Search Through Marin County Grants for Nonprofits in California

Vision

While talent may be spread evenly throughout humanity, opportunity is not. Comis Foundation envisions that every child has access to opportunities to not only succeed in life, but to thrive.

Mission

Comis Foundation invests in organizations that provide opportunity and access to equip children with skills to explore, learn, and thrive in their chosen communities.

Guiding Principles

Comis Foundation has 5 principles which guide our focus: We work to build relationships of mutual trust with our grantees; We value sustainable systems and solutions; We are not experts, we want to learn and enable learning; We are willing to accept risk when warranted to achieve greater impact; We value both new and established ways of serving communities.

Area of Interest

Comis Foundation supports programs and policy work that drive improvements in educational outcomes for children and youth. We are interested in programs that support the community as well as children and youth directly. We embrace the whole child concept of full community engagement to drive better outcomes for the child and our society at large.

Comis Foundation Grant

Pilot and Proof of Concept: $5,000 – $25,000

• New programs within existing organizations, standalone new organizations just getting off the ground, or testing new approaches within a current scope
• Smaller-scale research or data collecting project or other similar short-duration investigations
• Timeframe is single-year; multi-year research or evaluation projects will not be considered under this program

Capacity Building and Innovation: $25,000 up to $75,000 per year

• Capacity building for organizations, including but not limited to staff professional development, strategic planning, leadership development, and supplemental expertise (e.g., communications)
• General operating support for innovative organizations. We consider the concept of innovation broadly: organizations that create opportunity for children to explore, learn and thrive are by definition innovative until all children can engage with the world through the same set of opportunities.
• Multi-year research or evaluation projects will be considered under this program, particularly as a pre-cursor to scaling innovative programs
• Multi-year grants will be considered under this program at $25,000 – $75,000 per year

Background

We empower courageous leaders and visionary artists who make a positive impact in their communities and inspire others to change the world.

Principles Guiding Our Grantmaking

The Gerbode Foundation supports projects that:

• Inform and empower communities by utilizing all forms of media and communication tools to advance truth;
• Advocate at the local, state or federal level for policy changes that improve social and economic outcomes for communities most in need;
• Mobilize action to change existing policies and practices that perpetuate inequality or discrimination; and
• Leverage key public, private, and philanthropic stakeholders in collaborations or coalitions that strengthen communities.

We look for organizations that are led by exceptional leaders, are fiscally sound, and have the potential to leverage our investment with other resources. We also maintain our founder’s entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit by looking for new opportunities to innovate, using unconventional approaches whenever appropriate.

The grants generally range from $2,500 to $100,000, depending on the scope of the project, whether it clearly fits within the Foundation’s programmatic priorities, and other internal factors that influence our funding decisions. An average size grant is $25,000.

Program Areas

• Advancing Truth
  • Truth is power. Gerbode seeks to elevate the voices of truth to counter misinformation.
  • We look to partner with organizations that use media and new technologies as tools to inform and engage the public on critical issues, as well as influence change in current policies and practices that cause harm to individuals, communities and our environment.
  • We are interested in supporting community leaders who are courageous truth tellers and can inspire passion for change, and we embrace authentic and diverse viewpoints, narratives, and solutions that have the potential to alter culture, policy and behavior.
• Justice
  • Gerbode is deeply committed to advancing justice for populations that are currently experiencing trauma and persecution due to factors including the color of their skin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, language spoken, or religious beliefs.
  • We believe in the importance of community-driven strategies and other appropriate approaches, including the critical power of collaboration across communities, sectors, and institutions, as key ingredients of positive social change.
• Environment
  • Gerbode seeks to use its resources to heal the relationship between people and the earth.
  • We value the role that communities play in addressing conservation, preservation, and quality of life concerns ranging from the quality of our air, water, and oceans to the preservation of open space and other natural resources.
  • We seek to elevate the issues of environmental justice, which includes access to healthy food, transportation, and safe and healthy neighborhoods.
  • And, we believe in the importance of strategic community planning to ensure that the public sector develops appropriate and effective plans, policies, and procedures to address important urban concerns that result in strong, diverse, and culturally vibrant neighborhoods.
• Arts
  • The Special Awards in the Arts Program supports the creation of new works in dance, theater production, and music composition.
  • These nationally respected awards have helped underwrite acclaimed new works that are culturally and aesthetically diverse, by prominent and emerging artists.
  • These grants have supported artists at critical junctures in their careers; enabled nonprofit local arts groups to develop and debut substantial, original works; and enriched Bay Area audiences, readers, and viewers by giving them first access to ambitious new creations.

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Social Service Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Funding Priorities in Social Service

In the recent past, 15% of total funding has been allocated to Social Service. Organizations with budgets over $5 million have received 60% of funding in Social Service.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted for new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and general support

Funding

Minimum grant size is $100,000.

The Buck Family Fund

For decades, the Buck Family Fund of the Marin Community Foundation has funded community-led initiatives that support the most marginalized Marin County residents. We fund nonprofits based in Marin and those based outside the county that bring high-quality programs and services to Marin residents. 

While grantmaking is an essential way to support Marin’s hard-working nonprofit network, we have established many other additional resources to help in different ways. 

Strategic Initiatives Grants

MCF’s strategic initiatives are funded by the Buck Trust. 

Affordable Housing & Homelessness

Every person deserves to live in a safe and secure home. However, the high cost of housing and limited supply of affordable homes in Marin forces many of our neighbors into unjust housing situations.

Building Resilient Communities

While projected impacts of climate change like extreme weather events in Marin County and beyond are stark, there are many ways that philanthropy can act to reduce the impacts on our communities.

Community Power

Nonprofit organizations in Marin represent a 24/7, boots-on-the-ground presence in the county. Day in and day out, they provide crucial services to those in need. They are the groups that embody and represent the power of community and the ability of community itself to care for, uplift, and transform. 

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

Rapid Response Fund for Movement  Building

The Rapid Response Fund for Movement Building provides quick-turnaround funds to frontline social justice organizations that are strengthening the voice and power of low-income residents and people of color. The fund offers grassroots organizations small, one-time grants within 30 days of receiving a funding request.

Grant size and duration

• One-time grants of $3,000–$20,000 for discrete projects
• If approved, grant will be processed within 30 days of application receipt.
• The project must be completed within six months of receiving the grant.

Guidelines – projects must demonstrate the following to be eligible for funding:

• Timely and urgent: Your organization must be responding to an unanticipated catalyzing event or urgent external challenge.
• Opportunity for immediate impact: The project is strategic with a clear timeline and goals, with the desired outcomes having the potential to positively affect the community right away.
• Clear focus on racial and/or economic equity: Your project specifically addresses racial and/or economic inequities. It should demonstrate a clear equity framework, explicitly responding to the unique needs, challenges, and strengths of marginalized communities.
• Movement- and power-building: The project must aim to build the voice and power of people of color or other marginalized communities.
• Representative leadership and staff: The project must be led by those who are most impacted by the racial and economic inequities that the effort aims to address (e.g. communities of color, immigrants, refugees, formerly incarcerated residents, youth, low-wage workers, people with disabilities, low-income residents, LGBTQ community members, etc.).

Conservation: Committed to conserving irreplaceable Bay Area landscapes

Sustaining the Bay Area’s healthy ecosystems

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most biodiverse regions of the United States, and its storied conservation history and role in the environmental movement is unparalleled. Compared with other metropolitan areas, the proximity of significant, biodiverse open space to major economic and residential centers is exceptional.

Our region’s unique role in the history of the conservation and its remarkable network of open space have been the direct result of concerted effort by many individuals and organizations. We are honored to be a part of this community, conserving these landscapes for the future generations who will call this region home.

Strategies

We aim to maintain and, where possible, increase the Bay Area’s remarkable biodiversity, ecosystem services, and nature-based recreation opportunities. In order to do so, we pursue several strategies:

• Prioritize land acquisition and conservation easements that are grounded in science-based regional conservation planning
• Support initial stewardship in order to deliver real, durable conservation outcomes
• Coordinate partnerships across the region to foster effective collaboration among stakeholders
• Develop the most effective conservation finance structures to maximize the impact of our funding and ensure financial sustainability

To protect and steward Bay Area conservation resources for future generations the efforts of local conservation groups and agencies are more critical than ever before. The same technological and financial engine that helps define the Bay Area’s economy also pushes up against the undeveloped and wilderness areas that define its ecology. Threats to natural habitat have become even more acute in recent years due in part to the regional economic boom.

That’s why we’re focused on supporting grantees who, through property acquisition, natural resource use and conservation finance, are working to preserve and enhance habitat for native plant and animal species in the Bay Area. Together with nonprofits, agencies and other funders, we have been fortunate to play a part in more than 80 acquisitions, easements and other conservation-related projects across the 10-county Bay Area.Impact StatementMaintaining and increasing the biodiversity, ecosystem services and nature-based recreation opportunities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund

This 10-county fund provides flexible resources and focuses on community relief and recovery needs for current and future disasters.  Depending on the nature of the emergency or disaster, needs could include shelter, food, financial assistance and other services as they are needed.

The fund is designed to provide a continued, flexible source of funding, so that we may respond to our communities' immediate needs in times of emergency, assist in building community resilience, and be prepared to act quickly when future disasters occur. Grants disbursed by the fund will prioritize support for those most in need and facing the harshest circumstances.

Investing in Our Communities

At Bank of Marin:

• We believe that doing our part to build a stronger community for all is essential to our collective success
• We strive to support nonprofits that foster community and economic vitality, equitable access to educational resources and an enriched quality of life.
• We commit to working with local organization in a collaborative manner through focused leadership, volunteerism, giving and financial education.

Since opening our doors in 1990, we—along with our employees—have donated millions of dollars, served on hundreds of nonprofit boards/committees and volunteered thousands of hours to local philanthropic endeavors.

Bank of Marin has consistently been ranked one of the “Top Corporate Philanthropists” by San Francisco Business Times since 2003, was inducted into NorthBay Biz’s “Best of” Hall of Fame in 2024, and ranked top 10 in Sacramento Business Journal’s Corporate Direct Giving List for philanthropic efforts in 2023.

Grant Funding Priorities

Social & Economic Vitality:

Foster a thriving economy and community by supporting efforts to meet basic needs.

Organization and programs related to:

• Basic needs and social safety net programs,
• economic development,
• affordable housing, and
• small business support, especially BIPOC and women-owned business.

Education

Enable youth and adults to gain the skills to thrive personally and professionally.

Organization and programs related to:

• youth financial literacy
• youth and professional development programs,
• access gaps in education (especially S.T.E.A.M. education) and professional development, and
• youth mentorship, college preparedness and academic success.

Enrichment & Wellness

Enhance quality of life and provide access to health and wellness programs.

Organization and programs related to:

• access to arts and cultural experiences,
• animal rescue and animal-human therapy,
• programs and services for people with diverse abilities.
• environment and sustainability.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Bothin Foundation

We help build the capacity of nonprofits with grants for durable capital investments. These capital grants go to social service, academic enrichment, youth development, arts, and environmental nonprofit organizations that provide direct services to:

• disadvantaged children and youth (ages 0 to 24),
• low-income families with children, and
• people with disabilities.

The foundation also considers durable capital requests from K-12 schools exclusively serving children with learning differences.

Examples of eligible capital grant uses include building improvements, vehicle requests, program equipment, and technology needs. Only one grant may be received within a 3-year period.

Funding Priorities

Building Construction & Renovation

• The foundation will fund any contracted labor directly associated with the project.
  • This could include labor for removal or installation of materials or the hiring of expertise needed to complete the project, such as engineers or contractors.
• The foundation does not fund planning or needs assessments for capital projects.
• The foundation does not fund staff time for project management.
• The foundation only supports building renovations for buildings located in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and/or San Mateo counties.

Equipment & Furnishings

• The foundation considers funding furniture, program equipment, and medical equipment purchases.
• The foundation prioritizes requests to purchase equipment that will be used by or mostly benefit program participants.
• The foundation does not fund planning or needs assessments for capital projects.

Technology Grants

• The foundation considers funding furniture, program equipment, and medical equipment purchases.
• The foundation prioritizes requests to purchase equipment that will be used by or mostly benefit program participants.
• The foundation does not fund planning or needs assessments for capital projects.
• The foundation does not fund software or consultants to build out software projects.

Vehicles

• The foundation prioritizes vehicle purchases that transport participants.
• Insurance, gas, advertising on van (wrap-around printing), and warranties are not covered by grants.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

Safety and Security Fund

This crucial new initiative will support the safety and security of the LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please review the priorities and guidelines below to ensure your organization is eligible before visiting the application portal.

About the Safety and Security Fund

With a maximum award of $2,500, Horizons Foundation’s Safety and Security Fund (SSF) is a rapid response small grants program designed to support the safety and security of Bay Area LGBTQ community organizations. We encourage applications from LGBTQ-primary organizations seeking to secure and repair their physical space and enhance the safety of public events, their staff, and the community. It has been seeded with $40,000 and will be making grants from September 16, 2024, to January 31, 2025, or when funds are depleted.

Why Now?

Horizons Foundation is deeply concerned about the escalating anti-LGBTQ hate crimes–including vandalism, threats, and harassment–targeting our grantee partners and the wider LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. To address immediate needs, when possible, Horizons has historically provided emergency funding to help our grantee partners mitigate the damage and threats associated with these incidents. It is clear that more action is needed today.

The San Francisco Bay Area is not immune to anti-LGBTQ incidents. Community organizations and events have continued to report hate-based threats, attacks, and vandalism into this year.

Horizons Foundation is taking action by launching the Safety and Security Fund (SSF) to address the alarming surge in anti-LGBTQ threats and hate crimes in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially as the 2024 election season rhetoric heats up. This rapid response grants program aims to bolster the safety and security of Bay Area LGBTQ organizations and programs. The SSF aligns with Horizons Foundation's vision to create a world where all LGBTQ individuals can live freely and fully, which is impossible so long as we live with threats, crime, and harassment against us.

Safety and Security Fund

With a maximum award of $2,500, Horizons Foundation’s Safety and Security Fund (SSF) is a rapid response small grants program designed to support the safety and security of Bay Area LGBTQ community organizations. We encourage applications from LGBTQ-primary organizations seeking to secure and repair their physical space and enhance the safety of public events, their staff, and the community. It has been seeded with $40,000 and will be making grants from September 16, 2024 to January 31, 2025, or when funds are depleted.

Why Now?

Horizons Foundation is deeply concerned about the escalating anti-LGBTQ hate crimes–including vandalism, threats, and harassment–targeting our grantee partners and the wider LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. To address immediate needs, when possible, Horizons has historically provided emergency funding to help our grantee partners mitigate the damage and threats associated with these incidents. It is clear that more action is needed today.

The San Francisco Bay Area is not immune to anti-LGBTQ incidents. Community organizations and events have continued to report hate-based threats, attacks, and vandalism into this year.

Horizons Foundation is taking action by launching the Safety and Security Fund (SSF) to address the alarming surge in anti-LGBTQ threats and hate crimes in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially as the 2024 election season rhetoric heats up. This rapid response grants program aims to bolster the safety and security of Bay Area LGBTQ organizations and programs. The SSF aligns with Horizons Foundation's vision to create a world where all LGBTQ individuals can live freely and fully, which is impossible so long as we live with threats, crime, and harassment against us.

LGBTQ Donor Engagement Program

Horizons seeks to support LGBTQ donor engagement opportunities of large LGBTQ-primary organizations (annual budget over $1 million) based within the nine counties of the SF Bay Area. With a maximum award of $5,000, the LGBTQ Donor Engagement Program exists to support annual fundraising events(s), but if an organization does not have an annual fundraising event, it may be eligible for efforts that engage donors through alternative events (e.g., house parties, annual donor thank-you events, etc.). 

Selective Criteria

Horizons supports events that:

• Offer inspiring, engaging programming for and about the LGBTQ community 
• Incorporate strategies to build new relationships and increase giving, especially from individuals 
• Have clear goals for what a successful event looks like and a plan for measuring success 
• Are inclusive of people across the breadth of the LGBTQ community, e.g., geography, gender, race/ethnicity 
• Are closely aligned to Horizons Foundation’s mission

About Us

The Peaceful World Foundation was founded by the late Sami Sunchild and established in 2006. Sami’s mission was to foster a culture of global peace through the promotion of hosted conversations, the arts, and mindful education.

Today the Peaceful World Foundation strives to carry on her vision of mindful conversations while supporting, assisting, and encouraging organizations and communities in their peace building efforts.

Our charitable goal is to promote peace by supporting nonprofit organizations in their peace building efforts in the field of the arts and mindful education. We seek to fund peacebuilding programs which align to our mission and requesting an amount between $5,000-$20,000.

The Foundation however does not provide ongoing support. The Foundation only funds programs twice within a five-year period, upon submission and receipt of a financial summary.

COMMUNITY PEACE BUILDING

The Foundation aspires to collaborate with organizations in their community-based peace building efforts and fund programs which embrace any of the following practices within an art or mindful education program:

• Encouraging ecologically sustainable practices
• Innovative healing tools for community peace-making
• Participatory approaches to mindful leadership and community building

Arts

The Foundation is interested in art programs that build on global peace and social consciousness through visual and media art, music, and the performing arts. We are particularly invested in supporting art programs that contribute to:

• World Peace
• Diversity
• Integration
• Inner Peace

Mindful Education

The Foundation seeks to fund mindful educational and well-being programs that promote any of the following:

• Cultivating attention, compassion, and well-being across all peoples and ages
• Alternative methods to manage stress and increase inner awareness

The NEW Program provides unrestricted and artist fee support grants of $5,000-$30,000 to small and mid-size dance, theater and multidisciplinary arts organizations that enable Bay Area artists to produce visionary projects relevant to the communities they serve. Since 2015, this program has awarded over $4 million to 149 arts organizations.

The NEW Program prioritizes:

• Small and mid-size arts organizations with annual budgets of $10,000-$2 million. 
• Projects that support artists to deepen or experiment within their individual practice and/or expand the boundaries of dance and theater. 
• Compelling projects relevant to the communities they serve. 
• Unique artistic collaborations. 
• Projects that compensate artists at a significant level. Projects are required to designate at least half of the grant funds to the artistic project team and their direct expenses for creating the work. The remaining half is unrestricted to the applicant organization.
• Productions in outdoor, site-specific or alternative venues. 
• Projects with activities in San Francisco and Oakland. 

Please preview this page for additional informations.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

Creative Work Fund Grants

The Creative Work Fund invites artists and organizations to create new art works through collaborations. It celebrates the role of artists as problem solvers and making of art as a profound contribution to we-making and artistic innovation that strengthens communities. Artists are encouraged to collaborate with organizations of all kind: nonprofits, fiscally-sponsored collectives, schools, and public agencies.

In June 2024, the Fund will award approximately $775,000 in grants to organizations and collaborating artists. Grants will range from $25,000 to $50,000 and be paid to the nonprofit partner in the collaboration. Grantees receive the maximum amount of funds requested. Projects are expected to be completed within two or three years, but those of longer duration are considered.

We Seek Projects Where

• the creation of an artwork is central
• the artist functions primarily as an artist, not as a teacher, an art therapist, or in another capacity
• an active, authentic working partnership between the artist or artists and the organization is central to the work’s development
• the organization’s constituents are engaged in the artist’s work
• artists’ creativity and problem-solving abilities are central to the collaboration
• the making of art can strengthen a community, draw attention to an important issue, or engage audiences in new ways
• artistic imagination and organizational thinking are challenged
• final presentations take place in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, or Sonoma County
• at least two-thirds of the grant funds are paid to the principal artists and their direct expenses for creating the work

2024 Invitation: All Disciplines

Artists from all artistic disciplines are welcome to apply in collaboration with a nonprofit organization. Lead artists will be asked to identify primary and secondary artistic disciplines in which they have strong track records of accomplishment.

Projects may culminate in any form. Artists and organizations should plan projects and prepare and authorize their letters of inquiry together. If a project will use a fiscal sponsor, that sponsor also must review and sign off on the letter. Read the list of disciplines and their short definitions.

Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program

Building a More Just and Sustainable Outdoor and Environmental Movement Together

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led organizations are on the frontlines of the grassroots work being done to build a better planet but our work is chronically overlooked and underfunded. We know that when our voices are left out, our communities suffer, and our planet does too. With the Liberated Paths Program, we envision a way to bridge that gap.

Through this program, we are working to create a more just and sustainable outdoor and environmental movement by shifting resources to and building power with Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. The Liberated Paths Program supports outdoor initiatives and organizations that cultivate and celebrate the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color and affirm the many experiences and identities our communities hold, through grantmaking, capacity building, and network building.

Through our Liberated Paths regional grants, we support organizations and initiatives of all sizes located in California, the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico), and the Delaware River Watershed that work at the intersection of racial justice, outdoor experiences, and the environment. In 2023, we will also launch grantmaking in North and South Carolina. Our Liberated Paths: Youth Access to Nature Fund supports efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area that increase safe and equitable access to the outdoors for Young People of Color.

We work with leaders and organizations who are rooted within their communities with the lived experiences to understand how to best advance justice and center the needs of the community. We support Leaders of Color to design and lead the types of joyful outdoor experiences and environmental efforts that are most meaningful to them and their communities. 

Liberated Paths support looks like:

• Relationship-driven and trust-based support
• Multi-year grants of $1,000 to $20,000 per year when possible
• Long-term, deep engagement in financial, operational, and fundraising capacity building
• Network building with a cohort of grantees to facilitate shared learning and systems-level changes
• Eligibility that is not hinged on organization size, ability to do impact reporting, or 501(c)(3) status
• Support for organizations and initiatives of all sizes and in all stages of their development
• Prioritized funding for organizations and initiatives led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
• Capacity building trainings and workshops for grantee partners

Capacity Building

Our model offers financial grants, as well as consistent coaching and mentorship. We want to connect our grantee partners with the tools and resources they need to sustain their vital work. To that end, in addition to trainings and workshops for all grantee partners, we work with each partner to identify areas where they want to grow and tailor our support to their needs. These areas could include: board recruitment, financial sustainability, staffing and hiring considerations, executive leadership coaching, budget planning, program design, insurance and liability considerations, safety, guidance on applications for additional grants, and more.

Network Building

Through Liberated Paths, we seek to bring together organizations and leaders working at the intersection of environment and racial justice. We do this through virtual get-togethers and information sessions. We facilitate network building within each cohort of grantees to facilitate shared learning and systems-level changes.

We also bring together funders and partners through a webinar series to connect, share information about the Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program and to also hold critical conversations regarding topics such as the explicit role of race in Liberated Paths, the racial funding gap, and racial bias and its impact in philanthropy.

The Kimball Foundation

The Kimball Foundation supports college access and persistence, workplace & vocational training, cultural enrichment, and environmental education programs serving the residents of San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, and Sonoma counties and to a limited extent Santa Clara County as far south as Palo Alto.

Our Mission

We support college access and persistence, cultural enrichment, environmental education, and workplace success programs.

What We Fund

The Kimball Foundation supports college access and persistence, cultural enrichment, environmental education, and workplace success programs.

We work to ensure that students who come from low-income backgrounds persist on a pathway through secondary school and into and through two- or four-year college with the support of high-quality academic and college-bound programs. Attributes of successful grantee organizations and programs:

• Serves students ages 10-24 who demonstrate a commitment to achieve despite backgrounds that may include significant risk factors (e.g., first-in-family to attend college or status as an English language learner) and few supports
• Strong program model based on recognized best practices in the field that is offered in or after school, including summers
• Provides sequential support that bridges one or more critical transition phases over a number of years (e.g., middle to high school and/or high school to college) to ensure persistence and success
• When academic support is provided to students, it is articulated to promote A-G course attainment
• The foundation does not support scholarship programs unless they have a structured in-depth academic support component

We provide youth who face significant obstacles to employment with comprehensive training and services that prepare them for job placement with increased earnings potential. Attributes of successful grantee organizations and programs:

• At least 50% of program population served should be students aged 15-24 who demonstrate a commitment to employability despite backgrounds that may include significant risk factors  (e.g., poor academic preparation or former foster youth status) and few supports
• Skills training includes soft-skills development as well as vocational/technical skills training that leads to living-wage and career building jobs in growth industries
• Strong program model based on recognized best practices in the field that incorporates skills training and wraparound support services
• Provide opportunities for academic or marketable credentials, including GEDs, high school diplomas, and industry-recognized certificates and coursework

: We provide students with equal access to participatory arts education to foster an appreciation of the arts while promoting community engagement through cultural experiences. Attributes of successful grantee organizations and programs:

• Serves students ages 5-18 from low-income backgrounds
• Promotes an understanding of the arts and development of art skills (includes but is not limited to literary, media, performing, and visual)
• Long-term focus on program depth through in-school, after-school and/or out-of-school opportunities with priority given to programs with a robust, sequential curriculum or training that help students meaningfully build artistic performance or skills.

: We provide youth with high engagement programs that provide outdoor experiential, wilderness, and environmental science education. Attributes of successful grantee organizations and programs: Serves students ages 10-18 from low-income backgrounds

• Provides free or subsidized fees to program services and camps
• Create meaningful opportunities for youth to build careers in Environmental Preservation and addressing Climate Change with access to mentors, program leaders, internships and other paid employment.

Rest Year Policy

The Kimball Foundation seeks to provide both ongoing support for effective nonprofit organizations, and to identify and support new and promising organizations. To achieve this goal, the foundation employs the following “rest year” policy: organizations that receive four years of consecutive funding need to take a one-year rest before receiving additional support.

The In-N-Out Burger Foundation’s mission is to assist children and youth who have been victims of child abuse and neglect, and to prevent others from suffering a similar fate. The Foundation will only consider requests from organizations that closely align with our mission and that serve communities where In-N-Out Burger does business.

The In-N-Out Burger Foundation is happy to consider the following types of grants:

Traditional Grants: Grant awards range from $5,000 - $25,000.

Program: Restricted funding to support the development, expansion, or enhancement of programs within an existing organization.

General Operating Support: Unrestricted funding to support the overall operations and sustainability of your nonprofit. Applicants must present a strong case on how this funding will help sustain the organization’s mission and provide benefits to the children in their care. *Please note that all of your organization’s programs must align with our mission to be considered for this type of support.

Capital Grants: Grant awards range from $5,000 - $50,000.

Capital Campaign: Restricted funding for the construction of new facilities, renovations or upgrades to existing buildings, and other special projects that will enhance the organization’s mission.

Capital Purchase: Restricted funding to purchase equipment, furnishings, or any other major material purchases that will enhance the organization’s mission.

Capital grants are awarded on a very limited basis each year. The Foundation will only consider requests from organizations that meet all other funding criteria and who already have an established long-term funding relationship with the Foundation (minimum of 2 years).

Please carefully review the Capital Grant Guidelines above to ensure that your organization meets the requirements to apply. Capital Grants are invitation-only. Please contact us to set a 30-minute meeting to discuss your project and be prepared to send a draft summary of the project for review beforehand. 

Background & Purpose

The California Arts Council’s policies and practices prioritize racial equity and have a broad geographic reach into communities of all sizes and needs, and this includes providing critical services to artists and to the community at large. The CAC is committed to funding opportunities that support all of California’s creative ecosystem. Offering fellowship support to artists responds to the CAC’s Strategic Framework by directly supporting individuals who embody aesthetics, a key value of the CAC, recognizing all art forms and artistic traditions that enable full and meaningful creative expression.

Through a network of regionally-based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program will continue to recognize, uplift, and celebrate the excellence of California artists practicing any art form. In doing so, the CAC will showcase the centrality of artists’ leadership in guiding the evolution of our traditional and contemporary cultures.

Excellence, for purposes of this grant, is defined as an artist’s:

• Unique artistic vision
• Ongoing commitment to creative practice
• Engagement with and impact on the larger cultural ecosystem

This program will support artists at key moments in their careers, elevating their capacity for continued contribution to the field and our state. Fellowship grants support individual artistic practice through unrestricted funding. This program is intended to support a broad spectrum of artists working in all disciplines, from diverse geographies and communities of all sizes across the state of California.

Administering Organizations (AO)

The AOs will be responsible for the planning and implementation of the Individual Artist Fellowship program in their region, including but not limited to:

• Provide access and support for individual artists and culture bearers throughout the course of the application, award, and evaluation processes
• Engage in robust, culturally and discipline-specific engagement and outreach to ensure comprehensive geographic reach within the service area
• Convene fellows at least once over the course of the grant activity period to engage in networking and co learning
• Provide platforms including but not limited to virtual or print publications, exhibits, or performances to increase the visibility of the work of the fellows
• Engage in regular reporting to and collaboration with the CAC, including providing interim and final reports on program outcomes and findings.

Funding Structure

Administering Organizations will regrant fellowship awards to provide unrestricted funding in support of the fellows’ artistic practice. The following three tiers of funding are available. (Awards will be funded at the full dollar amount for each tier, partial awards will not be made):

CAC Emerging Artist Fellows - $5,000

Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice. Individuals at this career stage may have had a few public showings of their work, but do not yet have ongoing resources or support.

CAC Established Artist Fellows - $10,000

Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice. Individuals in this tier can give multiple examples of artistic and/or cultural works that have made significant social impact.

CAC Legacy Artist Fellows - $50,000

Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact. Artists in this tier may be able to point to Emerging and Established Artists that they have mentored or otherwise positively influenced.

Each AO will make grants to a minimum of three fellows in each career tier. The total grant award is for $800,000.

AOs may use up to 20% of the grant award for administrative costs and costs associated with program design and implementation, including convening and publication and/or production costs to support visibility of fellows’ work.

AOs will regrant the remaining 80% of funds to individual artists and culture bearers in their region(s).

Zoo Labs

Zoo Labs was founded in West Oakland in 2013 with a vision to build startup entrepreneurship infrastructure in a space where it was largely absent. Over the last decade+ we helped pioneer a new artist-led ecosystem, continually evolving our programming to empower a strong and vibrant community of 1,000+ artists and mentors.

Our unique value comes from our founding vision of supporting the whole person – addressing healing, team dynamics, personal strengths, and wellbeing. We believe entrepreneurs thrive when they're happy at work and when they preserve their creative light rather than burning out. Today we support artists by removing barriers to access practical and affordable business training.

And with the launch of the Zoo Labs: FUND, we have moved downstream to support Bay Area culturally-rooted artist teams with a music business through focused mentorship and unrestricted grants, allowing awardees to self-determine their own economic priorities in building capacity with their creative small businesses. To date, we have awarded $910,000 to 53 culturally-rooted artist teams representing 160 individuals from across the Bay Area.

Zoo Labs: Fund

Zoo Labs: FUND is a grant and investment program designed to support Bay Area entrepreneurs who are building businesses that center music. By providing funding, mentorship, and educational resources, the FUND helps creative business owners in the Bay Area begin or scale their ventures in ways that contribute to cultural enrichment, economic empowerment, and community benefit.

The FUND prioritizes culturally-rooted artists (i.e., artists whose work is deeply influenced by their cultural heritage, traditions, and community experiences, and who draw upon the stories, symbols, practices, and values of their cultural background to inform their art) who face challenges or structural hurdles to accessing capital, and aims to create more opportunities in the local creative economy. Investing in these businesses fosters innovation, preserves cultural and artistic expression, and generates jobs. It also works against displacement by creating stable economic opportunities that enable individuals to thrive in the Bay Area. Through this support, Zoo Labs: FUND advances a fair and sustainable creative ecosystem for the public good.

Awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000. Selected teams will also receive focused mentorship and community support.

THE 2025 FUND

The Zoo Labs: FUND celebrates its fifth year of grantmaking in 2025! The application process and funding distribution will be administered in partnership with Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted nonprofit intermediary focused on the financial well-being of artists, arts workers, culture bearers, and creative entrepreneurs. In 2025, Zoo Labs: FUND will make available $230,000 in unrestricted grants to Bay Area culturally-rooted artist teams with a music business.

Community Issues Funding Program

Horizons’ flagship grantmaking program, Community Issues provides support to LGBTQ nonprofit organizations and programs based in our local community: the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. Central to our mission, supporting these organizations’ programs, services, and advocacy helps advance a world where all LGBTQ people live freely and fully.

This year, Horizons expects to award substantially more funding than ever through Community Issues. We are committing these additional resources to respond to two critical and interconnected realities: the sharp decreases in funding from federal, state, county, and city sources, and the growing strain on LGBTQ organizations and programs caused by the current presidential administration and escalating anti-LGBTQ sentiment nationwide.

In light of these profound challenges, Horizons will provide more stable, sustained, multi-year support to help LGBTQ organizations continue their essential work in increasingly difficult conditions.

As we have since our founding, Horizons remains committed to ensuring that these grants deepen investment in historically under-resourced parts of the LGBTQ community, particularly those most impacted by the current anti-LGBTQ political climate and persistent inequalities. Through Community Issues, Horizons utilizes a systems-based grantmaking model that reflects our commitment to sustainability, equity, and responsive support for the SF Bay Area LGBTQ nonprofit ecosystem and the LGBTQ community it serves. We continue to focus on trust-based philanthropy and multi-year funding. 

We know that the LGBTQ community’s needs and opportunities constantly evolve, and it is essential to examine our grantmaking approach and priorities. Horizons 2018 LGBTQ Community Needs Assessment underscored the continuing significant challenges and often disproportionate needs the LGBTQ community faces in the SF Bay Area.

To help target our funding and achieve greater impact for the LGBTQ community, Horizons Foundation has updated our grantmaking strategy. Horizons seeks to strengthen our Community Issues grantmaking emphasizing the centrality of supporting organizations that are based in our community and led by LGBTQ people.

We proudly reaffirm our commitment as a community foundation to an “Open Door” policy in our community grantmaking, intentionally offering a wide range of LGBTQ nonprofits opportunities to seek funding.

Open Door Policy

Community Issues is open to all nonprofits and fiscally sponsored programs that meet eligibility criteria and whose work falls within these overall funding areas: 

• Advocacy and Civil Rights
• Arts and Culture
• Community Building and Leadership
• Health and Human Services

Key Updates to the 2025 Community Issues Program

Lift the $1 Million annual budget cap eligibility

For 2025, the Community Issues program will accept applications from LGBTQ-primary organizations of any organizational budget size. This change will maintain alignment with the LGBTQ-primary definition while expanding access to organizations with a range of capacities and infrastructure. LGBTQ-primary organizations are defined as organizations:

• whose missions include the LGBTQ population as the primary focus of the work;
• whose staff and boards predominantly reflect the LGBTQ community (65% or more);
• and which primarily serve LGBTQ people (65% or more).

Broaden Funding Priorities

The Community Issued program has expanded its priorities beyond the current focus on specific populations and organization types. This shift enables Community Issues funding to support a more ecosystem-wide strategy that encompasses a broader and more integrated range of LGBTQ organizations across four interconnected areas: Arts, Health and Wellness, Community Building, and Advocacy.