not covered by state funding. As such, necessary expenses are directly tied to the support and staffing provided to the program by the foundation.
$377,011 spentof which $377,011 as grants11% of program spendingThe foundation also provides funds to support campus-wide annual events at the college such as vip day, commencement and one-time campus-wide events such as guest lecturers.
$222,438 spent7% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,315,309.
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 2020 to 2021, from $28M to $36M (+29%).
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: 2018 3% · 2019 9% · 2021 0% · 2022 5% · 2023 31% · 2024 3% · 2025 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
54% of THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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
Elizabeth A Moore
CEO/president
Board chair
Margaret Sohagi
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 11 funders to 29 funders, grant income rose $105k → $864k.
15 of 86 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 46% 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 THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 86 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 SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
72% 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 SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 45% · 2018 27% · 2019 43% · 2020 26% · 2021 59% · 2022 27% · 2023 42% — 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
43% of THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% 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
70% of THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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 SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin 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 THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 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
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
73%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Santa Monica College · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 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 THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION?
- THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 86 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,036,643 to it, the largest being CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($1,308,319). 41 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 86 organizations giving $5,036,643 in grants to THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION, 41 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FOUNDATION?
- CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,308,319 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE SANTA MONICA COLLEGE 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 86 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