The Pankey Foundation concentrates on conservative/libertarian public policy, legal advocacy, and leadership development, alongside substantial support for service dog organizations and local youth/arts programs in California. They make repeat, sizable general‑support grants to national free‑market think tanks, conservative student and leadership groups, and specialized veteran service nonprofits, while also funding local schools, scouting councils, and community arts in their region.
The Edgar E & Elizabeth S Pankey Foundation’s recent giving shows a clear split between conservative policy institutions and California-based community support. In 2025, it made multiple six-figure general grants to public-policy and legal-advocacy groups, including two grants to Hillsdale College totaling $290,000 and two grants to the Institute for Justice totaling $200,000. It also backed service-dog organizations, campus leadership groups, and local education recipients. The foundation’s portfolio includes repeat support for organizations tied to economic liberty, such as Pacific Legal Foundation, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Reason Foundation, Heartland Institute, and Cato. Alongside that national policy work, it funded California recipients like Cuesta College Foundation, Friends of Mercy Foundation, Linked Public Schools, and California Policy Center. Several grants were unrestricted general awards, and the pattern includes repeated support to the same grantees within the latest filing year. The largest recent award in the dataset was $350,000 to Houston Christian High School for general support.
One major theme is public-policy and legal advocacy for economic liberty. The foundation gave $170,000 and $100,000 to National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, $120,000 and $110,000 to Pacific Legal Foundation, and $100,000 twice to Institute for Justice, all as general support. It also funded Freedom Foundation, Heartland Institute, and Cato. Another area is conservative leadership and campus-based education. Grants included $150,000 and $140,000 to Hillsdale College, $80,000 twice to Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, and $70,000 to Young America’s Foundation. A third thread is service-dog and veteran-related support. The foundation gave $100,000 to Patriot Paws Service Dogs, $50,000 to Canine Companions, and $50,000 to New Life K9s. On the local side, it also supported Cuesta College Foundation, Friends of Mercy Foundation, and Linked Public Schools.
The typical grant size is tightly clustered: p25, median, and p75 are all $30,000. That makes the 2025 portfolio unusually concentrated around a common award level, even though the recent grants list also includes larger six-figure gifts. The filing shows repeat support to several organizations in the same year, including multiple grants to Hillsdale College, Pacific Legal Foundation, Institute for Justice, Reason Foundation, Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, American Council on Science and Health, California Policy Center, and Cato. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. The grants shown are all marked general, indicating unrestricted support.
$2.8M
$8.7M
$585K
$4.2M
Most grants fall between $30K and $30K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$30K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$30K
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Concentrated portfolio of mid‑to‑large general‑support grants with many repeat awards to the same national conservative and legal organizations, complemented by targeted local giving to schools, scouting, and arts; funding favors recurring partners over one‑off small grants.
Notable grantees: Hillsdale College, Pacific Legal Foundation, Institute for Justice, Patriot Paws Service Dogs, Heartland Institute
Giving is concentrated in the United States, with 92 grants and 100.0% of grants going to U.S. recipients. California is the top state by grant count, and all grants in the dataset went to recipients in the HQ state. Recent California recipients include Sacramento, Los Angeles, Tustin, Bakersfield, Santa Rosa, and San Luis Obispo. Outside California, the foundation also supported recipients in Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, and Washington, DC, but the recipient-country distribution remains entirely U.S.-based.
Its recent grants center on conservative and libertarian public-policy organizations, litigation groups tied to economic liberty, conservative campus leadership programs, service-dog nonprofits, and California schools and community organizations. Examples in the latest filing include policy groups, college-affiliated programs, and local education and arts recipients.
Yes. The recent grants list shows repeated awards in the same year to several organizations, including Hillsdale College, Pacific Legal Foundation, Institute for Justice, Reason Foundation, Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, American Council on Science and Health, California Policy Center, and Cato.
The grant-size distribution is tightly fixed at $30,000 across the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile. Recent filings also show larger awards, but the central tendency in the dataset is $30,000.
Its giving is local in geographic scope, with 100.0% of grants going to recipients in California’s broader recipient set, and 92 grants going to U.S. recipients overall. California is the top state by grant count, and recent recipients include cities such as Houston, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Tustin, Bakersfield, and Santa Rosa.
Recent grants include several large general awards, such as $350,000 to Houston Christian High School, $250,000 to Cuesta College Foundation, and $170,000 to National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The list also includes many $50,000 to $120,000 grants.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale College | Hillsdale, MI | $300,000 | 2026 | General |
| Cuesta College Foundation | San Luis Obispo, CA | $250,000 | 2026 | General |
| National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation | Springfield, VA | $170,000 | 2026 | General |
| Linked Public Schools | Bakersfield, CA | $150,000 | 2026 | General |
| Pacific Legal Foundation | Sacramento, CA | $120,000 | 2026 | General |
| Heartland Institute | Arlington Heights, IL | $100,000 | 2026 | General |
| Institute for Justice | Arlington, VA | $100,000 | 2026 | General |
| CO2 Coalition | Arlington, VA | $100,000 | 2026 | General |
| Freedom Foundation | Valley Forge, PA | $100,000 | 2026 | General |
| Patriot Paws Service Dogs | Rockwall, TX | $100,000 | 2026 | General |
| Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute | Herndon, VA | $80,000 | 2026 | General |
| Reason Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $70,000 | 2026 | General |
| American Council on Science and Health | New York, NY | $70,000 | 2026 | General |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Foundation | Bakersfield, CA | $70,000 | 2026 | General |
| Young America's Foundation | Reston, VA | $70,000 | 2026 | General |
| California Policy Center | Tustin, CA | $70,000 | 2026 | General |
| Leadership Institute | Arlington, VA | $60,000 | 2026 | General |
| K9s for Warriors | Ponte Vedra, FL | $50,000 | 2026 | General |
| New Life K9s | San Luis Obispo, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General |
| Canine Companions | Santa Rosa, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General |
| Cato | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 2026 | General |
| Houston Christian High School | Houston, TX | $50,000 | 2026 | General |
| Boy Scouts Las Padres Council | Santa Barbara, CA | $40,000 | 2026 | General |
| Mountain States Legal Foundation | Lakewood, CO | $40,000 | 2026 | General |
| Heritage Foundation | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2026 | General |
| Cottey College | Nevada, MO | $30,000 | 2026 | General |
| Boy Scouts Orange County Council | Orange, CA | $30,000 | 2026 | General |
| Dell Children's Foundation | Austin, TX | $30,000 | 2026 | General |
| San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Education Commitee | Templeton, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | General |
| Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts | Tustin, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Folds of Honor | Owasso, OK | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Topeka, KS | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Goldwater Institute | Phoenix, AZ | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Foundation for Economic Education | Atlanta, GA | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| World Affairs Concil of Orange County | Irvine, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| UT Health Houston Foundation | Houston, TX | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| National WWII Museum | New Orleans, LA | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation | Houston, TX | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Boys and Girls Club of Tustin | Tustin, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Bridges to Life | Houston, TX | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Tustin Area Historical Society | Tustin, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | General |
| Salvation Army USA | Santa Ana, CA | $15,000 | 2026 | General |
| Chapman University | Orange, CA | $15,000 | 2026 | General |
| American Field Service | New York, NY | $15,000 | 2026 | General |
| Faith in Practice | Houston, TX | $10,000 | 2026 | General |
| UT MD Anderson Cancer Center | Houston, TX | $10,000 | 2026 | General |
| Tustin Community Preschool | Tustin, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General |
| The Bakersfield Catholic Education Foundation | Bakersfield, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General |
| California Farm Worker Foundation | Delano, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General |
| Texas Hearing Institute | Houston, TX | $10,000 | 2026 | General |
Linked Public Schools
$150,000General
General
Freedom Foundation
$100,000General
New Life K9s
$50,000General
Canine Companions
$50,000General
Cato
$50,000General
Houston Christian High School
$50,000General
Boy Scouts Las Padres Council
$40,000General
Boy Scouts Orange County Council
$30,000General
San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Education Commitee
$25,000General
Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts
$20,000General
Folds of Honor
$20,000General
World Affairs Concil of Orange County
$20,000General
UT Health Houston Foundation
$20,000General
National WWII Museum
$20,000General
Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation
$20,000General
Boys and Girls Club of Tustin
$20,000General
Tustin Area Historical Society
$20,000General
Salvation Army USA
$15,000General
American Field Service
$15,000General
Tustin Community Preschool
$10,000General
The Bakersfield Catholic Education Foundation
$10,000General