The Schiele Family Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on arts and museum support with a strong emphasis on nature- and environment-focused museums in Southern California, supplemented by occasional youth recreation funding. Most dollars flow to a single flagship grantee (California Nature Art Museum), indicating a preference for place-based cultural institutions and programmatic support that blends art, natural history, and public education.
Concentrated giving: few, relatively large grants with the majority of funds directed to one flagship museum; occasional smaller, targeted gifts to other local cultural or youth organizations.
A single museum grant anchors the Schiele Family Foundation’s profile: $108,500 to California Nature Art Museum in 2025 for general support. That award is much larger than the foundation’s typical giving and fits a clear pattern of backing place-based cultural institutions, especially museums that connect art with nature and environmental education in Southern California. The foundation also supported Wildling Museum twice, with grants of $15,000 in 2024 and $5,000 in 2023, and gave $3,000 in 2024 to Lotusland Celebrates Where the Wild Things Grow, reinforcing that museum-and-nature theme. Their grant list also shows a broader interest in community-serving organizations, with support for arts education, local housing, mental health, and youth recreation. Examples include Armory Center for the Arts, Arts for Healing and Justice Network, Los Angeles Room and Board, La Family Housing, and First Tee - Los Angeles. General support is the dominant purpose across the grants, and the recurring museum support suggests a preference for flexible, organization-level funding rather than tightly project-specific awards. The foundation’s grantmaking remains concentrated in California, while a smaller number of awards reach other states.
Nature- and environmental-focused museums sit at the center of the foundation’s giving. In 2024, it gave $15,000 to Wildling Museum for general support, and in 2024 it also gave $3,000 to Lotusland Celebrates Where the Wild Things Grow for general support. Arts access and cultural programming appear in several awards. The foundation gave $10,000 to Armory Center for the Arts in 2024, $10,000 to Kids and Art Foundation in 2024, and $10,300 to Entertainment Community Fund in 2023, all for general support. It also supports community services beyond the arts. Grants include $10,000 to La Animal Services in 2024, $5,000 to Los Angeles Room and Board in 2024, and $5,000 to La Family Housing in 2023. Youth recreation shows up as well, including $15,000 to Friends of Golf in 2025 and $10,000 to First Tee - Los Angeles in 2024.
Grant sizes cluster tightly around $10,000: the reported median is $10,000, with p25 at $5,000 and p75 also at $10,000. That suggests a fairly standard award level, with a few larger outliers. The foundation’s recent list includes repeated support for the same organizations across multiple years, such as Wildling Museum and Friends of Golf, indicating some recurring relationships rather than one-time gifts only. Most awards are marked general support, which aligns with flexible, organization-level funding. The foundation is a private family foundation; it does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
$168K
$2.1M
$616K
$195K
Most grants fall between $5K and $10K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$10K
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Notable grantees: California Nature Art Museum, Wildling Museum, Friends of Golf
Grants are highly concentrated in California, where 85% of awards go to recipients in the foundation’s home state. The recipient map is local overall, but giving also reaches other states, including Florida, Arkansas, Arizona, and Washington, DC. Within California, repeated recipient cities include Solvang, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Pasadena. Outside California, the list includes recipients in Tallahassee, Benton, Scottsdale, and Washington, DC.
Its recent grants lean toward museums and arts organizations, especially those tied to nature and environmental education. The list also includes community service groups, youth recreation programs, housing support, and mental health organizations, all funded through general support grants.
The reported median grant is $10,000. The lower quartile is $5,000 and the upper quartile is also $10,000, so most recent grants fall at either $5,000 or $10,000, with a few larger awards above that range.
Yes. Wildling Museum appears in both 2023 and 2024, and Friends of Golf appears in both 2023 and 2025. That pattern suggests the foundation does make repeat grants to some organizations.
California receives 85% of the foundation’s grants. Recent California recipients include organizations in Solvang, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Pasadena, Long Beach, and North Hollywood.
The foundation’s recent grants are mostly listed as general support, which points to flexible, organization-level funding rather than project-only awards. It is a family foundation, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALIFORNIA NATURE ART MUSEUM | SOLVANG, CA | $108,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FRIENDS OF GOLF | LOS ANGELES, CA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE FOUNDATION ROUNDTABLE | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $10,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE NICK TRAINA FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE FUND FOR SANTA BARBARA | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| K2 ADVENTURES FOUNDATION | SCOTTSDALE, AZ | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK | MANHATTAN BEACH, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PARTNERS FOR POTENTIAL | VAN NUYS, CA | $2,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SANTA YNEZ VALLEY BOTANIC GARDEN | BUELLTON, CA | $1,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WILDLING MUSEUM | SOLVANG, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LA ANIMAL SERVICES | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FIRST TEE - LOS ANGELES | HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS | PASADENA, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| KIDS AND ART FOUNDATION | BURLINGAME, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE MAYFLY PROJECT | BENTON, AR | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ARTS FOR HEALING AND JUSTICE NETWORK | LONG BEACH, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| RIDE ON | CHATSWORTH, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SANTA YNEZ VALLEY PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE | SOLVANG, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LOS ANGELES ROOM AND BOARD | LOS ANGELES, CA | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LOTUSLAND CELEBRATES WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $3,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,300 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CORO LA WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FRIENDS OF GOLF | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WORLD WILDLIFE FUND-ADOPT AN ELEPHANT | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SOUTHERN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION | TALLAHASSEE, FL | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LA ANIMAL SERVICES | LOS ANGELES, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WILDLING MUSEUM | SOLVANG, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LA FAMILY HOUSING | NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SFVCMHC INC (SAN FERNANDO VALLEY COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER INC) | VAN NUYS, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
CALIFORNIA NATURE ART MUSEUM
$108,500GENERAL SUPPORT
FRIENDS OF GOLF
$15,000GENERAL SUPPORT
THE FOUNDATION ROUNDTABLE
$10,500GENERAL SUPPORT
THE NICK TRAINA FOUNDATION
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
GENERAL SUPPORT
PARTNERS FOR POTENTIAL
$2,500GENERAL SUPPORT
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY BOTANIC GARDEN
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WILDLING MUSEUM
$15,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LA ANIMAL SERVICES
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FIRST TEE - LOS ANGELES
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
RIDE ON
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LOTUSLAND CELEBRATES WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW
$3,000GENERAL SUPPORT
ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND
$10,300GENERAL SUPPORT
CORO LA WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FRIENDS OF GOLF
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LA ANIMAL SERVICES
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WILDLING MUSEUM
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SFVCMHC INC (SAN FERNANDO VALLEY COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER INC)
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT