Funders › California

Barstow Foundation

Sausalito, CA · EIN 38-6151026. Reported 102 grants totalling $1,637,357 to 68 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$4,389median grant
$1,637,357granted, 2021-2024
68recipients, as named on its returns
34%of grantees funded again the next year
$10.7Massets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Barstow Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $4,389. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $406,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
52 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
19 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
23 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
2 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
4 grants
$100,000 and Up
2 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
See AttachedSausalito, CA$406,000112024
See Attached Grant ListMidland, MI$370,000112021
Hospice Austin FundAustin, TX$127,220222023
The Legacy Center for Community SuccessMidland, MI$121,000222023
Mcbackpack IncFort Collins, CO$50,888222023
Midland Area Community FoundationMidland, MI$35,000112022
Swannanoa Valley Christian MinistryBlack Mtn, NC$31,220222023
Manna Food Bank IncAsheville, NC$28,000222023
Allegro Organizational Solutions IncHouston, TX$25,444222023
New Reflections Paythway to Hope IncHayward, WI$25,444222023
United States Fund for UnicefNew York, NY$24,000222023
United States Association for UnhcrWashington, DC$20,320222023
Bounty & SoulBlack Mtn, NC$20,000222023
Doctors Without BordersHagerstown, MD$20,000112023
Doctors Without Borders USA IncNew York, NY$20,000112022
Feeding AmericaChicago, IL$20,000222023
World Central Kitchen IncorporatedWashington, DC$18,000222023
Southwest Florida Community Foundation IFort Myers, FL$17,500112022
Swannanoa Valley Montessori SchoolBlackmtn, NC$15,000222023
Can Do Multiple SclerosisAvon, CO$13,555222023
International InstituteAkron, OH$11,600222023
Midland County Humane SocietyMidland, MI$10,200112022
Eos International NfpSaint Paul, MN$10,185222023
Midland County Habitat for HumanityColumbus, OH$10,056112023
Big Brothers Big SistersFlint, MI$10,000112022
Center for Domestic PeaceSan Rafael, CA$10,000222023
Centro Legal De La Raza IncOakland, CA$8,300222023
Hayden Enterprises Giving FundBend, OH$8,278222023
Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter IncorporNashua, NH$8,000222023
Richmond Emergency Food PantryElcerrito, CA$8,000222023
The Greater Boston Food Bank IncBoston, MA$8,000222023
Marin Humane SocietyColumbus, OH$7,778112023
Just Like My Child FoundationSan Diego, CA$7,500222023
Kootenai Humane Society IncHayden Lake, ID$7,000222023
Planned ParenthoodChicago, IL$6,500222023
9 Star Foundation IncCoeur D Alene, ID$6,000112022
Nine Star FoundationColumbus, OH$6,000112023
The Labelle FoundationColumbus, OH$5,185112023
Milo FoundationAlbany, CA$5,000112022
Project Citizenship IncBoston, MA$5,000112022
Mission Aviation FellowshipNampa, ID$4,240222023
Black Mountain Home for Children Youth &Black Mtn, NC$4,000222023
Food Bank of Eastern Michigan IncFlint, MI$4,000112022
Operation Smile IncVirginia Bch, VA$4,000222023
The Alameda County Community Food Bank IOakland, CA$4,000222023
Children's Village Foundation IncCoeur D Alene, ID$3,500112022
Childrens Village Foundation IncCoeur D Alene, ID$3,500112023
No Means No WorldwideMclean, VA$3,500112022
Christmas for AllCoeur D Alene, ID$3,000222023
Nemours FoundatinColumbus, OH$3,000112023
St Jude Childrens Research Hospital IncMemphis, TN$3,000222023
The Salvation ArmyAlexandria, VA$3,000222023
First GraduateColumbus, OH$2,500112023
Wounded Warrior ProjectJacksonville, FL$2,500112022
Malaria No MoreColumbus, OH$2,444112023
Algonac Community SchoolsAlgonac, MI$2,000112023
Als Therapy Development Foundation IncWatertown, MA$2,000222023
Cooper SchoolColumbus, OH$2,000112023
Crisis Assistance MinistryCharlotte, NC$2,000222023
Easter Seals IncChicago, IL$2,000112022
Military Appreciation Day IncSouthport, NC$2,000112022
Tunnel to Towers FoundationColumbus, OH$2,000112023
American Civil Liberties Union Fdn of VaRichmond, VA$1,000112023
American Society for the Prevention of CNew York, NY$1,000112022
Richmond Cycling CorpsColumbus, OH$1,000112023
Shalom FarmsColumbus, OH$1,000112023
VivalonSan Rafael, CA$1,000112022
Vivalon GrantColumbus, OH$1,000112023

34 of 68 (50%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 34%, across 2 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

Plus 1 grants to individuals totalling $440,400 -- scholarships, hardship and emergency assistance. We deliberately do not publish the names of people who received them, even though the filings do.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 56 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.

International Affairs
15 grants
Human Services
14 grants
Food & Nutrition
9 grants
Education
4 grants
Crime & Legal
3 grants
Animal Welfare
3 grants
Medical Research
2 grants
Health Care
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
20211$370,000$370,000
202250$455,200$5,000
202350$406,157$4,000
20241$406,000$406,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

34% of its giving went to organizations in Michigan. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Michigan
$552K
California
$450K
Texas
$153K
North Carolina
$102K
Colorado
$64K
Ohio
$64K
New York
$45K
District of Columbia
$38K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.

Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc27 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund25 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc22 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program19 shared recipientsThe Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc18 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation15 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $4,389. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding education in MichiganEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding international affairs in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Barstow Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.

Address of record on the latest return: 3000 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA, 94965. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 38-6151026 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.