California · Grantmakers

Foundations That Fund Environment & Conservation in California

Imperigo has identified 1,370 funders that made 19,180 grants totaling $3.2B to 1,174 environment & conservation organizations in California, with a median grant of $25K. Every figure below is drawn from IRS Form 990 filings through 2025.

Environment & Conservation Funding in California

Total granted $3.2B
Funders 1,370
Grants 19,180
Organizations funded 1,174

Top Funders — page 1 of 4

1. The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust
20 grants to 7 organizations · largest $8.0M · through 2024 · 27.3% of their giving
$62.5M
2. Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc
27 grants to 11 organizations · largest $62.5M · through 2024 · 9.8% of their giving
$125.4M
3. Catalyst4 Inc
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $24.0M · through 2024 · 26.0% of their giving
$36.3M
4. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc
167 grants to 68 organizations · largest $10.2M · through 2024 · 6.7% of their giving
$83.8M
5. The Chicago Community Trust
136 grants to 49 organizations · largest $40.0M · through 2024 · 2.1% of their giving
$190.5M
6. Sandler Foundation
44 grants to 8 organizations · largest $4.0M · through 2024 · 8.9% of their giving
$37.6M
7. United States Energy Foundation
129 grants to 52 organizations · largest $2.0M · through 2024 · 6.8% of their giving
$36.5M
8. Foundation for the Carolinas
32 grants to 12 organizations · largest $14.1M · through 2024 · 3.2% of their giving
$66.1M
9. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
235 grants to 73 organizations · largest $5.9M · through 2024 · 3.0% of their giving
$65.0M
10. Sonoma County Community Foundation
91 grants to 29 organizations · largest $1.9M · through 2024 · 13.0% of their giving
$14.4M
11. Fiduciary Charitable Foundation DBA Fiduciary Trust Charitable
6 grants to 4 organizations · largest $10.0M · through 2024 · 11.0% of their giving
$14.8M
12. Community Initiatives
31 grants to 15 organizations · largest $3.3M · through 2024 · 15.6% of their giving
$10.0M
13. Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
95 grants to 32 organizations · largest $2.0M · through 2024 · 9.4% of their giving
$10.2M
14. Marin Community Foundation
362 grants to 122 organizations · largest $2.5M · through 2024 · 2.8% of their giving
$33.5M
15. The San Francisco Foundation
317 grants to 97 organizations · largest $4.6M · through 2024 · 2.8% of their giving
$33.1M
16. The San Diego Foundation
242 grants to 75 organizations · largest $1.9M · through 2024 · 3.8% of their giving
$23.8M
17. Holdfast Trust
2 grants to 2 organizations · largest $8.5M · through 2025 · 8.8% of their giving
$9.5M
18. Silicon Valley Community Foundation
393 grants to 159 organizations · largest $15.1M · through 2024
$107.5M
19. Tides Foundation
216 grants to 93 organizations · largest $3.4M · through 2024 · 1.7% of their giving
$44.3M
20. Orange County Community Foundation
217 grants to 59 organizations · largest $750K · through 2024 · 3.4% of their giving
$18.6M
21. The Martis Fund
7 grants to 3 organizations · largest $1.4M · through 2023 · 29.9% of their giving
$3.0M
22. Liberty Hill Foundation
277 grants to 45 organizations · largest $252K · through 2024 · 7.0% of their giving
$6.5M
23. Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc
120 grants to 56 organizations · largest $1.4M · through 2024 · 2.4% of their giving
$17.9M
24. Santa Barbara Foundation
94 grants to 41 organizations · largest $1.2M · through 2024 · 5.4% of their giving
$7.5M
25. Impactassetsinc
211 grants to 84 organizations · largest $1.5M · through 2024 · 1.6% of their giving
$21.1M

Funders are ordered by how much of their overall giving goes to environment & conservation work in California, not by dollar totals alone — a foundation that concentrates its giving here is usually a better prospect than a larger one for which this is a rounding error. 17 of the funders counted here are donor-advised fund sponsors, which grant on behalf of individual donors and accept no applications; they are marked and ranked last.

Other Causes Funded in California

About This Data

A grant appears here when a funder reported it on its IRS Form 990 and the recipient organization is classified under the NTEE group covering environment & conservation work, with an address in California. Grants are counted from the 2025 filing year backward.

Some 990 grant schedules list a recipient by name and address without an EIN, and those grants cannot be matched to a classification — so the totals above represent identifiable environment & conservation funding in California, not every dollar that reached the sector. Figures are a floor, not a ceiling.

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Research California funders in depth

Full grant histories, recipient lists, officer compensation, multi-year financials, and exports for every foundation Imperigo tracks.