Funders › California

Bess J Hodges Foundation

Long Beach, CA · EIN 33-0046140. Reported 359 grants totalling $1,409,289 to 112 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$3,000median grant
$1,409,289granted, 2021-2025
112recipients, as named on its returns
84%of grantees funded again the next year
$7,047,627assets, 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. Bess J Hodges 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 $3,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $28,042. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
1 grant
$1,000 - $5,000
249 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
93 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
15 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
1 grant

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
Oral Roberts UniversityTulsa, OK$96,793552025
St Anthony High School FdnLong Beach, CA$70,000552025
Trinity BroadcastingSanta Ana, CA$48,396552025
Assistance League of LbLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
Long Beach Aquarium of the PacificLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
Long Beach City College FdnLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
Long Beach GivesLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
Meal on Wheels of Long BeachLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
Musical Theatre WestLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
Pathways Volunteer HospiceLakewood, CA$25,000552025
Rancho Los Alamitos FdnLong Beach, CA$25,000552025
St Joseph SchoolchurchLong Beach, CA$23,500442025
Food FindersLakewood, CA$23,000552025
Long Beach Public Library FdnLong Beach, CA$23,000552025
Interval HouseLong Beach, CA$21,000552025
Rancho Los Cerritos FdnLong Beach, CA$21,000552025
St Francis CenterLos Angeles, CA$20,500552025
Christian Outreach AppealLong Beach, CA$20,000552025
Csulb President's ScholarsLong Beach, CA$20,000332023
Long Beach Museum of ArtLong Beach, CA$20,000552025
Pathways to IndependenceLos Alamitos, CA$20,000442025
Long Beach Symphony AssocLong Beach, CA$19,000442025
International City TheatreLong Beach, CA$17,500552025
Operation Jump StartLong Beach, CA$17,500552025
Childnet FoundationLong Beach, CA$17,000552025
Ican California AbilitiesTorrance, CA$17,000442025
Boys & Girls Club of LbLong Beach, CA$16,500552025
For the ChildLong Beach, CA$16,500552025
Long Beach Bar FoundationLong Beach, CA$16,000552025
Ability FirstLong Beach, CA$15,000552025
Able Arts WorkLong Beach, CA$15,000552025
Calif Conference for EqualityLong Beach, CA$15,000442025
Children's Dental FoundationLong Beach, CA$15,000552025
Long Beach Century ClubLong Beach, CA$15,000552025
Memorial Medical Center FdnLong Beach, CA$15,000222025
Shared ScienceLong Beach, CA$15,000552025
Ukleja Ctr for Ethical LeadershipLong Beach, CA$15,000552025
Jewish Family & Children SvcsLong Beach, CA$14,500552025
Precious LambLong Beach, CA$14,500442025
Salvation ArmyLong Beach, CA$14,500552025
Carenter Performing Arts CtrLong Beach, CA$14,000332024
His Little FeetLong Beach, CA$14,000552025
Home Ownership Pers ImprovmntTorrance, CA$14,000442025
Leadership Long BeachLong Beach, CA$14,000552025
Life Steps FoundationLong Beach, CA$14,000442025
Live Love Animal RescueLong Beach, CA$14,000332023
Young Horizons Childrens Daycare CtLong Beach, CA$13,500552025
Dramatic ResultsSignal Hill, CA$13,000442025
Musica Angelica Baroque OrchestraLong Beach, CA$13,000552025
Long Beach Police Officers AssocSignal Hill, CA$12,500552025
Fisher HouseLong Beach, CA$12,000332025
Lb Ronald Mcdonald HouseLong Beach, CA$12,000442024
Ground EducationLong Beach, CA$11,500442025
Human SaveLong Beach, CA$11,500332025
Long Beach BlastLong Beach, CA$11,500442024
Womens Shelter of Long BeachLong Beach, CA$11,500332023
Camareta Singers of LbLong Beach, CA$11,000552025
Cooper Steinhauser FdnLakewood, CA$11,000332025
Human ItLong Beach, CA$11,000442025
Action Sports Kids FdnLong Beach, CA$10,500332025
Century VillagesLong Beach, CA$10,500442025
Csulb AthleticsLong Beach, CA$10,000222025
Long Beach Sailing FoundationLong Beach, CA$10,000112025
Partners for Better VisionLong Beach, CA$10,000112025
Fix Long Beach NowLong Beach, CA$9,500442024
California Aquatic TherapyLong Beach, CA$9,000332024
Long Beach Blues SocietyLong Beach, CA$8,000442025
Long Beach Day NurseryLong Beach, CA$8,000332023
Long Beach Area Council Boy ScoutsLong Beach, CA$7,500332025
Tichnor Clinic for ChildrenLong Beach, CA$7,500332025
Long Beach Community TableLong Beach, CA$7,000332025
Long Beach Youth ChorusLong Beach, CA$7,000332025
The Guidance CenterLong Beach, CA$7,000332025
Order of MaltaSan Francisco, CA$6,100222025
Arts Council of Long BeachLong Beach, CA$6,000332025
Historical Society of Long BeachLong Beach, CA$6,000332025
Verbum Dei Missionary SistersLong Beach, CA$6,000222022
Partners of ParksLong Beach, CA$5,500222022
Augie's Quest to Cure AlsDenver, CO$5,000112025
Carpenter Performing Arts CtrLong Beach, CA$5,000112025
Long Beach Cancer SocietyLong Beach, CA$5,000112023
Museum of Latin American ArtLong Beach, CA$5,000222025
California Families in FocusLong Beach, CA$4,000222025
Children TodayLong Beach, CA$4,000222022
Design Make LearnLong Beach, CA$4,000112022
Jewel Box Childrens TheaterLong Beach, CA$3,500222025
Bixby Knolls Community FoundationLong Beach, CA$3,000222025
Father Al's OutreachLong Beach, CA$3,000112025
Junior League of Long BeachLong Beach, CA$3,000112023
Kleefeld Contemporary Art MuseumLong Beach, CA$3,000112022
Lgbtq Center of Long BeachLong Beach, CA$3,000112022
New Life BeginningsLong Beach, CA$3,000112023
Pools of HopeLong Beach, CA$3,000112025
St Mary Medical Center FdnLong Beach, CA$3,000112021
Trauma International - LbTustin, CA$3,000112021
AIDS Food StoreLong Beach, CA$2,500112022
Memorial CareLong Beach, CA$2,500112021
United Cambodian CommunityLong Beach, CA$2,500222025
YMCA of Greater Long BeachLong Beach, CA$2,500112023
Algalita Marine ResearchLong Beach, CA$2,000222025
Child LaneLong Beach, CA$2,000112021
Christ Lutheran PreschoolLong Beach, CA$2,000112021
Long Beach Police FdnLong Beach, CA$2,000112021
Opportunity SchoolsLong Beach, CA$2,000222022
Aquatic Capital of AmericaLong Beach, CA$1,500112021
Lb Center for Economic InclusionLong Beach, CA$1,500112023
Mexican American Bar FoundationLos Angeles, CA$1,500112024
CompoundLong Beach, CA$1,000112025
Love in the MirrorLong Beach, CA$1,000112022
Newcomb Academy FoundationLong Beach, CA$1,000112024
Turning Point USAPhoenix, AZ$1,000112025
Allb-CameoLong Beach, CA$500112021

84 of 112 (75%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 84%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 131 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.

Arts & Culture
42 grants
Education
24 grants
Human Services
23 grants
Crime & Legal
11 grants
Recreation & Sports
9 grants
Animal Welfare
5 grants
Youth Development
5 grants
Community Improvement
3 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202165$256,522$3,000
202273$293,216$3,500
202373$283,746$3,000
202469$268,563$3,000
202579$307,242$3,000

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

93% of its giving went to organizations in California. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

California
$1.3M
Oklahoma
$97K
Colorado
$5K
Arizona
$1K

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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.

Earl B & Loraine H Miller Foundation32 shared recipientsLong Beach Community Foundation30 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc24 shared recipientsThe Rudolph J & Daphne a Munzer24 shared recipientsCalifornia Community Foundation21 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund19 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,000. 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 California.
  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 arts & culture in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Bess J Hodges 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: 5100 E Anaheim Road, Long Beach, CA, 90815. 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 33-0046140 · 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.

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