The Service Station Foundation concentrates almost all of its philanthropic dollars in education, directing large, targeted gifts to institutions that expand K–12 opportunity in Los Angeles and support higher education in California. Its giving is highly concentrated: multi-million-dollar grants to a small number of organizations that advance college access, school improvement, and scholarship opportunities. The foundation favors established education intermediaries and major university development vehicles rather than many small community grants.
Concentrated, large-dollar gifts to a very small roster of repeat grantees; multi-grant relationships rather than broad-based or numerous small grants.
Service Station Foundation F/k/a the Chernin Family Foundation Inc has made education its defining philanthropic lane, with very large grants flowing to a small set of institutions that support K–12 opportunity in Los Angeles and higher education in California. The largest recent award in the data is a $2,000,000 grant to the UC Berkeley Foundation for charitable purposes, underscoring the scale at which the foundation backs university-linked work. In Los Angeles, the LA Promise Fund has been a repeated recipient, including grants of $1,568,165 in 2025, $947,040 in 2024, and $983,040 in 2023, which points to sustained support for school-focused and student-support initiatives. The foundation also appears to use charitable-purpose grants to back broader education infrastructure, including organizations such as The Getty Trust and Kounkuey Design Initiative. Overall, the grant pattern is concentrated, selective, and oriented toward established intermediaries rather than a wide spread of small awards.
In higher education and scholarship-related work, the foundation gave $2,000,000 to the UC Berkeley Foundation in 2025 and $1,000,000 in 2024, both for charitable purposes. In K–12 student support, it awarded $1,568,165 to the LA Promise Fund in 2025, following earlier grants of $983,040 in 2023 and $947,040 in 2024. The foundation also made smaller education-related gifts to The Getty Trust, including $128,000 in 2025 and $28,000 in 2023, and to Kounkuey Design Initiative at $25,000 in 2025. These grants show a mix of university support, school-centered philanthropy, and capacity-building or partnership-oriented funding in Los Angeles.
Typical grants cluster at a $5,000 p25, $25,950 median, and $133,500 p75, even though the foundation also makes much larger strategic awards. Recipients appear across multiple years, especially the UC Berkeley Foundation and the LA Promise Fund, which indicates recurring support rather than one-off giving. The foundation is a regular funder, not a donor-advised fund, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Grants in the data are described broadly as for charitable purposes, and the pattern is highly concentrated relative to the size of individual awards.
$4.6M
$2.5M
$3.7M
$4.7M
Most grants fall between $5K and $134K, with a median of $26K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$26K
75th Percentile
$134K
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Service Station Foundation F/K/A the Chernin Family Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 39 | $8.5M | 97.5% |
| 2 |
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Notable grantees: LA Promise Fund, UC Berkeley Foundation, Los Angeles public school partnerships / intermediaries (implied beneficiaries)
Giving is regional and heavily centered in California, which accounts for 44% of grants and is the top state by grant count. Los Angeles and Berkeley appear repeatedly among recipient cities, alongside Santa Monica. Outside California, the foundation’s grants reach New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia, with recipient locations including New York, Vineyard Haven, Chilmark, West Tisbury, and Sperryville. The recipient-country distribution is overwhelmingly U.S.-based.
The grant record centers on education, especially K–12 school improvement and student support in Los Angeles and higher education in California. It also includes grants to education intermediaries and nonprofit-school partnership organizations, with repeated support for the UC Berkeley Foundation and the LA Promise Fund.
Typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $25,950 at the median, and $133,500 at the 75th percentile. The recent record also includes much larger awards, such as $2,000,000 to the UC Berkeley Foundation and $1,568,165 to the LA Promise Fund.
Yes. The UC Berkeley Foundation appears in both 2024 and 2025, and the LA Promise Fund appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That pattern suggests recurring support for a small set of core grantees rather than mostly one-time awards.
California is the top state by grant count, and 44% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s headquarters state. Recent recipient cities include Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Santa Monica, with additional grants reaching New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
It is a regular funder that makes broad-purpose grants described as for charitable purposes. The data does not show grants to individuals or program-related investments, and the pattern is concentrated among a relatively small number of organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
| Canada |
| 1 |
| $1K |
2.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION | BERKELEY, CA | $2,000,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LA PROMISE FUND | LOS ANGELES, CA | $1,568,165 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MALARIA NO MORE | NEW YORK, NY | $350,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| ACLU | LOS ANGELES, CA | $250,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| EVERY TOWN FOR GUN SAFETY | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| THE GETTY TRUST | LOS ANGELES, CA | $128,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| HARBOR HOMES OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $50,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| 7TH GENERATION ADVISORS FRIENDS OF KBLA | SANTA MONICA, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION- RON RAPPAPORT FUND | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| KOUNKUEY DESIGN INITIATIVE | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MARTH'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $20,000 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| CARL SCHURZ PARK | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2025 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION | BERKELEY, CA | $1,000,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LA PROMISE FUND | LOS ANGELES, CA | $947,040 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| EVERY TOWN FOR GUN SAFETY | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| HARBOR HOMES OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $50,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| US FUND FOR THE GLOB | SPERRYVILLE, VA | $28,429 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MV YOUTH INC | CHILMARK, MA | $26,900 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MARTH'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $25,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| TRANSFORMATIVE ARTS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| 7TH GENERATION ADVISORS FRIENDS OF KBLA | SANTA MONICA, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR NONVIOLENCE | LOS ANGELES, CA | $5,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| VINEYARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $2,500 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| FIGURE SKATING IN HARLEM | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| PAN MASS CHALLENGE | NEEDHAM, MA | $1,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| FRIENDS OF CHILLIWACK PUBLIC LIBRARY | CHILLIWACK, BC | $1,000 | 2024 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LA PROMISE FUND | LOS ANGELES, CA | $983,040 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MALARIA NO MORE | NEW YORK, NY | $250,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| ACLU | LOS ANGELES, CA | $200,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| EVERY TOWN FOR GUN SAFETY | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| TRANSFORMATIVE ARTS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $30,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| THE GETTY TRUST | LOS ANGELES, CA | $28,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MV YOUTH INC | CHILMARK, MA | $26,999 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| HARBOR HOMES OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $25,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MARTH'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $5,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| POLLY HILL ABORETUM | WEST TISBURY, MA | $5,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| EVENT BRITE- 6TH ANNUAL DRIVE- MLK | SANTA MONICA, CA | $2,500 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| PAN MASS CHALLENGE | NEEDHAM, MA | $1,026 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| VINEYARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY | VINEYARD HAVEN, MA | $1,000 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| HFC- BRINGING LIGHT TO ALZHEIMER'S | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $500 | 2023 | FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
UC BERKELEY FOUNDATION
$2,000,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LA PROMISE FUND
$1,568,165FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
MALARIA NO MORE
$350,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
EVERY TOWN FOR GUN SAFETY
$150,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
THE GETTY TRUST
$128,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
7TH GENERATION ADVISORS FRIENDS OF KBLA
$25,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
MARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION- RON RAPPAPORT FUND
$25,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
CARL SCHURZ PARK
$500FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LA PROMISE FUND
$947,040FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
EVERY TOWN FOR GUN SAFETY
$100,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
US FUND FOR THE GLOB
$28,429FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
TRANSFORMATIVE ARTS
$25,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
7TH GENERATION ADVISORS FRIENDS OF KBLA
$10,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
VINEYARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY
$2,500FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
FRIENDS OF CHILLIWACK PUBLIC LIBRARY
$1,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LA PROMISE FUND
$983,040FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
MALARIA NO MORE
$250,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
EVERY TOWN FOR GUN SAFETY
$100,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
TRANSFORMATIVE ARTS
$30,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
THE GETTY TRUST
$28,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
POLLY HILL ABORETUM
$5,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
EVENT BRITE- 6TH ANNUAL DRIVE- MLK
$2,500FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
VINEYARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY
$1,000FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
HFC- BRINGING LIGHT TO ALZHEIMER'S
$500FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES