The Baker Street Foundation concentrates large, targeted gifts to cultural and civic institutions in the San Francisco area while also supporting selective higher-education endowments. Their grants skew toward sustained operating and capital support for a small number of recurring grantees — notably performing arts, urban park projects, and regional food security. They favor multi-grant relationships and mission-critical funding (operating expenses, capital projects, endowments) over many small, one-off donations.
The Baker Street Foundation’s recent giving is defined by a small set of large, repeated commitments to San Francisco civic and cultural institutions, with individual grants reaching seven figures. One of the clearest examples is the pair of grants to San Francisco Ballet: $1,000,000 in 2023 and another $1,000,000 in 2025 for operating expenses. The foundation also backed San Francisco Park Alliance at a similar scale, including $1,025,000 in 2023 for operating expenses and the Crane Cove Park project, followed by $625,000 in 2025 for the Indian Basin project. Those gifts point to a funder that supports mission-critical work rather than many small awards. The pattern extends beyond the arts and parks. The Baker Street Foundation has made repeated support to San Francisco Marin Food Bank, including an endowment grant and a later $200,000 endowment gift, indicating interest in long-term sustainability. It also funds higher-education and research institutions with targeted, named-purpose grants, such as Brown University’s mental health initiative and faculty fund. Across the recent record, the foundation favors operating support, capital projects, and endowed or restricted gifts for organizations with established roles in the Bay Area and beyond.
In civic and public-space work, The Baker Street Foundation gave $625,000 to San Francisco Park Alliance for the Indian Basin project, building on its earlier support for Crane Cove Park. That same public-interest orientation appears in its support for Chronicle Season of Sharing, which received $150,000 for operating expenses in 2025 after a 2023 grant tied to the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund 2021-2022 campaign. Education and research are another thread. Brown University received $500,000 in 2025 for a mental health initiative, following a $500,000 2023 grant to establish the Batishwa David Faculty Fund. The foundation also supported the University of San Francisco with $175,000 in 2023 for an immigration and deportation defense clinic and $225,000 in 2025 for operating expenses. In the arts, Independent Arts & Media received $200,000 in 2025 to upgrade CinemaSF theaters, and Cal Performances was funded for dance programming and operating expenses.
Typical grants cluster at a higher midrange, with a p25 of $25,000, median of $50,000, and p75 of $100,000. The recent record also includes several much larger awards, showing that the foundation can move from six-figure operating support to seven-figure project funding when the relationship is established. The pattern is repeat-oriented: multiple recipients appear across 2023 and 2025, including San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Park Alliance, San Francisco Marin Food Bank, Brown University, A Home Within, and Chronicle Season of Sharing. The Baker Street Foundation is a regular funder, not a donor-advised fund, and the grants shown are primarily operating, capital, endowment, and restricted-program awards rather than open application grants.
$7.5M
$125.8M
$2.1M
$8.3M
Most grants fall between $25K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Concentrated, high-dollar grants to a small set of recurring local and select national institutions; mix of operating support, capital project funding, and endowment commitments; multiple grants to the same organizations indicating multi-year or phased support.
Notable grantees: San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Park Alliance, Brown University, San Francisco Marin Food Bank
Giving is highly concentrated in California, with 85% of grants to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state. San Francisco is the main hub, with repeated awards to organizations there such as San Francisco Park Alliance, San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Marin Food Bank, University of San Francisco, and Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Library. Outside California, grants in the recent list went to Providence, Chicago, Boulder, Loveland, and New York, but the overall geographic footprint remains local and US-only.
The recent record centers on San Francisco cultural institutions, urban park projects, food security organizations, and selected universities. Grants include operating support, capital projects, endowments, and restricted program funding such as an immigration and deportation defense clinic and a mental health initiative.
Repeat grants are common. Several organizations received funding in both 2023 and 2025, including San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Park Alliance, San Francisco Marin Food Bank, Brown University, A Home Within, and Chronicle Season of Sharing.
The typical grant size is $25,000 at the 25th percentile, $50,000 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent record also includes several larger grants in the $200,000 to $1,025,000 range.
Grantmaking is concentrated in California, which accounts for 85% of grants to recipients in the HQ state. San Francisco recipients appear most often in the recent grants list, with additional awards going to Berkeley and Oakland.
The foundation has funded both operating support and restricted academic purposes. Examples in the recent grants list include Brown University’s mental health initiative and faculty fund, University of San Francisco operating support and an immigration and deportation defense clinic, and University of Chicago and University of Colorado Boulder operating grants.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAN FRANCISCO BALLET | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $1,000,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO PARK ALLIANCE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $625,000 | 2025 | INDIAN BASIN PROJECT |
| BROWN UNIVERSITY | PROVIDENCE, RI | $500,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE |
| A HOME WITHIN | OAKLAND, CA | $263,107 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE NATIONAL MONUMENT FOUNDATION | LOVELAND, CO | $250,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $225,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER | BOULDER, CO | $200,273 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO MARIN FOOD BANK | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $200,000 | 2025 | ENDOWMENT |
| INDEPENDENT ARTS & MEDIA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $200,000 | 2025 | CINEMASF UPGRADE TO THEATERS |
| CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $200,000 | 2025 | REIMAGINING SAN FRANCISCO |
| CHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $150,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| GIVEDIRECTLY INC | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| CAL PERFORMANCES | BERKELEY, CA | $142,455 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| CHAPIN HALL | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| ALL HOME | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| GRABHORN INSTITUTE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | MOVING EXPENSES |
| INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR PHOTOGRAPHY | ORINDA, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | TBW BOOKS |
| SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| HOMELESS YOUTH ALLIANCE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| FRIENDS & FOUNDATION OF THE SAN FRANCISCO LIBRARY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| STABLE HOME FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| LOS CENZONTLES MEXICAN ARTS CENTER | SAN PABLO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| HEALTHRIGHT 360 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| KQED | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $75,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| KINGMAKERS OF OAKLAND | OAKLAND, CA | $75,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| THE LAST MILE (TURN 2 U INC) | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $60,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| BAY AREA DISCOVERY MUSEUM | SAUSALITO, CA | $55,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| GIRLS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| TENDERLOIN NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| NEWSMATCH | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| NATIONAL REDISTRICTING FOUNDATION | CHICAGO, IL | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| 826 VALENCIA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| CALMATTERS | SACRAMENTO, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| FRENCH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| PRO PUBLICA | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO FREE CLINIC | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAFE AND SOUND | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $40,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SUNBURST PROJECTS | SANTA ROSA, CA | $40,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| INTERMUSIC SF | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $40,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $40,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $35,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| MUSEUM OF PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $30,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD | ATLANTA, GA | $25,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
| SAN FRANCISCO CASA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | OPERATING EXPENSES |
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
$1,000,000OPERATING EXPENSES
BROWN UNIVERSITY
$500,000SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE
WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE NATIONAL MONUMENT FOUNDATION
$250,000OPERATING EXPENSES
OPERATING EXPENSES
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER
$200,273OPERATING EXPENSES
SAN FRANCISCO MARIN FOOD BANK
$200,000ENDOWMENT
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
$200,000REIMAGINING SAN FRANCISCO
CAL PERFORMANCES
$142,455OPERATING EXPENSES
ALL HOME
$100,000OPERATING EXPENSES
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
$100,000TBW BOOKS
SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL
$100,000OPERATING EXPENSES
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
$100,000OPERATING EXPENSES
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING
$100,000OPERATING EXPENSES
KINGMAKERS OF OAKLAND
$75,000OPERATING EXPENSES
GIRLS INC
$50,000OPERATING EXPENSES
NEWSMATCH
$50,000OPERATING EXPENSES
CALMATTERS
$50,000OPERATING EXPENSES
FRENCH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
$50,000OPERATING EXPENSES
MUSEUM OF PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN
$30,000OPERATING EXPENSES
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
$25,000OPERATING EXPENSES
SAN FRANCISCO CASA
$25,000OPERATING EXPENSES