The Shanbrom Family Foundation
Ojai, CA · EIN 77-0518326. Reported 272 grants totalling $5,530,000 to 85 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 Shanbrom 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.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $2,000 and the largest $250,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $500,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ojai Valley Land Conservancy | Ojai, CA | $450,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Anaheim Ballet | Anaheim, CA | $400,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ojai Festivals Ltd | Ojai, CA | $331,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of California Irvine Foundation (uci) | Irvine, CA | $290,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Save the Redwoods | San Francisco, CA | $195,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of California Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures | Santa Barbara, CA | $190,000 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| Desert Mountain Community Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | $145,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Care | Atlanta, GA | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Direct Relief Foundation | Goleta, CA | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Community Memorial Health System | Ventura, CA | $120,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| The Turtle Conservancy | Ojai, CA | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association | Ventura, CA | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara Ventura & San Luis Obispo Counties Inc | Santa Barbara, CA | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Rwanda Girls Initiative | Medina, WA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Overlake Hospital | Bellevue, WA | $95,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Crew | Ojai, CA | $95,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Los Padres Forest Watch Inc | Santa Barbara, CA | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mesa | Ojai, CA | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Wild at Heart | Cave Creek, AZ | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ojai Raptor Center | Oak View, CA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Plymouth Housing Group | Seattle, WA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $70,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Center for Biological Diversity | Tucson, AZ | $65,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Bird Conservancy | The Plains, VA | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Music of Remembrance | Seattle, WA | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Wilderness Society | Washington, DC | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Agora Foundation | Ojai, CA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cama | Santa Barbara, CA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Inc | Stamford, CT | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Musical Instrument Museum | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ojai Cares | Ojai, CA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pacific Symphony | Santa Ana, CA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ptsd Now | Schaumburg, IL | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| USO | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Wikimedia Foundation Inc | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo Film Festival | San Luis Obispo, CA | $45,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Central Coast State Parks Association | San Luis Obispo, CA | $42,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Fibco Family Services Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Kaminando Habitat Connectivity Initiative | Oakland, CA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| KCNT1 Slack Epilepsy Foundation Inc | Contoocook, NH | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Other Minds | San Francisco, CA | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Canzona | San Luis Obispo, CA | $30,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Foothills Food Bank | Carefree, AZ | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Honorhealth Foundation | Scottsdale, AZ | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mathematical Sciences Research Institute | Berkeley, CA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sacramento Choral Society | Fair Oaks, CA | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Sempervirens | Los Altos, CA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Whispering Hope Ranch | Phoenix, AZ | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mozart Festival Association | San Luis Obispo, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Philharmonic Society of Orange County | Irvine, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chase Rauchle Ptsd Now | Incline Village, NV | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hawk Mountain Sanctuary | Kempton, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc | Seattle, WA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Spokes | San Luis Obispo, CA | $18,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Western Fund of Vertibrate Zoology | Camarillo, CA | $18,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Ecologistics | Los Osos, CA | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Amnesty International | New York, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Farestart (circle of Impact) | Seattle, WA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of California Santa Cruz Foundation | Santa Cruz, CA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Community Counseling Center | San Luis Obispo, CA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kcbx Inc | San Luis Obispo, CA | $12,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens | San Luis Obispo, CA | $12,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Condor Survival Fund | Boise, ID | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hospice of San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Music to Life | Wilder, VT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Nate's Place Wellness and Recovery Center | Oxnard, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood of Mar Monte | San Jose, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History | Santa Barbara, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute | Berkeley, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| YMCA of Slo County (san Luis Obispo County Young Mens Christian Association | San Luis Obispo, CA | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo Master Chorale | San Luis Obispo, CA | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Slo County Library Foundation | St Louis, MO | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden | San Luis Obispo, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Human Rights Watch | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ojai Art Center | Ojai, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| San Luis Obispo Education Foundation | San Luis Obispo, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| World Central Kitchen | Washington, DC | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| City Farm San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Restorative Partners Inc | San Luis Obispo, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| San Luis Obispo Arts Council | San Luis Obispo, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| San Luis Obispo Food Bank | San Luis Obispo, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| San Luis Obispo Symphony Inc | San Luis Obispo, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Transitions Mental Health Association | San Luis Obispo, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
61 of 85 (72%) 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 84%, 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.
- Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION - Ojai Festivals Ltd
SUPPORT OF MUSIC PERFORMANCES - Mayo Clinic
MEDICAL SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS - Save the Redwoods
LAND PURCHASE FOR PUBLIC USE - University of California Irvine Foundation (uci)
MEDICAL SCHOOLSCHOLARSHIPS - Mesa
HOUSING FOR TRANSITIONAL YOUTH
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 166 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 | 52 | $1,075,000 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 53 | $1,010,000 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 59 | $1,028,000 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 55 | $1,075,000 | $15,000 |
| 2025 | 53 | $1,342,000 | $15,000 |
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
65% 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.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
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 $10,000. 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 The Shanbrom Family 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: 603 W Ojai Ave Suite a, Ojai, CA, 93023. 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 77-0518326 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.