The Mackworth-Mendoza Foundation concentrates almost all of its giving on arts and cultural programming, with a strong emphasis on literary arts and children's performing arts in Oregon. Its largest, repeated support goes to Literary Arts, complemented by multi-year backing for Oregon Children's Theater, indicating a preference for established regional arts organizations that deliver public programming and youth engagement.
Concentrated, relatively large grants to a small number of arts organizations—repeat funding for flagship regional grantees rather than many small, diversified awards.
Notable grantees: Literary Arts, Oregon Children's Theater
Mackworth-mendoza Foundation’s grantmaking is anchored by a large, repeated commitment to Literary Arts in Portland, including a $525,000 grant in 2023 and another $50,000 in 2025 for program activities. That pattern points to a funder that supports established arts organizations over time rather than making isolated awards. The foundation also gives multi-year support to Oregon Children’s Theater, with grants of $40,000 in 2024 and $35,000 in 2025, reinforcing its interest in arts programming that reaches public audiences and younger participants. Beyond those core arts grants, the foundation’s recent awards include education, food assistance, and university support, but the largest share of its attention appears to sit with literary and children’s performing arts in Oregon. Recipients include Portland-based organizations as well as institutions outside Oregon, suggesting a regional grantmaker with a consistent set of priorities and a few smaller side grants. Its annual grants totaled $773,250 against assets of $1,333,117 in the latest 990 year on file.
Literary and festival programming is the clearest theme in the recent record. The foundation gave $35,000 in 2024 to Literary Arts for program activities, alongside much larger prior and later support, showing sustained backing for that organization. Children’s performing arts is another visible area. In 2024, Mackworth-mendoza Foundation awarded $40,000 to Oregon Children’s Theater for program activities, then followed with $35,000 in 2025. That multi-year pattern suggests support for ongoing youth-facing productions rather than one-time events. Education-related giving appears as well. The foundation granted $12,500 in both 2024 and 2025 to The International School for program activities, and it made smaller awards to Stanford University and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Outside the arts and education, it has also backed basic needs organizations, including Oregon Food Bank and Feeding South Florida, both receiving recurring program grants.
Typical grants are modest to mid-sized: the p25 is $2,500, the median is $5,000, and the p75 is $11,875. The distribution shows a few large outliers and many smaller awards, with repeated support often landing in the $5,000 to $12,500 range. The foundation is a private foundation with no individual giving and no program-related investments listed. Recent grants show recurrence across years for several recipients, indicating ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards. The latest 990 year on file is 2025.
$773K
$1.3M
$57K
$119K
Most grants fall between $3K and $12K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$12K
About 19% of grants go to recipients in FL.
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Giving is concentrated in the United States, with all recent grants in the US. Portland, Oregon appears most often among recipient cities, including Literary Arts, Oregon Children’s Theater, The International School, Oregon Food Bank, American Red Cross, and Saturday Academy. Florida also appears through Feeding South Florida in Pembroke Park and the University of Florida Foundation in Gainesville. Outside those states, Stanford recipients are in California and American Diabetes Assoc is in Virginia.
Its most visible support goes to arts and cultural programming, especially literary arts and children’s performing arts. Recent grants include repeated support for Literary Arts and Oregon Children’s Theater, both in Portland, with program-activities awards across multiple years.
Yes. The recent record shows repeated support for several groups, including Literary Arts in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Oregon Children’s Theater in 2024 and 2025; The International School in 2024 and 2025; and Oregon Food Bank in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Typical awards are relatively small to mid-sized. The 25th percentile is $2,500, the median grant is $5,000, and the 75th percentile is $11,875. That means many grants cluster around $2,500 to $5,000, with some larger program grants above that range.
Its top giving state is Florida, which accounts for 19% of grants to recipients in the HQ state. Even so, many of the recent grants are to Portland, Oregon organizations, so its recipient footprint is not limited to its headquarters state.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LITERARY ARTS | PORTLAND, OR | $50,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| OREGON CHILDREN'S THEATER | PORTLAND, OR | $35,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL | PORTLAND, OR | $12,500 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA | PEMBROKE PARK, FL | $5,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SCTIVITIES |
| OREGON FOOD BANK | PORTLAND, OR | $5,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC | ARLINGTON, VA | $2,500 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $2,500 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION | GAINESVILLE, FL | $500 | 2025 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| OREGON CHILDREN'S THEATER | PORTLAND, OR | $40,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| LITERARY ARTS | PORTLAND, OR | $35,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL | PORTLAND, OR | $12,500 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| OREGON FOOD BANK | PORTLAND, OR | $5,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA | PEMBROKE PARK, FL | $5,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM SCTIVITIES |
| AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC | ARLINGTON, VA | $2,500 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $2,500 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL | ASHLAND, OR | $1,000 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION | GAINESVILLE, FL | $500 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINES | STANFORD, CA | $250 | 2024 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| LITERARY ARTS | PORTLAND, OR | $525,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| LAKE OSWEGO ARTS COUNCIL | LAKE OSWEGO, OR | $10,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA | PEMBROKE PARK, FL | $5,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM SCTIVITIES |
| OREGON FOOD BANK | PORTLAND, OR | $5,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| AMERICAN RED CROSS | PORTLAND, OR | $5,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC | ARLINGTON, VA | $2,500 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $2,500 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
| SATURDAY ACADEMY | PORTLAND, OR | $1,000 | 2023 | PROGRAM ACTIVITIES |
LITERARY ARTS
$50,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
OREGON CHILDREN'S THEATER
$35,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
$12,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA
$5,000PROGRAM SCTIVITIES
OREGON FOOD BANK
$5,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC
$2,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION
$500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
OREGON CHILDREN'S THEATER
$40,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
LITERARY ARTS
$35,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
$12,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
OREGON FOOD BANK
$5,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA
$5,000PROGRAM SCTIVITIES
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC
$2,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
$2,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
$1,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOUNDATION
$500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINES
$250PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
LITERARY ARTS
$525,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
LAKE OSWEGO ARTS COUNCIL
$10,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
FEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA
$5,000PROGRAM SCTIVITIES
OREGON FOOD BANK
$5,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
AMERICAN RED CROSS
$5,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC
$2,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
$2,500PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
SATURDAY ACADEMY
$1,000PROGRAM ACTIVITIES