The Borch Foundation
Saratoga, CA · EIN 20-8777443. Reported 183 grants totalling $6,703,005 to 67 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. 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. The Borch 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 $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $200 and the largest $1,304,211. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furman University | Greenville, SC | $4,104,211 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | $1,712,704 | 6 | 5 | 2025 |
| Humane Society | Milpitas, CA | $157,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Adventure Unlimited | Greenwood Village, CO | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Best Friends | Kanab, UT | $85,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Muttville | San Francisco, CA | $79,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Habitat for Humanity | San Francisco, CA | $52,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Second Harvest | San Jose, CA | $32,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Monterey Bay Acquarium | Monterey, CA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Salvation Army | San Francisco, CA | $23,850 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Family Giving Tree | Milpitas, CA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Marine Mammal Center | Sausalito, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Marine Toys for Tots Foundation | Winchester, VA | $17,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Nature Conservency | Arlington, VA | $16,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley | Milpitas, CA | $15,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chestnut Hill Ba | Chestnut Hill, MA | $15,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| University of Colorado Foundation | Denver, CO | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Wings of Rescue | Woodlandhills, CA | $13,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Ghetto Rescue Foundation | Anaheim, CA | $13,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Lifemoves | Menlo Park, CA | $11,760 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Dave Thomas Foundation | Dublin, OH | $11,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Arden Wood | San Francisco, CA | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Longyear Foundation | Chestnut Hill, MA | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hope Services | San Jose, CA | $8,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mercury News Wish Book | San Jose, CA | $8,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Sv | San Jose, CA | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| West Valley Community Services | Cupertino, CA | $6,750 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association | Chestnut Hill, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ghetto Rescue Ffoundation | Anaheim, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Link School | Buena Vista, CO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Spartan Racing Baja | San Jose, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tower Foundation of Sjsu | San Jose, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Marine Mammel Center | Sausalito, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| YMCA | Santa Clara, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Health Trust | San Jose, CA | $4,680 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| World Wildlife Fund | Washington, DC | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bill Wilson Center | Santa Clara, CA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Twelveacres | Campbell, CA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Southwest YMCA | Saratoga, CA | $3,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Heifer International | Little Rock, AR | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Cat Town | Oakland, CA | $2,750 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Houston SPCA | Houston, TX | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Twelve Acres | Campbell, CA | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Animal Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | $2,250 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Cherishability | Portland, OR | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Food Bank | San Francisco, CA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Maui Humane Society | Puunene, HI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| San Jose Animal Care Center | San Jose, CA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The First Church of Christ Scientist | Boston, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wish Book | San Jose, CA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Cedars Camps | Ballwin, MO | $1,800 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Cake for Kids | Sunnyvale, CA | $1,750 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Friend of Sv Animal Control Authority | Santa Clara, CA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Keepers of the Wild | Valentine, AZ | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Christian Science Association of Pupils | La Jolla, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Medill - Northwestern University | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pets Alive | Middletown, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Christian Science Association of the Pupils | Nottingham, MD | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kqed | San Francisco, CA | $800 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gamma Phi Beta | Centennial, CO | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Happy Hollow Foundation | San Jose, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Heartland Animal Shelter | Wheeling, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| High Ridge House Inc | Bronx, NY | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Odd Fellow-Rebekah Childrens Home of Ca | Gilroy, CA | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
43 of 67 (64%) 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 82%, 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 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.
- University of Southern California
Funds to support the Borch Family Scholarship - Longyear Foundation
Funds to support Longyear Museum - The Health Trust
Funds to support Meals on Wheels
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 100 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | $1,301,500 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 36 | $1,077,460 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 33 | $680,980 | $2,000 |
| 2024 | 39 | $1,238,750 | $2,000 |
| 2025 | 42 | $2,404,315 | $2,000 |
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. The Borch Foundation has 1 of them, worth $4,500,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Furman Univerity | Grenville, SC | $4,500,000 |
Where its money goes
61% of its giving went to organizations in South Carolina. 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 $2,500. 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 South Carolina.
- 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 The Borch 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: 14315 Taos Drive, Saratoga, CA, 95070. 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 20-8777443 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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