Funders › California

The Fred Gellert Family Foundation

Mill Valley, CA · EIN 94-6062859. Reported 229 grants totalling $1,134,000 to 97 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$1,134,000granted, 2020-2024
97recipients, as named on its returns
59%of grantees funded again the next year
$5,493,495assets, 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. The Fred Gellert 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 $2,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $20,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
5 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
88 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
100 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
36 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
Green Science Policy InstituteBerkeley, CA$90,000552024
Resource Renewal InstituteFairfax, CA$60,000442024
Naral Pro-Choice America FoundationWashington, DC$40,000442023
Climate CenterSanta Rosa, CA$35,000442024
Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo IncConcord, CA$35,000542024
Sustainable ConservationSan Francisco, CA$33,000552024
Huckleberry Youth ProgramsSan Francisco, CA$32,000652024
Mountain Play AssociationSan Rafael, CA$31,000442024
Free Speech for PeopleAmherst, MA$30,000332024
Marin Health Foundation (marin General Hospital Foundation)Greenbrae, CA$30,000222021
ExtrafoodorgKentfield, CA$28,000552024
Holy Family Day HomeSan Francisco, CA$25,000552024
Ocean Voyage InstituteSausalito, CA$25,000222021
VivalonSan Rafael, CA$23,500442024
PseadsSan Anselmo, CA$22,000222024
La CASA De Las MadresSan Francisco, CA$20,000442023
Pristine Mind FoundationGreenbrae, CA$18,000552024
San Francisco BaykeeperOakland, CA$18,000442023
Enriching Lives Through MusicSan Rafael, CA$17,000442024
Larkin Street Youth ServicesSan Francisco, CA$17,000442024
Marin Community ClinicsNovato, CA$15,000332022
Not in Our TownOakland, CA$15,000332023
Oasis for GirlsSan Francisco, CA$15,000442024
Safe & SoundSan Francisco, CA$15,000332023
Stand for Families Free of ViolenceConcord, CA$15,000332022
826 ValenciaSan Francisco, CA$14,000442024
Canal AllianceSan Rafael, CA$14,000442024
Turning GreenSausalito, CA$14,000442024
Adopt a Family of MarinSan Rafael, CA$12,000442024
Homeward Bound of MarinNovato, CA$12,000332024
Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian CenterPetaluma, CA$11,000442024
As You SowBerkeley, CA$10,000112021
Belvedere Tiburon Library FoundationTiburon, CA$10,000222022
Board of Trustees of the Glide FoundationSan Francisco, CA$10,000222021
Clean Air Task ForceBoston, MA$10,000112021
Common Cause Education FundWashington, DC$10,000112021
CommonwealBolinas, CA$10,000222021
Compass Family ServicesSan Francisco, CA$10,000222021
Episcopal Community Services of SfSan Francisco, CA$10,000222022
Ocean Cleanup North Pacific FoundationNew York, NY$10,000112020
Reproductive Freedom for All FoundationWashington, DC$10,000112024
San Francisco-Marin Food BankSan Francisco, CA$10,000222021
Stvincent De Paul Society of MarinSan Rafael, CA$10,000222021
The Ocean FoundationWashington, DC$10,000112020
UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research CenterIncline Village, NV$10,000222021
West Marin Community ServicesPoint Reyes Station, CA$10,000222022
Ritter CenterSan Rafael, CA$9,000332024
Aim High for High SchoolSan Francisco, CA$8,000222021
Center for Investigative ReportingEmeryville, CA$8,000332023
Kqed IncSan Francisco, CA$8,000222024
SupplybankorgOakland, CA$8,000112020
WhistlestopSan Rafael, CA$8,000112020
Coral Reef AllianceSan Francisco, CA$7,000222024
Reef Ball Foundation IncAthens, GA$6,000332022
Aspire Education ProjectOakland, CA$5,000222021
By the Bay HealthLarkspur, CA$5,000112021
Coral Restoration FoundationTavernier, FL$5,000112020
Dawn Redwoods Charitable TrustTiburon, CA$5,000442024
Glide FoundationSan Francisco, CA$5,000112022
Harm Reduction CoalitionOakland, CA$5,000112020
Hospice By the BayLarkspur, CA$5,000112020
Make It HomeSan Rafael, CA$5,000222024
Oil and Gas Action Network (climate Health Now)Berkeley, CA$5,000112024
Rota Care Bay Area IncMilpitas, CA$5,000112020
St Vincent De Paul Society of MarinSan Rafael, CA$5,000112023
Tahoe Truckee Community FoundationTruckee, CA$5,000112022
Union of Concerned ScientistsCambridge, MA$5,000112020
WildcareSan Rafael, CA$5,000332023
Menlo CollegeAtherton, CA$4,500552024
Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks SocietyTiburon, CA$4,000442024
Draw BridgeSan Rafael, CA$4,000222021
Milo FoundationAlbany, CA$4,000222022
Nature BridgeSausalito, CA$4,000222024
Tahoe Forest Health System FoundationTruckee, CA$4,000222024
The Marine Mammal CenterSausalito, CA$4,000222024
Trustees of Tufts CollegeBoston, MA$4,000552024
Foundation for Reed SchoolsTiburon, CA$3,000222024
Marin Country Day SchoolCorte Madera, CA$3,000222021
Aspire EducationOakland, CA$2,000112024
Bayorg - Aquarium of the BaySan Francisco, CA$2,000112020
Freedom FwdSan Francisco, CA$2,000112024
Hair to StaySan Francisco, CA$2,000112024
Marinhealth FoundationGreenbrae, CA$2,000112024
Refugia MarinLarkspur, CA$2,000112024
Side By SideSan Anselmo, CA$2,000112024
Slide RanchMuir Beach, CA$2,000112020
The Marin Mammal CenterSausalito, CA$2,000112021
Trips for Kids Bay AreaSan Rafael, CA$2,000112024
Vida Verde Nature EducationSan Gregorio, CA$2,000112020
World As It Could BeSan Leandro, CA$2,000112020
World As It Could BedsalSan Leandro, CA$2,000112021
Youth Food ProjectMill Valley, CA$2,000112020
Belevedere-Tiburon Library FoundationTiburon, CA$1,000112024
Spaulding Marine CenterSausalito, CA$1,000112021
To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer FoundationKentfield, CA$1,000112024
Antique and Classic Boat Society IncClayton, NY$500112021
Hydroplane & Raceboat MuseumKent, WA$500112021

60 of 97 (62%) 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 59%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 175 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.

Human Services
39 grants
Environment
27 grants
Education
22 grants
Health Care
19 grants
Arts & Culture
17 grants
Religion
10 grants
Animal Welfare
7 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202064$350,000$5,000
202158$317,000$5,000
202229$133,000$5,000
202333$139,500$3,000
202445$194,500$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.

Where its money goes

87% 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
$983K
District of Columbia
$70K
Massachusetts
$49K
New York
$10K
Nevada
$10K
Georgia
$6K
Florida
$5K
Washington
$500

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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 Fund69 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc69 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc58 shared recipientsMarin Community Foundation53 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program51 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust51 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 human services in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding environment in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education 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 The Fred Gellert Family 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: 1038 Redwood Hwy Bldg B Ste 2, Mill Valley, CA, 94941. 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 94-6062859 · 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.