The Comis Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on direct services that support children and youth, with particularly large investments in long-term professional mentoring and school-centered wraparound supports. A majority of its dollars go to Friends of the Children (including tribal site support), while the remainder funds early childhood care and in-school student support programs. The foundation favors capacity/program support that helps proven youth-serving models scale geographically and reach vulnerable populations.
The Comis Foundation 2423-00-48 makes one grant pattern stand out immediately: a $1,000,000 award to Friends of the Children - National Office for rural and tribal support. That single grant sits alongside a second $100,000 award to the same national office for tribal locations, showing sustained backing for a youth-mentoring model that reaches outside major metros. The foundation also funds school-centered supports at scale, including a $75,000 grant to Communities in Schools Inc for surrounding students with wraparound services and a $75,000 grant to Boulder Day Nursery Association for general support of services. Across its recent grants, the foundation backs direct services for children and youth rather than broad sector-wide initiatives. Its portfolio includes early childhood care, school-based student support, after-school activity, music education, and family-facing services. The mix suggests preference for organizations already delivering services and for investments that help those programs extend their reach, strengthen staffing, or support local site expansion. Recent awards also show attention to rural and Tribal communities, preschool-age children, and K-12 students, with recurring support for established youth-serving models across multiple years.
Long-term professional mentoring is a clear priority. The foundation gave $1,000,000 to Friends of the Children - National Office to support rural and tribal work, and another $100,000 to the same organization for tribal locations. In school-based support, it awarded $75,000 to Communities in Schools Inc for surrounding students with wraparound services, matching its interest in dropout-prevention and student support models. Early childhood care is another recurring theme: Boulder Day Nursery Association received $75,000 for general support of services, while We Care Services for Children received $40,000 for preschool consultation and $40,000 the prior year for keeping preschoolers in class. The foundation also funds enrichment and engagement programs, including $50,000 to ETM-Colorado Inc for music education and $50,000 to Parent Possible for PAT, HIPPY, VROOM and EHV.
Typical grants sit in a mid-five-figure band, with p25 at $20,000, a median of $27,485, and p75 at $50,000. Recent giving includes repeated awards to the same organizations across years, which points to ongoing relationships rather than one-off checks; examples in the data include multi-year support for several recipients and repeated annual funding for some projects. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not make program-related investments. It also funds individuals. The active grant programs emphasize invited partnerships, capacity building, and pilot work, and the listed programs all note that unsolicited applications are not accepted.
$2.7M
$20.2M
$2.6M
$2.9M
Most grants fall between $20K and $50K, with a median of $27K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$27K
75th Percentile
$50K
About 4% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Highly concentrated: few, relatively large grants with repeat funding to the same lead partner (Friends of the Children). Mix of national-level funding to scale programs plus targeted local/site support; grants are primarily program/capacity support rather than many small, one-off gifts.
Notable grantees: Friends of the Children - National Office, Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area, Boulder Day Nursery Association, Communities in Schools Inc
Although headquartered in Philadelphia, the foundation’s giving lands elsewhere: 0% of grants go to Pennsylvania recipients in the data shown. Massachusetts is the top state by grant count, and grants also cluster in California, Colorado, Virginia, and New York. Recipient cities appearing multiple times include Arlington, Denver, Rochester, and San Francisco. All listed recipient grants are in the United States, with 54 grants to U.S.-based recipients in the country distribution.
It backs organizations serving children and youth through direct services and support models. Recent grants include mentoring, school-based wraparound services, early childhood care, after-school programming, music education, and family support services. The recent grants list also shows funding for clinical services, preschool consultation, and student enrichment programs.
No. Each active grant program listed for the foundation says it does not accept unsolicited applications. The programs are structured around invited partnerships, capacity building, and pilot work, with grant sizes ranging from $5,000–$25,000 for pilot work and $25,000–$75,000 for capacity-building and partner initiatives.
The foundation’s typical grant size is $20,000 at the 25th percentile, $27,485 at the median, and $50,000 at the 75th percentile. That aligns with the recent-grants list, where many awards cluster at $50,000 and several sit in the $25,000–$40,000 range.
The recent grants show repeated support to the same organizations across multiple years. For example, some recipients appear in both 2024 and 2025, and several organizations receive more than one grant entry. That pattern suggests the foundation often renews relationships rather than giving only one-time awards.
The foundation gives nationally, but the active program descriptions point to specific priority geographies: the San Francisco Bay Area, Colorado’s Northern Front Range and rural/mountain early childhood settings, and Metro Washington, D.C. The recipient distribution is U.S.-only in the data shown, and Massachusetts is the top state by grant count.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Friends of the Children - National Office | Portland, OR | $100,000 | 2026 | BUFFALO CIRCLE FUND |
| Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2026 | YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM |
| Impact on Education | Louisville, CO | $100,000 | 2026 | INCREASE ACCESS TO |
| Kings Against Violence Initiative Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $80,000 | 2026 | ENHANCE PROGRAM |
| New York University Grossman School of Medicine | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT FOR THE PARENT |
| Boulder Day Nursery Association | Boulder, CO | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT GRANT |
| Immigrant Family Services Institute Inc | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 2026 | CHILD ENRICHMENT AND YOUTH |
| Music Will Inc | Covina, CA | $75,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT FOR DIGITAL |
| ETM-Colorado Inc | Denver, CO | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Communities in Schools Inc | Arlington, VA | $75,000 | 2026 | SURROUND STUDENTS WITH |
| 318 Foundation Inc | Bethesda, MD | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Mindful Life Project | Richmond, CA | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Community Education Network It Takes a Village Family of Schools | Chicago, IL | $75,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT FOR GROWN YOUR OWN |
| Upower | Seattle, WA | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| First Graduate | San Francisco, CA | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| National Black Womens Justice Institute | Brooklyn, NY | $75,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT TO FORM A YOUTH |
| The Family Center - La Familia | Fort Collins, CO | $75,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT FOR EL NIDITO |
| Peninsula Family Service | San Mateo, CA | $75,000 | 2026 | ENHANCE STEM PROGRAMMING |
| Childrens Literacy Initiative | Philadelphia, PA | $70,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Tides Center | Boston, MA | $60,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT OF NEW |
| Denver City Lax | Denver, CO | $60,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Bay Area Music Project | Alameda, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | EXPAND ESTABLISHED MUSIC |
| Peter Westbrook Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | OLYMPIANS IN LIFE ACADEMIC |
| Parent Possible | Denver, CO | $50,000 | 2026 | HIPPY PROGRAM - AMERICORPS |
| Jewish Family & Children's Services | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT FOR THE EARLY |
| Science & Entrepreneurship Exchange | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2026 | DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF |
| Philadelphia Community Empowerment Through Soccer | Philadelphia, PA | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| LC AND LILLIE COX HAVEN OF HOPE | Danville, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | AFTER SCHOOL PHYSICAL |
| Parent Possible | Denver, CO | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Young Masterminds Initiative | Aurora, CO | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| We Care Services for Children | Concord, CA | $40,000 | 2026 | PRESCHOOL CONSULTATION |
| Sistema Utah | West Valley City, UT | $40,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Enriching Lives through Music | San Rafael, CA | $40,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| The Family Center - La Familia | Fort Collins, CO | $36,000 | 2026 | EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION |
| I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County | Boulder, CO | $35,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| California Dance Institute | Porter Ranch, CA | $34,500 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Root to Rise Inc | Madison, WI | $30,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Homefront Inc | Lawrence Township, NJ | $30,000 | 2026 | FUND NEWLY-CREATED POSITION |
| The American Mural Project | Winstead, CT | $30,000 | 2026 | SUPPORT TO EXPAND |
| The Complete Player Charity Ltd | Glen Burnie, MD | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Child Care Aware of America | Arlington, VA | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUNDS TO ADVANCE |
| Chapter 510 Ink | Oakland, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | WRITING AND PODCASTING |
| Scopa Has A Dream Inc | Healdsburg, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| CentroNia | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 2026 | 3 YEAR STUDY TO PROVIDE |
| Early Excellence Project | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 2026 | MARGARET WASHINGTON |
| Friends of the Children - SF Bay Area | San Francisco, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE STABLE FUNDING FOR |
| Above the Clouds | Milwaukee, WI | $20,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| Harmony Project Bay Area Inc | Oakland, CA | $15,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION, |
| Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation | Webster, TX | $15,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
Friends of the Children - National Office
$100,000BUFFALO CIRCLE FUND
SUPPORT FOR THE PARENT
Boulder Day Nursery Association
$75,000GENERAL SUPPORT GRANT
ETM-Colorado Inc
$75,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
318 Foundation Inc
$75,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Community Education Network It Takes a Village Family of Schools
$75,000SUPPORT FOR GROWN YOUR OWN
Upower
$75,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Denver City Lax
$60,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Bay Area Music Project
$50,000EXPAND ESTABLISHED MUSIC
Science & Entrepreneurship Exchange
$50,000DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF
Philadelphia Community Empowerment Through Soccer
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Young Masterminds Initiative
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
We Care Services for Children
$40,000PRESCHOOL CONSULTATION
Sistema Utah
$40,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
California Dance Institute
$34,500GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Root to Rise Inc
$30,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
The American Mural Project
$30,000SUPPORT TO EXPAND
The Complete Player Charity Ltd
$25,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Above the Clouds
$20,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
Harmony Project Bay Area Inc
$15,000PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION,
Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation
$15,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT