About Desert Community Foundation
Since 1999, Desert Community Foundation has supported nonprofits, donors, and scholarship committees in the Coachella Valley. We empower our desert communities through Donor Advised Funds, Scholarships, and Donor Directed Grants, and as founders of CV Giving Day we invest in a healthy, educated, and prosperous Coachella Valley.
Focus Areas
Education / ScholarshipsCommunity developmentHealth and human servicesEnvironmental initiativesNonprofit capacity building
Funding Style
general operating supportunrestricted supportorganizational sustainabilitycore mission/operational expenses
Topics
organizational capacity/managementoverhead and infrastructure funding
About Desert Community Foundation
Desert Community Foundation’s giving is built around the Coachella Valley’s local nonprofit and scholarship ecosystem. Recent grants show repeated support for community safety-net organizations, education, arts, and health providers, alongside donor-directed and scholarship activity that the foundation manages across the desert communities it serves. The largest recent awards include $156,490 to Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in 2023 and $119,606 to the same organization in 2025, both for general support, which signals multi-year backing rather than one-time transactions. Other large grants went to Galilee Center in Mecca and Eisenhower Health Foundation in Rancho Mirage, with additional support reaching groups such as Voices for Children and Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley. The foundation’s active programs include donor-advised funds, donor-directed grants, scholarship funds, and CV Giving Day, giving it a mix of direct grantmaking and donor-facilitated philanthropy. Its scholarship work is especially prominent, and its recent grants also reach arts institutions, health organizations, and local service providers across the valley.
What Desert Community Foundation Funds
Education is a central lane for Desert Community Foundation. Through its scholarship programs, the foundation awards support to students from the Coachella Valley and administers scholarship funds for private clubs, corporations, and advisory committees. Community development funding is another recurring theme: the foundation gave $21,625 to Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation in Palm Springs for general support, and it uses donor-directed grants to route local philanthropy to nonprofits in the valley. Health and human services also appear in the recent record. Eisenhower Health Foundation in Rancho Mirage received $56,495 for general support in 2025, and Martha’s Village and Kitchen in Indio received $25,720 in 2024 and $21,833 in 2025. The foundation also supports arts and civic life, including Palm Springs Art Museum and San Diego Symphony.
How Desert Community Foundation Gives
Typical grant size centers on moderate awards: the 25th percentile is $6,439, the median is $11,380, and the 75th percentile is $25,375. The recent record includes both smaller grants around the median and larger general-support gifts above $100,000. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, Galilee Center, Eisenhower Health, Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley, McCallum Theatre, and Palm Springs Art Museum, which points to repeat support rather than one-off funding. Desert Community Foundation operates as a community foundation with donor-advised, donor-directed, and scholarship activity, and CV Giving Day adds a structured annual giving vehicle. Unsolicited participation is listed for CV Giving Day and some scholarship fund programs, while donor-directed grants are facilitated through the foundation’s donor processes.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.3M
Total Assets
$50.4M
Total Revenue
$12.6M
Total Expenses
$4.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6K and $25K, with a median of $11K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$11K
75th Percentile
$25K
Geographic Reach
Local3 states funded
About 97% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MARY C PANESAR
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