The Otis & Elizabeth Chandler Foundation concentrates its giving on a small number of sizable, unrestricted gifts that blend international development and local cultural/educational support. A large portion of funding has gone to global access initiatives—primarily digital reading and clean water—while a smaller share supports Bay Area independent schools and performing arts. The foundation prefers general-purpose grants to trusted organizations, often repeating support over multiple awards.
Concentrated giving: a few large, general‑purpose grants make up most funding, with repeat multi‑year support to flagship international NGOs and smaller one‑off gifts to local education and arts organizations.
The Otis & Elizabeth Chandler Foundation has made repeated $100,000 general-purpose grants to World Reader and Charity: Water, signaling a funding pattern built around unrestricted support for a small set of trusted organizations. Across its recent grants, the foundation mixes international development with Bay Area education and arts support, while also making modest gifts to universities, conservation work, and legal advocacy. The largest awards in the file go to digital reading and clean-water programs, and those same organizations appear more than once, showing multi-year continuity rather than one-time backing. The foundation’s portfolio also includes independent schooling in Santa Barbara and other California education institutions, plus arts groups such as Music Center Center Dance Arts, Ventura County Ballet, State Street Ballet, and American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet. Grants are usually made for general purpose use, which suggests the foundation gives flexibility to recipients instead of tying support to narrowly defined projects. The recent record shows both sizable anchor gifts and a long tail of smaller awards, but the recurring pattern is clear: the foundation favors a few mission-aligned groups and supports them over multiple years.
In global access work, the foundation gave $100,000 to World Reader in 2025 and another $100,000 in 2024 for general purposes, alongside two $100,000 gifts to Charity: Water in 2023 and 2024. Those grants point to a sustained interest in literacy and clean water in low-resource settings. Education support appears in the California school grants. In 2025, Crane Country Day School received $34,817 for general purpose use, and Crane School received $18,750 in 2024. The Webb Schools also appears in the record, with $1,500 in 2024 and $1,000 in 2025, both general-purpose grants. Arts funding is another visible thread. Music Center Center Dance Arts received $30,000 in 2025, while Ventura County Ballet received $5,000 in 2025 and $3,500 in 2024 under The Red Shoes - Ventura County Ballet name. State Street Ballet also received $5,000 in 2025.
The typical grant size is modest relative to the foundation’s largest awards: p25 is $1,580, median is $5,000, and p75 is $31,204. The record mixes a few $100,000 gifts with many smaller awards in the $1,000 to $5,000 range. Several recipients receive support across multiple years, including World Reader, Charity: Water, Stanford, American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet, and The Webb Schools. All listed grants are general-purpose. The foundation does not fund individuals and is not shown making program-related investments.
$268K
$3.4M
$266K
$308K
Most grants fall between $2K and $31K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$2K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$31K
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Otis & Elizabeth Chandler Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 31 | $883K | 91.2% |
| 2 | United Kingdom |
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Notable grantees: World Reader, Charity: Water, Crane Country Day School, Music Center / Center Dance Arts (CDA)
Most grants land in California: 77% of grants are to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state, and California is also the top state by grant count. Recipient cities in the record include San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura, Stanford, Claremont, and Gaviota. Outside the U.S., the grants reach London in the UK, with two grants recorded there. The remaining U.S. grants include Hagerstown, Maryland, and New York, New York.
The recent grants point to four main areas: digital reading through World Reader, clean water through Charity: Water, independent education in California through schools such as Crane Country Day School and The Webb Schools, and performing arts through groups including Music Center Center Dance Arts and Ventura County Ballet.
Yes. Every grant listed in the recent file is marked general purpose, including the $100,000 awards to World Reader and Charity: Water and the smaller gifts to schools, arts groups, and conservation organizations.
Yes. World Reader appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Charity: Water appears in 2023 and 2024; Stanford appears in 2023 and 2025; The Webb Schools appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That pattern shows repeated support rather than one-time grants.
California receives most of the grants, with 77% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state and California listed as the top state by grant count. Recent California recipients include San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura, Stanford, Claremont, and Gaviota.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
| 3 |
| $53K |
8.8% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WORLD READER | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $104,530 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| STANFORD | STANFORD, CA | $40,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| MUSIC CENTER CENTER DANCE ARTS (CDA) | LOS ANGELES, CA | $38,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $31,667 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| SERPENTINE AMERICAS FOUNDATION | LONDON | $19,270 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| VENTURA COUNTY BALLET | VENTURA, CA | $10,100 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| LAGUNA BLANCA | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| STATE STREET BALLET | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $8,600 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE PARIS OPERA & BALLET | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| THE WEBB SCHOOLS | CLAREMONT, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| WORLD READER | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $34,817 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| MUSIC CENTER CENTER DANCE ARTS (CDA) | LOS ANGELES, CA | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| SERPENTINE AMERICAS FOUNDATION | LONDON | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| VENTURA COUNTY BALLET | VENTURA, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| STATE STREET BALLET | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE PARIS OPERA & BALLET | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| STANFORD | STANFORD, CA | $2,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| COASTAL RANCHES CONSERVANCY | GAVIOTA, CA | $1,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| THE WEBB SCHOOLS | CLAREMONT, CA | $1,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| CHARITY WATER | HAGERSTOWN, MD | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| WORLD READER | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| CRANE SCHOOL | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $18,750 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| SERPENTINE | LONDON | $18,605 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| THE RED SHOES - VENTURA COUNTY BALLET | VENTURA, CA | $3,500 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| STANFORD | STANFORD, CA | $2,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE PARIS OPERA & BALLET | NEW YORK, NY | $1,606 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| THE WEBB SCHOOLS | CLAREMONT, CA | $1,500 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| WORLD READER | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| CHARITY WATER | HAGERSTOWN, MD | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE PARIS OPERA & BALLET | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| THE WEBB SCHOOLS | CLAREMONT, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
| STANFORD | STANFORD, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSE |
WORLD READER
$104,530GENERAL PURPOSE
STANFORD
$40,000GENERAL PURPOSE
MUSIC CENTER CENTER DANCE ARTS (CDA)
$38,000GENERAL PURPOSE
SERPENTINE AMERICAS FOUNDATION
$19,270GENERAL PURPOSE
VENTURA COUNTY BALLET
$10,100GENERAL PURPOSE
LAGUNA BLANCA
$10,000GENERAL PURPOSE
WORLD READER
$100,000GENERAL PURPOSE
MUSIC CENTER CENTER DANCE ARTS (CDA)
$30,000GENERAL PURPOSE
SERPENTINE AMERICAS FOUNDATION
$15,000GENERAL PURPOSE
VENTURA COUNTY BALLET
$5,000GENERAL PURPOSE
STANFORD
$2,000GENERAL PURPOSE
COASTAL RANCHES CONSERVANCY
$1,000GENERAL PURPOSE
WORLD READER
$100,000GENERAL PURPOSE
SERPENTINE
$18,605GENERAL PURPOSE
THE RED SHOES - VENTURA COUNTY BALLET
$3,500GENERAL PURPOSE
WORLD READER
$100,000GENERAL PURPOSE
STANFORD
$1,000GENERAL PURPOSE