California Changelawyers
San Francisco, CA · EIN 94-3104546. Reported 137 grants totalling $3,330,655 to 78 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For California Changelawyers, the IRS classifies it under social science rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE V26) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 78 distinct organizations, with 6% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 44% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $13,035. Half of what it reported fell between $8,230 and $40,000; the smallest was $5,247 and the largest $111,086. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice | Oakland, CA | $200,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Disability Rights California | Sacramento, CA | $180,574 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| For the People | Oakland, CA | $180,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Transgender Law Center | Oakland, CA | $160,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| California Rural Legal Assistance Inc | Modesto, CA | $135,060 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| East Bay Community Law Center | Berkeley, CA | $105,548 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Inland Counties Legal Services | Riverside, CA | $102,566 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education | Chicago, IL | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Community Justice Alliance Inc | Sacramento, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Legal Education Access Pipeline Inc | Pasadena, CA | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Orange County Justice Fund | Santa Ana, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Youth Law Center | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area | San Francisco, CA | $91,047 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Appellate Project Inc | Washington, DC | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Esq Apprentice | Oakland, CA | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Public Counsel | Los Angeles, CA | $71,605 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Central California Legal Services Inc | Fresno, CA | $69,502 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Legal Services of Northern California | Sacramento, CA | $66,868 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| California Indian Law Association Inc | Bakersfield, CA | $62,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Community Legal Aid Socal | Santa Ana, CA | $60,894 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Legal Aid Society of San Diego | San Diego, CA | $50,417 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Social Good Fund Inc | Richmond, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Equal Justice Works | Washington, DC | $41,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Beyond Impact | W Hollywood, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cgrs California Inc | San Francisco, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ecologistics Inc | Los Osos, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Equal Justice Society | Oakland, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northern Chumash Tribal Council | Los Osos, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Inner City Law Center | Los Angeles, CA | $38,832 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Regents Univ of California | Los Angeles, CA | $37,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Bet Tzedek | Los Angeles, CA | $36,482 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Legal Aid at Work | San Francisco, CA | $34,959 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Alliance for Childrens Rights | Los Angeles, CA | $33,968 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Public Law Center | Santa Ana, CA | $30,813 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| San Jose State University Research Foundation | San Jose, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | $29,048 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance Inc | Bakersfield, CA | $28,458 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $26,994 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bay Area Legal Aid | Oakland, CA | $23,744 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice | Los Angeles, CA | $22,257 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County | Glendale, CA | $21,544 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| CASA Cornelia Legal Services | San Diego, CA | $20,913 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Law Foundation of Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA | $20,475 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Youth Development Through Law | Berkeley, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Legal Assistance for Seniors Inc | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Regents of the University of California | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Prison Law Office | Berkeley, CA | $18,830 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Center for Youth Law | Oakland, CA | $18,174 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Public Advocates Inc | San Francisco, CA | $13,083 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino | Sn Bernrdno, CA | $13,035 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Centro Legal De La Raza Inc | Oakland, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Senior Citizens Legal Services | Santa Cruz, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Veterans Legal Institute | Tustin, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program Inc | San Diego, CA | $9,678 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Public Service Law Corporation of the Riverside County Bar Associati | Riverside, CA | $9,458 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Uncommon Law | Oakland, CA | $8,574 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| California Womens Law Center | El Segundo, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law | Santa Ana, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations | Sacramento, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Family Violence Appellate Project | Oakland, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Impact Fund | Berkeley, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Housing & Community Development Law Project | San Francisco, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Network on Women in Prison | Emeryville, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Western Center on Law and Poverty | Los Angeles, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Worksafe Inc | Oakland, CA | $8,174 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Legal Services of Northern California | Sacramento, CA | $8,069 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto Inc | E Palo Alto, CA | $7,550 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| A Milton Miller Memorial Fund Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $7,308 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law | Los Angeles, CA | $6,431 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| UC Davis School of Law Legal Clinics | Davis, CA | $5,732 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County | Santa Barbara, CA | $5,667 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Elder Law & Advocacy | San Diego, CA | $5,502 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Alameda County Homeless Action Center | Berkeley, CA | $5,435 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| California Indian Legal Services Inc | Sacramento, CA | $5,248 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Learning Rights Law Center | Los Angeles, CA | $5,247 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
41 of 78 (53%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice
LEADERSHIP PATHWAYS FELLOWSHIP - East Bay Community Law Center
LEGAL AID GRANTS, LEGAL EMPOWERMENT FUND - Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice
LEGAL AID GRANTS, SUMMER FELLOWSHIP
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 58 of 78 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | $601,571 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 21 | $349,086 | $13,427 |
| 2023 | 67 | $1,688,498 | $12,500 |
| 2024 | 24 | $691,500 | $30,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
93% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available 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 grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $13,035 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from California Changelawyers's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 24 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 1 Embarcadero Center 1200, San Francisco, CA, 94111.
EIN 94-3104546 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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