To inspire generosity and engage the resources of our community for present needs unfulfilled and future needs unforeseen.
A defining feature of Pasadena Community Foundation’s recent grantmaking is its mix of local discretionary support, scholarship awards, donor-advised grants, and targeted relief funding tied to the Eaton Fire. Across the latest grants on file, the foundation moved sizable resources to Pasadena-area institutions while also channeling major gifts through donor-advised and designated vehicles. Pasadena City College Foundation received both a $320,300 PCF Discretionary grant in 2025 and a $194,924 PCF Discretionary grant in 2023, while YWCA Glendale and Pasadena appeared in multiple years with grants of $366,714 in 2025, $300,000 in 2023, and $229,592 in 2024. The foundation also supported community infrastructure through grants such as $200,000 to Heritage Housing Partners and $161,045 to LAist (formerly KPCC). Beyond direct nonprofit support, Pasadena Community Foundation administers scholarship programs for local students and funds initiatives serving children, older adults, and community recovery needs. Its overall pattern is one of place-based grantmaking with several funding channels operating at once, including foundation-directed discretionary grants, donor-advised grants, and scholarship funds.
Arts and culture appear in both discretionary and donor-advised grantmaking. Huntington Library Art Museum & Botanical Gardens The received $239,809 in 2024 and $135,600 in 2023, showing repeated support for a major cultural institution in San Marino. In education, Pasadena City College Foundation received $182,040 through Scholarship support in 2024, alongside the separate PCF Scholars program for graduates of Pasadena Unified School District continuing at Pasadena City College. Community and human services also figure prominently. Journey House received $150,250 in 2025 through Agency funding, while Young & Healthy received $132,600 in 2025 through PCHF Grants. Health and care-related support reached Huntington Hospital with $133,700 in 2023 and $132,350 in 2024, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center received designated grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Pasadena Community Foundation’s typical grant size sits at $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $16,180 at the median, and $39,275 at the 75th percentile. The recent grant list also includes several much larger awards, but the center of gravity is smaller local grants. Recurring relationships are common: YWCA Glendale and Pasadena, Pasadena City College Foundation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Huntington Library Art Museum & Botanical Gardens The, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Huntington Hospital, and Polytechnic School all appear in multiple years. The foundation operates as a mixed community foundation, using donor-advised, discretionary, designated, scholarship, agency, and PCHF grants, and it accepts unsolicited applications in some active programs, including PCF Grantmaking and several relief and scholarship initiatives.
$27.9M
$225.2M
$61.8M
$34.1M
Most grants fall between $10K and $39K, with a median of $16K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$16K
75th Percentile
$39K
Mariver Copeland
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Grantmaking is overwhelmingly local: 80% of grants go to recipients in California, and every grant in the recipient-country distribution is in the United States. Pasadena is a recurring recipient city, with grants also landing in nearby Glendale, San Marino, Altadena, Sierra Madre, and Los Angeles. Outside the immediate area, recent grants reached Charlottesville, Virginia; Edina, Minnesota; and Orange, California, but the overall footprint remains centered on the Greater Pasadena area.
The foundation supports arts and culture, community and economic development, environment and animal welfare, health and safety, human services, youth and education, affordable housing, food security, and senior care. Its active programs also include relief and restoration work tied to the Eaton Fire, scholarship programs, and community grantmaking in the Greater Pasadena area.
Yes. It administers scholarship programs for local students, including PCF Scholars for graduates of Pasadena Unified School District who continue at Pasadena City College, as well as PCF High School Scholarships and other named scholarship funds for eligible students in the Greater Pasadena area.
It uses several grant types, including donor-advised grants, foundation-directed discretionary grants, field-of-interest funding, program or grantmaker-directed grants, scholarship funding, and designated grants. The recent grant list shows all of these vehicles in use, alongside agency grants and PCHF grants.
Some programs accept unsolicited applications, including PCF Grantmaking, Eaton Fire Relief & Recovery Grants, Childcare Relief Initiative, Senior Grants, and The Rowe & Gayle Giesen Trust Grants. Other programs, including the core Grantmaking (General Grants) program, do not accept unsolicited applications.
Its giving is local, and 80% of grants go to recipients in California. Recent recipients cluster in Pasadena, with additional grants to Glendale, San Marino, Altadena, Sierra Madre, and Los Angeles.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Current and upcoming funding from Pasadena Community Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Programs should emphasize prevention and early intervention, demonstrate measurable impact on children and youth in the PUSD area, address documented health needs, be culturally responsive, remove barriers for vulnerable populations, and collaborate with other organizations. Private schools are ineligible.
Deadline: TBD
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altadena Builds Back Foundation | Pasadena, CA | $5,010,619 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Pacific Oaks College & Children's School | Pasadena, CA | $1,351,250 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| California Community Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $1,040,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Door of Hope | Pasadena, CA | $775,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Greenline Housing Foundation | Sierra Madre, CA | $735,670 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Pasadena Hospital Association (Huntington Hospital) | Pasadena, CA | $633,233 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Beacon Housing Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $620,400 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Pasadena Humane | Pasadena, CA | $451,177 | 2026 | Project Support |
| International Rescue Committee | New York, NY | $429,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Union Station Homeless Services | Pasadena, CA | $420,250 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Smile Train | New York, NY | $413,433 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Topeka, KS | $409,933 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Habitat for Humanity International | Americus, GA | $408,933 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Union Rescue Mission | Los Angeles, CA | $408,833 | 2026 | Project Support |
| St Jude Children's Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $408,633 | 2026 | Project Support |
| American National Red Cross | Washington, DC | $408,433 | 2026 | Project Support |
| ASPCA | New York, NY | $408,433 | 2026 | Project Support |
| American Cancer Society | Atlanta, GA | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Darrow School | New Lebanon, NY | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Green Vale School | Glen Head, NY | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Special Olympics Inc | Washington, DC | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Alzheimer's Association | Chicago, IL | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Flying Kites Inc | Boston, MA | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation | Short Hills, NJ | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Camp Pasquaney | Hebron, NH | $408,333 | 2026 | Project Support |
| College Access Plan | Pasadena, CA | $325,700 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| GoFundMeorg fbo Altadena Town Council | West Hollywood, CA | $325,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) | Alhambra, CA | $300,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Friends In Deed | Pasadena, CA | $253,412 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Day One Inc | Pasadena, CA | $248,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | Los Angeles, CA | $244,149 | 2026 | Designated |
| Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges | Los Angeles, CA | $209,000 | 2026 | Scholarship |
| Pasadena City College Foundation | Pasadena, CA | $200,234 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Polytechnic School | Pasadena, CA | $183,954 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Huntington Library Art Museum & Botanical Gardens The | San Marino, CA | $172,000 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Westminster Presbyterian Church | Pasadena, CA | $160,426 | 2026 | Designated |
| Families Forward Learning Center | Pasadena, CA | $159,550 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| UNITED POLICYHOLDERS | San Francisco, CA | $150,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| LAist (formerly KPCC) | Pasadena, CA | $149,760 | 2026 | Project Support |
| Foothill Unity Center Inc | Monrovia, CA | $147,600 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena | Pasadena, CA | $142,700 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) | Pasadena, CA | $135,083 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood | Los Angeles, CA | $133,340 | 2026 | Designated |
| Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF) | Pasadena, CA | $131,976 | 2026 | PCHF Grants |
| Altagether | Calabasas, CA | $127,459 | 2026 | Fiscal Sponsor |
| YWCA San Gabriel Valley | Covina, CA | $125,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Pasadena Village | Pasadena, CA | $121,250 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Civic Soul | Marina del Rey, CA | $120,000 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Salvation Army Southern California Division The | Carson, CA | $118,200 | 2026 | PCF Discretionary |
| Feeding America | Chicago, IL | $110,000 | 2026 | Project Support |
Altadena Builds Back Foundation
$5,010,619Project Support
Pacific Oaks College & Children's School
$1,351,250PCF Discretionary
Greenline Housing Foundation
$735,670PCF Discretionary
Project Support
Beacon Housing Inc
$620,400PCF Discretionary
Pasadena Humane
$451,177Project Support
Camp Pasquaney
$408,333Project Support
Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA)
$300,000PCF Discretionary
Day One Inc
$248,000PCF Discretionary
Pasadena City College Foundation
$200,234PCF Discretionary
Westminster Presbyterian Church
$160,426Designated
LAist (formerly KPCC)
$149,760Project Support
Pasadena Village
$121,250PCF Discretionary
Civic Soul
$120,000PCF Discretionary
Salvation Army Southern California Division The
$118,200PCF Discretionary
