The Margo Simons Family Foundation concentrates its giving on local health care institutions and community organizations in the Napa/St. Helena area, with significant gifts to hospital-based medical services (notably a cancer center) alongside support for local churches, early childhood education, arts projects, and land/fire resilience groups. Grants are a mix of sizable, targeted gifts to medical institutions and mid-sized unrestricted or general operating grants to community nonprofits, suggesting a preference for locally rooted organizations and pragmatic, flexible support.
The Margo Simons Family Foundation’s recent giving is anchored by a $50,000 grant to St Helena Hospital Foundation for general support, with repeated follow-on support to the same health system in later years. That medical emphasis sits alongside steady backing for community institutions in St. Helena and nearby Napa Valley, including churches, beautification efforts, and local resilience groups. The foundation’s grant history also shows a willingness to fund named institutional initiatives outside its core California cluster, such as Mayo Clinic’s President’s Strategic Initiative Fund and Fractured Atlas’s Barren Grounds restricted fund. Its recipients range from hospital foundations and colleges to cultural and environmental nonprofits, but the common thread is direct institutional support rather than individual assistance. Several awards are unrestricted or broadly designated, which suggests the foundation often funds organizations in ways that allow local leaders and program managers to decide how to use the money. The pattern is not limited to one field: medical care, faith communities, land stewardship, education, and arts infrastructure all appear in the recent record. For a researcher, the clearest picture is a family foundation that combines place-based giving with selected national grants tied to specific programs or funds.
Health care is the strongest theme in the recent grants record. The foundation gave $25,000 in 2025 to St Helena Hospital Foundation for Cancer Center support, after a $50,000 unrestricted grant to the same organization in 2023 and another $22,600 unrestricted award in 2024. Education also appears through a $25,000 grant in 2024 to Montessori Origina Foundation for general and unrestricted support, indicating support for early childhood Montessori education. In conservation and environmental work, the foundation gave $15,000 in 2023 to York Land Trust Inc for general support and $10,000 in 2023 to Sustainable St Helena An Env Allian for general support. Arts infrastructure is represented by a $24,900 grant in 2025 to Fractured Atlas Inc for the Barren Grounds restricted fund, showing support for a named fund rather than only broad operating aid.
Typical grant size sits in a relatively tight midrange: the 25th percentile is $10,000, the median is $15,000, and the 75th percentile is $25,000. The recent record includes both unrestricted gifts and more specifically designated support, with several awards tied to named programs, centers, or restricted funds. Some recipients recur across years, including St Helena Hospital Foundation, St Helena Beautification Foundation, Mayo Clinic, and Xerces Society, which points to repeat relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation is a family foundation, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments. No application process is shown in the supplied data.
$210K
$3.8M
$166K
$252K
Most grants fall between $10K and $25K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$25K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Concentrated regional giving with a few large gifts (notably to medical institutions) and multiple mid-sized, often unrestricted grants to repeat local grantees; combines targeted program support with general operating support and occasional national gifts (e.g., Mayo Clinic).
Notable grantees: St Helena Hospital Foundation, Mayo Clinic, Yountville Community Church, Montessori Origina Foundation, Napa Community Firewise Foundation
The foundation gives nationally, and every recent grant listed goes to a U.S. recipient. By count, Oregon is the top giving state, with one recent grant to Portland’s Xerces Society. California accounts for the largest cluster of recipient cities in the list, including St Helena, Saint Helena, Napa, and Yountville, while other grants land in Rochester, New York, Washington, DC, Herndon, Virginia, and York, Maine. The pattern is heavily concentrated in Northern California, even though the top state by count is Oregon.
The foundation’s recent grants cluster in the middle range: the 25th percentile is $10,000, the median is $15,000, and the 75th percentile is $25,000. Recent awards also include amounts above that band, such as $50,000, but most gifts fall within that $10,000 to $25,000 range.
Recent grants point to health care, community institutions, education, environmental resilience, land conservation, and arts infrastructure. Named recipients include hospital foundations, community churches, Montessori education, a firewise organization, a land trust, and a restricted arts fund.
Yes. Several organizations appear more than once in the recent grants list, including St Helena Hospital Foundation, St Helena Beautification Foundation, Mayo Clinic, and Xerces Society. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than isolated awards.
Yes. The recent record includes grants to organizations in Minnesota, New York, Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maine, alongside a concentration of California recipients. The listed grant recipients are all in the United States.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Helena Community Church | Saint Helena, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| St Helena Hospital Foundation | St Helena, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | Cancer Center |
| St Helena Beautification Foundation | St Helena, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| The York Land Trust | York, ME | $25,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $25,000 | 2026 | President's Strategic Initiative Op Fd |
| Goodwin Living Foundation | Alexandria, VA | $20,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| Sustainable St Helena Enviiron Alli | St Helena, CA | $15,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| Insight on the Inside | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| Xerces Society | Portland, OR | $10,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $25,000 | 2025 | President's Strategic Initiative Op Fd |
| St Helena Community Church | Saint Helena, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| St Helena Hospital Foundation | St Helena, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | Cancer Center |
| Fractured Atlas Inc | New York, NY | $24,900 | 2025 | Barren Grounds restricted fund |
| St Helena Beautification Foundation | St Helena, CA | $15,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| Center for Conservative Women | Herndon, VA | $10,000 | 2025 | Clare Boothe Luce Center |
| Xerces Society | Portland, OR | $2,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| Montessori Origina Foundation | St Helena, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| Yountville Community Church | Yountville, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| St Helena Hospital Foundation | St Helena, CA | $22,600 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| The Napa Comm Firewise Fdn | Napa, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| French-American Cultural Foundation | Washington, DC | $4,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| Rianda House | St Helena, CA | $1,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| St Helena Hospital Foundation | St Helena, CA | $50,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $25,000 | 2023 | The President's Strategic Initiative Fund |
| St Helena Beautification Foundation | St Helena, CA | $15,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| York Land Trust Inc | York, ME | $15,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| Project Veritas | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| Sustainable St Helena An Env Allian | Saint Helena, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| Xerces Society Inc | Washington, DC | $3,500 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
St Helena Community Church
$50,000General & Unrestricted
St Helena Beautification Foundation
$25,000General & Unrestricted
Mayo Clinic
$25,000President's Strategic Initiative Op Fd
Goodwin Living Foundation
$20,000General & Unrestricted
Sustainable St Helena Enviiron Alli
$15,000General & Unrestricted
Insight on the Inside
$15,000General & Unrestricted
Mayo Clinic
$25,000President's Strategic Initiative Op Fd
St Helena Community Church
$25,000General & Unrestricted
St Helena Beautification Foundation
$15,000General & Unrestricted
Center for Conservative Women
$10,000Clare Boothe Luce Center
Montessori Origina Foundation
$25,000General & Unrestricted
Yountville Community Church
$25,000General & Unrestricted
French-American Cultural Foundation
$4,000General & Unrestricted
Mayo Clinic
$25,000The President's Strategic Initiative Fund
St Helena Beautification Foundation
$15,000General & Unrestricted
Project Veritas
$15,000General & Unrestricted
Sustainable St Helena An Env Allian
$10,000General & Unrestricted