The Wls Spencer Foundation
New York, NY · EIN 13-3799186. Reported 129 grants totalling $5,909,357 to 51 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. 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. The Wls Spencer 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 $30,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $260,000. 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. 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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Oregon Foundation | Eugene, OR | $716,843 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Freshgrass Public Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $712,500 | 8 | 3 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art | North Adams, MA | $592,580 | 8 | 4 | 2024 |
| Surfrider Foundation | San Clemente, CA | $500,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Freshgrass Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $452,500 | 5 | 1 | 2021 |
| Teach for America Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Klcc Public Radio Foundation | Eugene, OR | $335,000 | 9 | 4 | 2024 |
| Peer Health Exchange Inc | Oakland, CA | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| 826 Valencia | San Francisco, CA | $140,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Bay Area Scores | San Francisco, CA | $140,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lane County School District 4J | Eugene, OR | $105,411 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| San Francisco Friends School | San Francisco, CA | $105,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lane Arts Council | Eugene, OR | $100,000 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ten Strands | San Rafael, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Asia Society | New York, NY | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Maude I Kerns Art Center | Eugene, OR | $83,979 | 6 | 4 | 2024 |
| Smart Reading | Portland, OR | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation | New York, NY | $70,005 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard Foundation | Costa Mesa, CA | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums | San Francisco, CA | $65,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Eugene Contemporary Art | Eugene, OR | $65,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Corporation of the Fine Arts Museum | San Francisco, CA | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The John G Shedd Institute for the Arts | Eugene, OR | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon | Eugene, OR | $50,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| The President & Trustees of Williams College | Williamstown, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Newport Harbor Educational Foundation | Newport Beach, CA | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| California College of the Arts | San Francisco, CA | $40,539 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hancock Shaker Village | Pittsfield, MA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Robert W Woodruff Arts Center Inc | Atlanta, GA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Community Supported Shelters | Eugene, OR | $35,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| White Bird Clinic | Eugene, OR | $35,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Eugene Southtowne Rotary Foundation | Eugene, OR | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Asian Art Museum Foundation of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Fii National | Oakland, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hudson River Museum of Westchester | Yonkers, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| New School San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Tallgrass Film Association | Wichita, KS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Food for Lane County | Eugene, OR | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Japan Society Inc | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northern Berkshire Community Coalition Inc | North Adams, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Breakthrough Collaborative Inc | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Honolulu Biennial Foundation (hawaii Contemporary) | Honolulu, HI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Vincent De Paul Society of Lane County Inc | Eugene, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Burchfield Penney Art Center | Buffalo, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ditch Projects | Springfield, OR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Medecins Sans Frontiers USA Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Team Rubicon | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vermont Wilderness School Inc | Brattleboro, VT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Oregon Contemporary Theatre | Eugene, OR | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Mount Pisgah Arboretum | Eugene, OR | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
27 of 51 (53%) 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 61%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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.
- University of Oregon Foundation
FOR JSMA WADSWORTH CONTEMPORARY CHINESE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION - Surfrider Foundation
FOR PLASTIC POLLUTION INITIATIVE - Freshgrass Public Foundation
FOR ARTIST AWARDS AND GENERAL SUPPORT - Freshgrass Foundation
FOR $100,000 FOR COVID RELIEF AND $100,000 DISCRETIONARY - Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS - Teach for America Inc
FOR BEYOND RECOVERY: SUPPORTING TEACHERS TO HELP BAY AREA STUDENTS THRIVE AFTER CRISIS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 111 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | $1,481,447 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 39 | $1,524,538 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 29 | $1,554,171 | $40,000 |
| 2024 | 22 | $1,349,201 | $30,000 |
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 Wls Spencer Foundation has 13 of them, worth $2,566,232. 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.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| The Surfrider Foundation | San Clemente, CA | $1,000,000 |
| Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art | North Adams, MA | $400,000 |
| University of Oregon Foundation | Eugene, OR | $301,052 |
| Freshgrass Public Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $250,000 |
| Klcc Public Radio Foundation | Eugene, OR | $125,000 |
| The Asia Society | New York, NY | $100,000 |
| Teach for America Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 |
| Eugene Southtowne Rotary Foundation | Eugene, OR | $70,000 |
| San Francisco Friends School | San Francisco, CA | $70,000 |
| Lane County School District 4J | Eugene, OR | $50,180 |
| Ten Strands | San Rafael, CA | $50,000 |
| Maude I Kerns Art Center | Eugene, OR | $30,000 |
| The Breakthrough Collaborative Inc | Oakland, CA | $20,000 |
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 52% 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.
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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 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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $30,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- 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 Wls Spencer Foundation'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: 555 Madison Avenue 16TH Floor, New York, NY, 10022. 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 13-3799186 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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