Funders › California

Brutten Family Foundation

Solana Beach, CA · EIN 46-5318556. Reported 104 grants totalling $2,033,764 to 67 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$2,033,764granted, 2021-2024
67recipients, as named on its returns
39%of grantees funded again the next year
$546,001assets, 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. Brutten Family 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 $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $20,000; the smallest was $100 and the largest $250,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
6 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
33 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
25 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
16 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
9 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
8 grants
$100,000 and Up
7 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
Focusing PhilanthropySanta Monica, CA$271,750332024
The Bishop's SchoolLa Jolla, CA$250,000112021
The San Diego FoundationSan Diego, CA$250,000222024
The New Children's MuseumSan Diego, CA$155,000222022
Sharp Healthcare FoundationSan Diego, CA$100,000222024
The Vanguard School of Lake Wales Forida IncLake Wales, FL$100,000112024
The Vanguard SchoolColorado Springs, CO$84,814442024
Oceana IncWashington, DC$75,000222024
CureboundSan Diego, CA$55,500222023
Valley Forge Educational ServicesMalvern, PA$55,000222024
Usd Burnham-Moores CenterSan Diego, CA$54,700112024
San Diego Rescue MissionSan Diego, CA$52,500222024
National Defense University FoundationWashington, DC$50,000112022
Usd Burnham-Moores Center Military ScholarshipSan Diego, CA$50,000112024
Scripps Health FoundationSan Diego, CA$35,000222024
Voices for Children IncVista, CA$35,000332024
University of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$30,500332024
Barrio Logan College InstituteSan Diego, CA$30,000332024
Sacramento Sheriff K9 AssociationCarmichael, CA$26,000112021
EcovivariumEscondido, CA$25,000112021
UC San Diego FoundationLa Jolla, CA$20,000112021
Friends of San Pasqual AcademyEscondido, CA$15,000222022
Natural HighLa Jolla, CA$15,000222023
Teri IncOceanside, CA$15,000222024
Del Mar FoundationDel Mar, CA$12,500222023
Egyptian Theatre FoundationOgden, UT$10,000222022
Feeding San DiegoSan Diego, CA$10,000112024
Historic Egyptian TheatreLos Angeles, CA$10,000222024
Outdoor OutreachSan Diego, CA$10,000112024
Grossmont Hospital FoundationLa Mesa, CA$9,000322024
San Diego County Deputy Sheriff's FoundationPoway, CA$8,500332024
Fleet Science CenterSan Diego, CA$7,500222024
Padres Pedal the CauseSan Diego, CA$6,000222022
Panda Cares FoundationLas Vegas, NV$5,500112022
Coastal K9 German Shepherd RescueValley Center, CA$5,000112023
Colorado Association for Behavior AnalysisColorado Springs, CO$5,000112023
Fran's Place-Center for Cancer CounselingBrea, CA$5,000112024
Naiop San Diego Foundation ScholarshipSan Diego, CA$5,000112024
Rails to Trails ConservancyWashington, DC$5,000112024
San Diego Humane SocietySan Diego, CA$5,000112023
Shelter to Soldier IncSan Diego, CA$5,000112023
St Thomas Aquinas SocietyColorado Springs, CO$5,000332024
The Naiop San Diego FoundationDel Mar, CA$5,000112022
The Old GlobeSan Diego, CA$5,000112023
Ushja Foundation IncLexington, CA$5,000112022
Five Keys Schools and ProgramsLos Angeles, CA$4,500112021
Del Mar Community Alliance IncDel Mar, CA$3,500332023
Challenged Athletes FoundationSan Diego, CA$3,000222022
CASA Del Mar IncSan Diego, CA$2,500112022
Kgsa FoundationSaint Paul, MN$2,500112022
Rotary Club of Del MarDel Mar, CA$2,500112023
The Boys & Girls Clubs of San DieguitoSolana Beach, CA$2,500112022
The Midnight MissionLos Angeles, CA$2,500112024
United Friends of ChildrenLos Angeles, CA$2,500112024
Del Mar Community ConnectionsDel Mar, CA$1,500112022
Evan Fischer FoundationHouston, TX$1,500112021
San Diego Center for ChildrenSan Diego, CA$1,500112021
Support for Families of Children With DisabilitiesSan Francisco, CA$1,500112021
DmwgcDel Mar, CA$1,100112024
American LegionLa Mesa, CA$1,000112023
Boys and Girls ClubsSan Diego, CA$1,000112024
Rise Up IndustriesSantee, CA$1,000222022
Serving SeniorsSan Diego, CA$1,000112023
Torrey Pines AssociationDel Mar, CA$1,000112024
Friends of the PowerhouseDel Mar, CA$500112022
ReinsBonsall, CA$300112022
The Salvation ArmyPoway, CA$100112024

27 of 67 (40%) 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 39%, across 3 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.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 69 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.

Education
12 grants
Human Services
10 grants
Health Care
7 grants
Community Improvement
6 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
6 grants
Religion
6 grants
Arts & Culture
6 grants
Diseases & Disorders
4 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202123$845,006$10,000
202227$247,299$5,000
202322$248,903$5,000
202432$692,556$5,000

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

80% 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
$1.6M
District of Columbia
$130K
Florida
$100K
Colorado
$95K
Pennsylvania
$55K
Utah
$10K
Nevada
$6K
Minnesota
$2K

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund37 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc34 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc30 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program24 shared recipientsThe San Diego Foundation23 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust22 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. 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 education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding health care in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Brutten Family Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). 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: 120 S Sierra Ave, Solana Beach, CA, 92075. 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 46-5318556 · 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.