Shemastella Foundation
Irvine, CA · EIN 65-1320584. Reported 76 grants totalling $5,364,255 to 51 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. Shemastella 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.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $12,550. Half of everything it gave fell between $4,000 and $31,500; the smallest was $500 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.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Village for Children | Lanham, MD | $1,130,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Korea Hope Foundation | Irvine, CA | $945,900 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Daesalim USA | Cherry Valley, CA | $700,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sisters of Mary Boystown | Lanham, MD | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sisters of Mary World Villages for | Lanham, MD | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kkotdongnae Inc | Lakewood, CA | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Korean American Special Education | Anaheim, CA | $260,746 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Korean Martyrs Catholic Center | Westminster, CA | $147,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Kkottongnae Inc | Lynwood, CA | $130,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Korea Hope Foundation | Mapogu, Seoul | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Deul Kkot Ma Eul | Pohang, Gyeongbook | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Dosan Memorial Foundation of Americ | Cerritos, CA | $53,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Charitable Foundation of African Ca | Torrance, CA | $50,400 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Christus Retreat | Westminster, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Sisters of the Society of Our | Corpus Christi, TX | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Thomas Korean Catholic Center | Anaheim, CA | $46,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Deul Kkot Ma Eul | Buena Park, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Our Lady of Peach Korean Catholic | Irvine, CA | $33,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Asociacion Mirine | Guatemala, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Christus Corp | Westminster, CA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Home on the Green Pleasures | Tustin, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Korean Community Services | Garden Grove, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St John the Evangelist Catholic Ch | Clinton, MD | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Spirit Filled Heart Ministry | Irvine, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Charity Foundation for African Catholic | Torrance, CA | $12,600 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Solph | Buena Park, CA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Spectrum of Hope Foundation | Fullerton, CA | $12,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Korea Town Senior and Community Cen | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Korean American Special Education Foundation | Anaheim, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Missionary of the Sacred Heart | Center Valley, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill | Bethel Park, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Thomas Catholic Church | Anaheim, CA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Korean American Priest Association | Cypress, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Raphael Korean Catholic Center | Norwalk, CA | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Augustinian Guild | San Diego, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Korean American Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Madison House Youth Center | Yakima, WA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Good Hands Foundation | Garden Grove, CA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Global Children Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Grace Korean Church | Fullerton, CA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Korean Catholic Cursilla Movement | Buena Park, CA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Soon Movement Global | Fullerton, CA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| MEDI2KOREACOM | Garden Grove, CA | $2,109 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Onesimus Ministry | Buena Park, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sarang Community Church | Anaheim, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hufs Lagceo | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Oba Foundation Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pacific American Volunteer Non-Prof | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Radio Seoul | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Raising Bright Youth Project | Artesia, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Our Lady of Peace Korean Catholic C | Irvine, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
15 of 51 (29%) 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 46%, across 4 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.
- Dosan Memorial Foundation of Americ
TO HONOR KOREAN INDEPENDENCE ACTIVIS - Home on the Green Pleasures
REFUGE FOR MOTHER & CHILDREN (VICTIM - Korea Town Senior and Community Cen
SUPPORT KOREAN-AMERICAN SENIOR COMMU - Korean American Foundation
SUPPORT KOREAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY - Madison House Youth Center
CATHOLIC MISSION FOR YOUTH - MEDI2KOREACOM
AIRLINE TICKET DONATION FOR KMCC
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 17 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.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 6 | $297,600 | $36,300 |
| 2021 | 14 | $1,449,500 | $11,300 |
| 2022 | 14 | $649,300 | $18,100 |
| 2023 | 18 | $877,800 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 24 | $2,090,055 | $8,500 |
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
56% 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.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $12,550. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in California.
- 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.
- 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
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Shemastella Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). 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: 10 Corporate Park Ste 305, Irvine, CA, 92606. 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 65-1320584 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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