Grid Alternatives
Oakland, CA · EIN 26-0043353. Reported 79 grants totalling $11.1M to 68 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 Grid Alternatives, the IRS classifies it under environment rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE C35) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 68 distinct organizations, with 5% 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. 21% 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 $180,000. Half of what it reported fell between $55,000 and $200,000; the smallest was $6,725 and the largest $250,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pueblo of Santa Ana | Santa Ana Pueblo, NM | $506,994 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Hopland Band of Pomo Indians | Hopland, CA | $424,895 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dry Creek Rancheria | Geyserville, CA | $399,391 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Dena Nena Henash | Fairbanks, AK | $261,174 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe | Cass Lake, MN | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pine Point Microgrid | San Francisco, CA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians | Bayfield, WI | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| San Ildefonso Services LLC | Santa Fe, NM | $250,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Toiyabe Indian Health Project Inc | Bishop, CA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Tribes Technical College | Bismarck, ND | $235,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Shinnecock Indian Nation | South Hampton, NY | $225,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ojo Encino Chapter | Ojo Encino, NM | $208,150 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bad River Tribe | Odanah, WI | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bay Mills Indian Community | Brimley, MI | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bill - Yurok Tribe | Klamath, CA | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Radio | Eagle Butte, SD | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Guidiville Rancheria of California | Talmage, CA | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Housing Authority of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma | Hugo, OK | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Miccosukee Corporation | Miami, FL | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College | New Town, ND | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians | Pauma Valley, CA | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe | Nixon, NV | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sage Development | Fort Yates, ND | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians | Lakeport, CA | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Shoshone Paiute Tribes | Owyhee, NV | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sovereign Energy | Albuquerque, NM | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Three Affiliated Tribes | Newtown, ND | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Warm Springs Power & Water Enterprises | Warm Springs, OR | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jamestown S'klallam | Sequim, WA | $199,993 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Elko Band Council | Elko, NV | $199,979 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation | Nespelem, WA | $199,866 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Housing Authority of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes | Clinton, OK | $195,680 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Native Renewables Inc | Flagstaff, AZ | $195,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Shoshone Bannock Tribes | Fort Hall, IN | $194,880 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation | Mayetta, KS | $191,140 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cahuilla | Anza, CA | $185,801 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northwest Indian Colleges | Bellingham, WA | $180,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Klamath Tribes | Chiloquin, OR | $180,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| College of the Menominee Nation | Keshena, WI | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Los Coyotes Bank of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians | Warner Springs, CA | $146,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Big Pine Palute Tribe of the Owens Valley | Big Pine, CA | $141,223 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Healy Lake Village Council | Fairbanks, AR | $136,865 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians | Pauma Valley, CA | $125,983 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians | Watersmeet, MI | $125,676 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chemehuevi Indian Tribe | Havasu Lake, CA | $125,662 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin | Keshena, WI | $125,312 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Coeur D'alene Tribe | Plummer, ID | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northern Cheyenne Tribe | Lame Deer, MT | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians | Ramona, CA | $121,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Robinson Rancheria | Nice, CA | $118,397 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pit River Tribal Housing | Burney, CA | $118,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cook Inlet Housing Authority | Anchorage, AK | $92,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bad River Housing Authority | Odanah, WI | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Oglala Lakota Housing Authority | Pine Ridge, SD | $66,408 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bishop Paiute Tribe | Bishop, CA | $59,336 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Manzanita Band of Diegueno Mission Indians | Boulevard, CA | $55,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma | Mcloud, OK | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Native Village of Eklutna | Chugiak, AK | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Passamaquoddy Tribe Pleasant Point | Perry, ME | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pit River Tribe | Burney, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tebughna Foundation | Anchorage, AK | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Warm Springs Power & Water Enterprises | Warm Springs, OR | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma | Wyandotte, OK | $36,060 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Indian College Fund | Denver, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ha of the Iowa Tribe of Ks & Ne | White Cloud, KS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tamaya Housing Inc | Santa Ana Pueblo, NM | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tule River Economic Development Corp | Porterville, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mary Erickson Community Housing | San Clemente, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
8 of 68 (12%) 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.
- American Indian College Fund
SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT RENEWABLE ENERGY
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 11 of 68 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 | 6 | $392,510 | $57,168 |
| 2022 | 27 | $3,409,787 | $125,983 |
| 2023 | 19 | $2,559,339 | $136,865 |
| 2024 | 27 | $4,749,229 | $200,000 |
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
31% 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
Find more funders like Grid Alternatives
We read newly filed IRS returns and email you the grantmakers whose giving matches your state and cause, as they are published. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
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 $180,000 -- 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 Grid Alternatives'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 3 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: 1171 Ocean Avenue 200, Oakland, CA, 94608.
EIN 26-0043353 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your organization? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.