About Dr Seuss Foundation
The Dr. Seuss Foundation channels its giving primarily through a single large grant to a community foundation, indicating a focus on local community impact in San Diego with an emphasis on literacy, literature, and education. Rather than funding many direct-service groups, it relies on an intermediary to identify and support charities that advance community solutions and promote reading and educational programs.
Focus Areas
Local literacy and reading programs in San DiegoSupport for literature and children's book–related initiativesEducation-focused community grants via intermediary organizationsCapacity-building and grantmaking through community foundations
Who They Fund
local community membersstudents and learnerscharitable nonprofits / community organizationsreaders and literature audiences
Giving Approach
Concentrated, large single grant to a community foundation (intermediary) rather than multiple direct grants; relies on intermediary to distribute funds to local literacy and education programs.
About Dr Seuss Foundation
A single large contribution to San Diego Foundation anchors Dr Seuss Foundation’s recent giving: $2,232,234 in 2025 to support grants for charities working on community solutions, literacy, literature, and education. That pattern fits the foundation’s local profile. Its active programs all center on early childhood learning and reading, with grantmaking aimed at children from birth to age 8 in San Diego County and the broader San Diego region. The foundation’s structure also points to a channel-based approach: rather than distributing many direct awards itself, it uses the San Diego Foundation as an intermediary for community grantmaking and endowed initiatives. The foundation’s named programs emphasize early literacy, language development, family-centered learning, school readiness, and provider expertise. The Ready to Learn initiative and the Bright Futures Grant both support organizations that work with young children, while the Dr. Seuss Foundation Grants Program focuses on evidence-based early-childhood literacy and early-learning programs. The grantmaking picture is consistent with a funder that concentrates on children’s learning before and just after school entry, using local community infrastructure to identify projects and organizations aligned with those goals.
What Dr Seuss Foundation Funds
Early literacy is the clearest thread in the foundation’s program work. Through the Ready to Learn initiative, it supports community organizations serving children from birth through age five in San Diego County, with an emphasis on language development and family-centered learning. The Bright Futures Grant extends that pattern to organizations serving children up to age 8, with support for school readiness and playful, experiential learning. Education-focused giving appears in the Dr. Seuss Foundation Grants Program, which backs evidence-based early-childhood literacy and early-learning programs so children enter school ready and become proficient readers by fourth grade. The same program also references improving instructional quality and expanding preschool services. The foundation’s recent grant to San Diego Foundation also points to broader support for literature and education. Its language ties community grants to literacy, literature, and education rather than to a single subfield.
How Dr Seuss Foundation Gives
The grant-size data show an extremely concentrated pattern: p25, median, and p75 are all $1, which reflects a single very large grant alongside a token $1 future payment entry. That structure matches a funder that routes most giving through one intermediary rather than through many separate awards. The foundation’s latest 990 year on file is 2025. Recurrence is visible in the recent-grants list, where San Diego Foundation appears twice across different years, including the 2025 contribution and a 2023 $1 future-payment accrual. The foundation funds individuals, but the provided grant record and active programs point primarily to organizational grantmaking. Application mode is mixed: Ready to Learn and Bright Futures accept unsolicited applications, while the Dr. Seuss Foundation Grants Program does not.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.2M
Total Assets
$65M
Total Revenue
$4.2M
Total Expenses
$3.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $1 and $1, with a median of $1.
25th Percentile
$1
Median
$1
75th Percentile
$1
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
About 100% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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