FundersCalifornia

Room to Breathe Project

San Francisco, CA · EIN 83-2600550. Reported 81 grants totalling $8,868,322 to 52 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$25,000median grant
$8,868,322granted, 2021-2024
52organizations funded
29%of grantees funded again the next year
$113.6Massets, 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. Room to Breathe Project 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 $25,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $6,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $18 and the largest $1,000,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
9 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
5 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
10 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
10 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
13 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
10 grants
$100,000 and Up
24 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
Seneca Family of AgenciesOakland, CA$1,299,178442024
Schwab CharitableLone Tree, CO$1,075,000212024
Schwab CharitableSan Francisco, CA$1,000,000112022
Peer Health Exchange IncOakland, CA$900,050332023
US Foundation for Queens University of KingstonWashington, DC$732,000112024
San Francisco Education FundSan Franciso, CA$637,769842024
Illuminate the ArtsSan Francisco, CA$500,000112024
Tipping Point CommunitySan Francisco, CA$350,000222024
San Francisco University High SchoolSan Francisco, CA$335,000322024
Stanford School of Business - GsbStanford, CA$250,000112024
Insead Management Education FoundationNew York, NY$200,000112024
Magen David AdomNew York, NY$200,000112023
Children's Day SchoolSan Francisco, CA$190,5501042024
Jewish Federation of North AmericaNew York, NY$150,000112023
Health Career ConnectionOakland, CA$138,400422024
Jewish Community of OttawaOttawa, Ontario K2A 1R9$136,000112023
Friends of United HatzalahNew York, NY$100,000112023
Jcrc Bay AreaSan Francisco, CA$100,000112023
University of California BerkeleyBerkeley, CA$100,000112021
Greater Good Science Center at UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA$50,000112023
Mission GraduatesSan Francisco, CA$50,000112024
Mission Graduates CompaignSan Francisco, CA$50,000112023
The Primary School - Bridge to PreschoolEast Palo Alto, CA$50,000112024
The Primary SchoolEast Palo Alto, CA$45,000112021
Senators Community FoundationOttawa, Ontario K2V 1A5$28,500112024
Hawaii Community FoundationHonolulu, HI$25,000112023
Northstar TeamTruckee, CA$25,000112022
Silicon Valley Community FoundationMountain View, CA$25,000112024
US Foundation for Queen's University at KingstonWashington, DC$25,000112023
Jewish Community of Ottawa Development FoundationOttawa, Ontario K2A 1R9$17,000112024
United Jewish Appeal FederationNew York, NY$16,880112024
La CocinaSan Francisco, CA$10,000112023
The Le RoyalOttawa, Ontario K1Z 7K4$10,000112021
Ottawa Hospital FoundationOntario K1Y 1J8$7,500112022
Wellness TogetherRoseville, CA$7,000112024
Pef Israel Endowment Funds IncNew York, NY$5,032112023
Share Our StrengthWashington, DC$5,032112024
Canamission Food HubSan Francisco, CA$5,024112023
EatlearnplayOakland, CA$5,024112023
Sierra Community HouseIncline Village, NV$5,000112023
San Francisco Elite AcademySan Francisco, CA$1,750112022
Tahoe Food HubTruckee, CA$1,556222022
Make More Music FoundationSan Francisco, CA$1,000112022
Paypal Giving FundWashington, DC$1,000112023
Pennfield Presbyterian ChurchBattle Creek, MI$1,000112023
Parkinson CanadaToronto, Ontario M2P 2A9$741112023
Mental Health AmericaAlexandria, VA$159112021
Street Soccer USANew York, NY$62112021
American Foundation for Suicide PreventionNew York, NY$38112022
Feeding AmericaChicago, IL$38112022
Unicef USAPalo Alto, CA$21112022
Doctors Without BordersNew York, NY$18112022

8 of 52 (15%) 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 29%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. 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 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 recipient's own IRS classification, for the 44 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Education
13 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
9 grants
Youth Development
5 grants
Health Care
4 grants
Arts & Culture
3 grants
Food & Nutrition
3 grants
International Affairs
2 grants
Mental Health
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202110$926,879$20,289
202214$1,983,750$4,625
202330$2,067,121$25,000
202427$3,890,572$50,000

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.

Already committed for future years

Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Room to Breathe Project has 8 of them, worth $1,738,523. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back -- and it also tells you how much of the next year's budget is already spoken for.

OrganizationLocationApproved
US Foundation for Queens University of KingstonWashington, DC$1,099,375
Peer Health Exchange IncOakland, CA$498,813
San Francisco Education FundSan Franciso, CA$53,060
Seneca Family of AgenciesOakland, CA$50,427
Children's Day SchoolSan Francisco, CA$21,250
San Francisco Education FundSan Franciso, CA$9,649
Share Our StrengthWashington, DC$5,032
Peer Health Exchange IncOakland, CA$917

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 69% 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
$6.1M
Colorado
$1.1M
District of Columbia
$763K
New York
$672K
Ontario K2A 1R9
$153K
Ontario K2V 1A5
$28K
Hawaii
$25K
Ontario K1Z 7K4
$10K

Find more foundations like Room to Breathe Project

We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.

No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.

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 Fund19 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc17 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc16 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program13 shared recipientsSilicon Valley Community Foundation12 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust11 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $25,000. 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 education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding youth development in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding health care in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in ColoradoEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Room to Breathe Project'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: 135 Main Street 850, San Francisco, CA, 94105. 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 83-2600550 · 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.