California · Grantmakers

Foundations That Fund Environment & Conservation in California

Imperigo has identified 1,337 funders that made 18,610 grants totaling $3.1B to 1,163 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 $3.1B
Funders 1,337
Grants 18,610
Organizations funded 1,163

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. Sandler Foundation
44 grants to 8 organizations · largest $4.0M · through 2024 · 8.9% of their giving
$37.6M
6. United States Energy Foundation
129 grants to 52 organizations · largest $2.0M · through 2024 · 6.8% of their giving
$36.5M
7. Foundation for the Carolinas
32 grants to 12 organizations · largest $14.1M · through 2024 · 3.2% of their giving
$66.1M
8. The Chicago Community Trust
110 grants to 41 organizations · largest $20.0M · through 2023 · 1.6% of their giving
$126.6M
9. Sonoma County Community Foundation
91 grants to 29 organizations · largest $1.9M · through 2024 · 13.0% of their giving
$14.4M
10. Fiduciary Charitable Foundation DBA Fiduciary Trust Charitable
6 grants to 4 organizations · largest $10.0M · through 2024 · 11.0% of their giving
$14.8M
11. Community Initiatives
31 grants to 15 organizations · largest $3.3M · through 2024 · 15.6% of their giving
$10.0M
12. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
196 grants to 70 organizations · largest $5.9M · through 2023 · 2.8% of their giving
$49.0M
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
244 grants to 76 organizations · largest $1.9M · through 2024 · 3.8% of their giving
$23.9M
17. Silicon Valley Community Foundation
393 grants to 159 organizations · largest $15.1M · through 2024
$107.5M
18. Tides Foundation
216 grants to 93 organizations · largest $3.4M · through 2024 · 1.7% of their giving
$44.3M
19. Orange County Community Foundation
217 grants to 59 organizations · largest $750K · through 2024 · 3.4% of their giving
$18.6M
20. The Martis Fund
7 grants to 3 organizations · largest $1.4M · through 2023 · 29.9% of their giving
$3.0M
21. California Fire Safe Council Inc
32 grants to 13 organizations · largest $958K · through 2024 · 11.3% of their giving
$4.2M
22. Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc
120 grants to 56 organizations · largest $1.4M · through 2024 · 2.4% of their giving
$17.9M
23. Santa Barbara Foundation
94 grants to 41 organizations · largest $1.2M · through 2024 · 5.4% of their giving
$7.5M
24. Liberty Hill Foundation
206 grants to 39 organizations · largest $252K · through 2023 · 7.4% of their giving
$5.2M
25. Impactassetsinc
210 grants to 83 organizations · largest $1.5M · through 2024 · 1.6% of their giving
$21.0M

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.