FundersCalifornia

Myrtle L Atkinson Foundation

Menlo Park, CA · EIN 95-6047161. Reported 221 grants totalling $1,797,000 to 91 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$1,797,000granted, 2021-2024
91organizations funded
81%of grantees funded again the next year
$9,834,842assets, 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. Myrtle L Atkinson 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 $5,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $2,000 and the largest $55,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
49 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
82 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
86 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
4 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Sempervirens FundLos Altos, CA$205,000442024
Map InternationalBrunswick, GA$60,000442024
Palo Alto Medical FoundationPalo Alto, CA$60,000442024
Salvation Army - Los AngelesLong Beach, CA$60,000332023
Salvation Army - San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA$60,000332023
International Rescue CommitteeAlbert Lea, MN$51,000442024
Seattle Preparatory SchoolSeattle, WA$45,000442024
University of Nebraska FoundationLincoln, NE$41,000442024
Green FoothillsPalo Alto, CA$40,000442024
Job TrainMenlo Park, CA$40,000442024
Make-a-Wish Foundation MichiganBrighton, MI$40,000222022
Mid-Peninsula High SchoolMenlo Park, CA$40,000442024
Pegasus ProjectAlbany, CA$40,000442024
Rocky Mountain Youth CorpsSteamboat Springs, CO$40,000442024
St Ann ChapelPalo Alto, CA$40,000442024
Tunnel to Towers FoundationStaten Island, NY$40,000222024
Whidbey Camano Land TrustGreenbank, WA$40,000442024
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSeattle, WA$36,000332023
California Institute of TechnologyPasadena, CA$30,000442024
Encompass NwSnoqualmie, WA$30,000332024
Mary Lyon FoundationShelburne Falls, MA$28,000442024
Lifewater InternationalSan Luis Obispo, CA$25,000332023
Peninsula Open Space TrustPalo Alto, CA$25,000442024
Willamette UniversitySalem, OR$25,000442024
Literacy ProjectGreenfield, MA$21,000442024
Ecumenical Hunger ProgramEast Palo Alto, CA$20,000442024
Epilepsy FoundationBowie, MD$20,000222024
Friends of Camano Island ParksStanwood, WA$20,000442024
Friends of KarenNorth Salem, NY$20,000442024
Occidental CollegeLos Angeles, CA$20,000442024
Partners for YouthSteamboat Springs, CO$20,000222024
Peninsula Family ServiceSan Mateo, CA$20,000442024
Salvation ArmySan Francisco, CA$20,000112024
Salvation Army - SocalCarson, CA$20,000112024
Washington National CathedralWashington, DC$20,000442024
Willamette Univ - Native American ProgramSalem, OR$20,000222022
La CASA De Las MadresSan Francisco, CA$19,000442024
First Place for YouthOakland, CA$16,000442024
Assistance League of San MateoSan Mateo, CA$15,000332023
Center for International SecuritycoopStanford, CA$15,000332023
Save the Redwoods LeagueSan Francisco, CA$15,000332023
Stanford Hospital Spiritual Care ServiceStanford, CA$15,000332023
Larkin Street Youth ServicesSan Francisco, CA$12,000442024
Beyond BordersNorristown, PA$11,000442024
Mali KalansoSan Francisco, CA$11,000442024
Best Friends Animial FoundationKanab, UT$10,000112024
Best Friends Animal SocietyKanab, UT$10,000112023
Burn Pits 360 Veterans OrganizationRobstown, TX$10,000112022
Camp for AllHouston, TX$10,000112024
California White Shark ProjectInverness, CA$10,000222024
Hope for Haiti's ChildrenCincinnati, OH$10,000222022
Ironman FoundationTampa, FL$10,000112024
Mountain SchoolVershire, VT$10,000222022
Nature ConservancyArlington, VA$10,000112022
Salvation Army - NationalAlexandria, VA$10,000222022
Saveaafox CorpLakeville, MN$10,000112023
UC Hastings FoundationSan Francisco, CA$10,000222022
Woodside Village ChurchWoodside, CA$10,000112021
Gardening the CommunitySpringield, MA$9,000222022
Franklin Land TrustShelburne Falls, MA$8,500442024
Jakson Street Youth ServicesCorvalis, OR$7,500332023
The PhoenixDenver, CO$7,500332023
Fred Hutchinson Cander Research CenterSeattle, WA$7,000112024
Api ChayaSeattle, WA$6,000332023
Lavender Rights ProjectTacoma, WA$6,000332023
Adventures in Caring FoundationSanta Barbara, CA$5,000112024
Assistance League of San Mateo CountySan Mateo, CA$5,000112024
Bowdoin Parents FundBrunswick, ME$5,000112021
Community Involved in Sustaining AgricultureDeerfield, MA$5,000112024
CoraSan Mateo, CA$5,000112023
Foundation for Gacier & Environment ResSeattle, WA$5,000112021
Honnold FoundationSalt Lake City, UT$5,000112023
Lifewater InternationalBentonville, AR$5,000112024
Mountain School of Milton AcademyVershire, VT$5,000112023
National Multiple Scierosis SocietyCarrollton, TX$5,000112021
Save the RedwoodsSan Francisco, CA$5,000112024
Stanford - Center for International Security & CooperationStanford, CA$5,000112024
Stanford Health CareStanford, CA$5,000112024
The Just One ProjectLas Vegas, NV$5,000112024
The Art GardenShelburne Falls, MA$4,500222024
Artst TrustSeattle, WA$4,000222022
Community Involved in Sustaining AgriSouth Deerfield, MA$4,000112023
Lambda LegalNew York, NY$4,000222024
Api ChyaSeattle, WA$3,000112024
Jackson Street Youth ServicesCorvalis, OR$2,500112024
The Phoenix FoundationDenver, CO$2,500112024
Abundant Grace Coast SideHalf Moon Bay, CA$2,000112024
Arts FundSeattle, WA$2,000112021
International Rescue CommitteeNew York, NY$2,000112021
Monkworx Social ServicesRidgewood, NY$2,000112021
Planned Parenthood - MissouriSt Louis, MO$2,000112021

57 of 91 (63%) 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 81%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 121 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Environment
24 grants
Education
22 grants
Human Services
16 grants
International Affairs
13 grants
Health Care
8 grants
Crime & Legal
6 grants
Food & Nutrition
5 grants
Youth Development
5 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202158$445,000$5,000
202253$445,000$5,000
202355$450,000$5,000
202455$457,000$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

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 53% of this one's giving went to organizations in California. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

California
$945K
Washington
$204K
Massachusetts
$80K
Colorado
$70K
New York
$68K
Minnesota
$61K
Georgia
$60K
Oregon
$55K

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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 the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund45 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc41 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc40 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program38 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust31 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc30 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  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 environment in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding international affairs in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Myrtle L Atkinson Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: 5 Pembroke Place, Menlo Park, CA, 94025. 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 95-6047161 · 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, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

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