The Dave and Judi Zaches Charitable Foundation appears to operate primarily as a vehicle for local philanthropic giving in Monterey County, funneling nearly all of its assets into donor-advised funds at the Community Foundation of Monterey County rather than making direct programmatic grants. Its activity suggests the founders prefer to seed flexible, locally managed grantmaking through a community foundation instead of running their own grant programs.
Highly concentrated, transactional giving: two grants solely to the local community foundation for DAF transfers, with one very large transfer accounting for the vast majority of total giving; no evidence of direct program support or diversified grantees.
A defining feature of the Dave and Judi Zaches Charitable Foundation is the size of its transfers to the Community Foundation of Monterey County: two 2024 grants totaled more than $1.5 million and were both designated as transfers to donor-advised funds. That pattern points to a structure built around flexible, locally managed giving rather than a large direct-grant operation. Outside those transfers, the foundation’s recent awards are smaller and concentrated in Monterey County communities, with support for organizations such as Land Watch, Big Sur Land Trust, and the Salvation Army in Seaside. The recent grant list also shows a mix of unrestricted support and purpose-specific gifts, including funding for music, food security, environmental groups, public media, and civic institutions. Music-related awards appear among the named recipients, alongside local nonprofits and a few national organizations. The foundation’s activity in the latest 990 year on file suggests a local philanthropic vehicle that channels most of its resources through community foundation structures while still making targeted grants to organizations serving the Monterey area.
Music-related support is one of the clearest program patterns in the recent grants. The foundation gave $12,500 to Youth Music Monterey for unrestricted support, $7,500 to the Monterey Symphony for unrestricted support, and $5,000 to Monterey High School Music Dept for music department support. It also made a $3,500 unrestricted grant to Carmel Bach Festival and two grants to Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra, one in 2023 and another in 2024. Beyond music, the foundation funded land conservation and environmental work through a $22,500 unrestricted grant to Land Watch and a $20,000 unrestricted grant to Big Sur Land Trust. It also supported community needs with $15,000 to Food Bank of Monterey County and $18,000 to the Salvation Army.
The grant-size distribution is modest to mid-sized for direct grants, with a p25 of $4,000, median of $7,500, and p75 of $15,000. That pattern sits alongside very large transfers to donor-advised funds in 2024, including two payments to the Community Foundation of Monterey County. Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra appears in two separate years, suggesting at least some repeat support. Most awards are unrestricted, while a smaller share are tagged for a specific purpose such as music department support or Ukraine relief. The foundation is not shown making program-related investments and does not fund individuals.
$2.5M
$0
$33K
$2.5M
Most grants fall between $4K and $15K, with a median of $8K.
25th Percentile
$4K
Median
$8K
75th Percentile
$15K
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Notable grantees: Community Foundation Monterey County (donor-advised fund transfers), Community Foundation of Monterey County (donor-advised fund transfers)
Grantmaking is heavily centered in California, which accounts for 88% of grants. Monterey is the most frequent city in the recipient list, followed by Salinas, Carmel, Seaside, and Pacific Grove. The foundation’s recent gifts also reach outside California in a limited way, including Washington, DC; Gaithersburg, Maryland; New York, New York; and Stanford, California for a Monterey-area marine lab support grant. All listed grants in the recent sample go to US recipients.
The recent grants show support for community philanthropy, arts and music, conservation, public service, and basic needs. Examples include donor-advised fund transfers to the Community Foundation of Monterey County, unrestricted gifts to land and ocean organizations, and music-related support for Youth Music Monterey, Monterey Symphony, and Monterey High School Music Dept.
Yes. Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra appears twice in the recent grant list, with grants of $3,000 in 2023 and $3,000 in 2024. That suggests some ongoing relationship rather than purely one-time giving.
Among direct grants, the center of the distribution is in the low thousands: p25 is $4,000, median is $7,500, and p75 is $15,000. The recent list also includes much larger transfers to donor-advised funds, which are separate from the smaller program grants.
California receives 88% of the grants in the data, and Monterey is the most common recipient city. Other California recipient cities in the recent list include Salinas, Carmel, Seaside, Pacific Grove, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Foundation Monterey Count | Monterey, CA | $2,414,740 | 2025 | Transfer to DAF |
| Community Foundation of Monterey Co | Monterey, CA | $65,728 | 2025 | Transfer to DAF |
| Community Foundation of Monterey Co | Monterey, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | Transfer to DAF |
| Community Foundation Monterey Count | Monterey, CA | $1,383,978 | 2024 | Transfer to DAF |
| Community Foundation of Monterey Co | Monterey, CA | $157,298 | 2024 | Transfer to DAF |
| Panetta Institute | Seaside, CA | $5,000 | 2024 | Unrestricted |
| Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra | Pacific Grove, CA | $3,000 | 2024 | Unrestricted |
| Land Watch | Salinas, CA | $22,500 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Big Sur Land Trust | Carmel, CA | $20,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Salvation Army | Seaside, CA | $18,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Food Bank of Monterey County | Salinas, CA | $15,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium | Monterey, CA | $15,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Ocean Conservancy | Washington, DC | $14,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Youth Music Monterey | Monterey, CA | $12,500 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| United Help Ukraine | Gaithersburg, MD | $12,000 | 2023 | Ukraine |
| Friends of Monterey Public Library | Monterey, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Planned Parenthood Mar Monte | San Jose, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Monterey Symphony | Carmel, CA | $7,500 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Friends of Hopkins Marine Lab | Stanford, CA | $6,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Save Our Shores | Santa Cruz, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| SPCA of Monterey County | Monterey, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Monterey High School Music Dept | Monterey, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | Music Department |
| KAZU | Pacific Grove, CA | $4,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Carmel Bach Festival | Carmel, CA | $3,500 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra | Pacific Grove, CA | $3,000 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| KQED | San Francisco, CA | $150 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| KDFC | San Francisco, CA | $150 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
| National Resource Defense Council | New York, NY | $150 | 2023 | Unrestricted |
Community Foundation Monterey Count
$2,414,740Transfer to DAF
Community Foundation of Monterey Co
$10,000Transfer to DAF
Unrestricted
Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra
$3,000Unrestricted
Land Watch
$22,500Unrestricted
Salvation Army
$18,000Unrestricted
Youth Music Monterey
$12,500Unrestricted
Friends of Monterey Public Library
$10,000Unrestricted
Monterey Symphony
$7,500Unrestricted
Friends of Hopkins Marine Lab
$6,000Unrestricted
Save Our Shores
$5,000Unrestricted
Monterey High School Music Dept
$5,000Music Department
KAZU
$4,000Unrestricted
Carmel Bach Festival
$3,500Unrestricted
Pacific Grove Pop Orchestra
$3,000Unrestricted
KDFC
$150Unrestricted
National Resource Defense Council
$150Unrestricted