Sponsored Projects Office, University of California, Berkeley

Nonprofit Organizations
This page is a resource for finding research and education awards made by private foundations, corporate grantmakers, public charities, and community foundations. Wherever possible, specific links to descriptions of funding areas and to applications or application guidelines are included.
Resources and Lists
    The Foundation Center
    Grantmakers' Associations
Selected Agency links:
    Bay Area Grantmakers
    California Grantmakers
Resources and Lists
The Foundation Center
Foundation Center Home
Founded in 1956, the Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.
Philanthropy News Digest Request for Proposals Bulletin
The RFP Bulletin lists funding opportunities from foundations and other grantmaking organizations. It gives a descriptive overview and a direct link to the full RFP at the grantmaker's Web site.
    Subscribe: Sign up to subscribe to the RFP Bulletin and other free electronic newsletters.
Grantmaker Web Sites
Annotated links to more than 2,400 grantmaker Web sites, organized into four lists by grantmaker type. Grantseekers can browse each list or use the search tool to narrow the list down.
    Private Foundations: Browse or search annotated links to private foundations.
    Corporate Grantmakers: Browse or search annotated links to corporate foundations.
    Public Charities: Browse or search annotated links to grantmaking public charities.
    Community Foundations: Browse community foundations (funded by multiple donors) by state.
Foundation Finder
Use the Foundation Finder to search by name for basic information about foundations. The list includes more than 70,000 private and community foundations in the U.S.
    How to Use Foundation Finder: Offers instructions, tips, and additional resources.
Searchzone
Search the Web sites of the nonprofit sector by organization type or all at once. Also provides links to other sorts of searches.
    Foundation Center Site-Wide Search: Conduct a free text search of the Foundation Center's Web site.
Foundation Directory Online
With monthly or annual paid subscription options, The Foundation Directory Online Subscription Service allows grantseekers to search databases of over 78,000 grantmakers and more than 450,000 grants.
    Guided Tour: An interactive tour to acquaint grantseekers with the service.
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Grantmakers' Associations
Northern California Grantmakers’ Association
NCG is an association of foundations, corporate contributions programs and other private grantmakers. Though it does not make grants directly, it can be a useful resource for grantseekers because of its large membership of organizations that make grants in Northern California.
    List of Members: A good place to look for foundations in the Northern California area.
    Giving Profile: Get a feel for where Northern California foundations focus their funding.
Grantmakers for Education
A national network of nearly 200 foundations, corporate giving programs, and individual donors working to change programs, systems and institutions from pre-kindergarten through higher education.
    Member Organizations: A list of foundations that support education programs.
    Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking: The association's suggested criteria for making grants.
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Selected Agencies
Bay Area Grantmakers
Akonadi Foundation
This Oakland foundation's goal is to eliminate structural and institutional racism. The foundation supports Bay Area projects with a variety of programmatic approaches, including research, policy work, advocacy, litigation, organizing, media, arts, diversity training, education, and other tools that work toward eradicating racism.
    About the Foundation, Past Grantees, Application
Center for Ecoliteracy
The center supports a network of San Francisco Bay Area educational organizations engaged in habitat restoration and agriculturally-related programs, also encouraging them to foster an understanding of the natural world.
    Past Grantees, Letter of Inquiry Guidelines
Christensen Fund
Through its San Francisco Bay Area Program, the fund supports Bay Area initiatives emphasizing the preservation, promotion, and celebration of the world’s biological and cultural diversity, as well as recognizing the threats posed to them, such as global warming.
    Funding Areas, 2004 Grantees, Application Guidelines
Clorox Company Foundation
Based in Oakland, this foundation concentrates on two focus areas: education/youth development and culture/civic programs.
    Funding Areas, Application
Columbia Foundation
This foundation primarily funds Bay Area programs. The program areas are: Arts and Culture, Human Rights, and Sustainable Communities and Economies.
    Program Guidelines, Application
East Bay Community Foundation
Grantmaking is focused on education, youth development, human services, health and wellness, arts and culture, the environment, civic engagement, and organizational effectiveness in the Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in California.
    Grantmaking Overview, Grant Guidelines
Fitzpatrick Foundation
The Fitzpatrick Foundation is primarily interested in supporting elementary and secondary school programs for students and educators, with a particular emphasis on programs serving economically disadvantaged youth in the San Francisco Bay Area.
    Mission, Application Guidelines
Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation
The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation promotes religious, charitable, scientific, literary, and educational activities in the nine counties of the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
    Past Grantees
Genentech Foundation for Biomedical Sciences
This is an independent, nonprofit organization that supports biomedical education and research in the San Francisco Bay Area.
    Funding Areas, Application
Bill Graham Foundation
The mission of the Bill Graham Foundation is to give grants primarily in the areas of music, the arts and education, while also supporting social work, environmental protection, and spiritual and compassionate projects in the Bay Area and Northern California.
    Mission, Application
Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation
The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation supports programs in the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaii in the areas of arts and culture; environment; population; reproductive rights; citizen participation, building communities, and inclusiveness; and strength of the philanthropic process and the nonprofit sector.
David B. Gold Foundation
The foundation funds qualifying organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Minneapolis/St. Paul with programs in early childhood and youth development, social and human services, democratic society, environment, health, and Jewish culture.
    Program Areas, Application
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
The fund is primarily interested in organizations and projects that have an impact on San Francisco and local Bay Area communities; it will also consider inquiries from domestic organizations that provide support to Israel and national and international projects that address environmental and population issues.
    Funding Priorities, Application
Kimball Foundation
The foundation helps disadvantaged individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area to achieve the highest possible quality of life. The education program focuses on higher education, specifically in areas of youth development, academic enrichment, tutorials, outdoor education, leadership development, vocational training and employment, learning disabilities, and sports/recreational activities for low-income youth.
    2003 Grantees
Mellam Family Foundation
The Mellam Family Foundation was established in 1987 to support medical and scientific research, education, the environment, and social services. The majority of the foundation's grant recipients are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the New York metropolitan area, and Hawaii.
    Awarded Grants, Application Guidelines
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
This foundation is dedicated "to the improvement of the quality of life through education, science, and conservation." Specific project areas of interest include education, scientific research, the environment, and select San Francisco Bay Area projects.
    Foundation Initiatives, Grantmaking Process
San Francisco Foundation
The foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area in the fields of arts and humanities, community health, education, the environment, neighborhood and community development, social services, and philanthropy.
    Requests for Proposals, Past Grantees, Application
Trio Foundation
The Trio Foundation of Berkeley, California, funds organizations that serve young children and their families in the east San Francisco Bay Area. The primary focus of the Trio Foundation is to help young children of all cultures, who are growing up in poverty, achieve their fullest and brightest potential.
    Funding Priorities, Application
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California Grantmakers
American Lung Association of California Research Program
The ALAC-RP seeks to prevent lung disease and promote lung health through the support and development of academic scientists. It is interested in areas including, but not limited to: (1) the health effects of air pollution, (2) asthma, (3) tobacco related lung disease, and (4) TB.
    Current Funding, 2003-04 Grantees
California Wellness Foundation
The foundation's mission is to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education, and disease prevention. In addition to funding organizations that provide care, the foundation makes special projects grants for projects such as policy analysis and advocacy.
    Grant Programs, Special Projects Fund, Application
Community Technology Foundation of California
This foundation aims to foster social justice, equity and access for underserved communities in California through the use of information and communications technologies. Funding is given to nonprofit organizations serving low-income, disabled, minority, rural and inner-city communities.
    Grants Program, Application, Past Grantees
James Irvine Foundation
Grantmaking is dedicated "to enhancing the social, economic, and physical quality of life throughout California, and to enriching the State's intellectual and cultural environment." This includes funding for research on California policy and governance through the California Perspectives Program.
    Grants Program, Grantmaking Process
LEF Foundation
LEF is a private foundation that supports the creation and presentation of contemporary work in the fields of visual art, performing art, new media, literary art, architecture and design.
    California Funding Guidelines, Past Awards
Pacific Gas & Electric Charitable Contributions Program
PG&E’s Charitable Contributions Program provides support to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and some limited support for government programs, almost exclusively within northern and central California. Education is one of the program areas.
Save the Redwoods League
The league is committed to saving California redwood forests through various means, including a research grant program to help further our scientific knowledge of the redwoods species as well as better inform people about the redwood species.
    Funding Areas/Application, Previous Awards
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