Conrad Prebys Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Conrad Prebys Foundation
The Conrad Prebys Foundation concentrates its philanthropic resources on high-impact scientific research in San Diego, exemplified by a single multi‑million dollar gift to the Salk Institute. The foundation appears to prefer capital support for institutions undertaking major campaigns that advance biomedical science and resilience-focused research infrastructure.
Focus Areas
Biomedical and basic biological research (major institutional support)Capital campaign and facility/building projects for research institutesScientific resilience and translational research initiativesMajor San Diego research institutions and flagship science organizations
Who They Fund
children and pediatric patientscancer patients (including relapsed/refractory)patients with ultra-rare diseasesrefugee youth and refugee communitiespeople experiencing homelessness / housing-unstable individuals
About Conrad Prebys Foundation
A $6.7 million grant to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for the "Salk Campaign for the Future: Building a More Resilient World" captures The Conrad Prebys Foundation’s pattern: large, institution-level support for San Diego science. The foundation’s recent giving also reaches a similar scale at Sanford Burnham Prebys Med Disc Inst, where it backed both "Catalyst the Teaching Incubator" and research tied to breakthrough therapies for medulloblastoma and other cancers. That mix shows a funder focused on biomedical research infrastructure, translational science, and the institutions that carry it out. Other major grants point to a broad local portfolio built around health and science. The foundation has supported Rady Children’s Hospital for rapid precision medicine, La Jolla Institute for Immunology for a named flow cytometry core, and The Scripps Research Institute for immuno-oncology and cell therapy platforms. Its recent awards also include operating support for major San Diego institutions, suggesting that it uses both project-specific capital and flexible general support to sustain research capacity and related civic organizations. The result is a grantmaker centered on San Diego institutions, with a clear preference for high-dollar commitments that strengthen research environments, medical innovation, and community-serving organizations tied to health and science.
What Conrad Prebys Foundation Funds
Biomedical research is the clearest throughline in the foundation’s grantmaking. It gave $1.2 million to Rady Children’s Hospital for "Rapid Precision Medicine at Rady Childrens," and $975,181 to The Scripps Research Institute for "Trispecific Antibodies: Next Generation Immuno-Oncology Platform for Treating Relapsed / Refractory Cancers." Another grant, $700,000 to The Scripps Research Institute, supported "Development of Allogeneic Switchable Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy." The foundation also funds research infrastructure. It awarded $1,169,810 to La Jolla Institute for Immunology for "The Conrad Prebys Foundation Flow Cytometry Core at La Jolla Institute for Immunology," and $1 million to Sanford Burnham Prebys Med Disc Inst for "Gemfinder - Serving the Underserved." Its grantmaking extends beyond lab science into arts and community well-being. San Diego Symphony Orchestra Association received $3 million for general operating support, and Ntc Foundation received $500,000 for "Building 178 Performing Arts Center (Working Title)."
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$54.9M
Total Assets
$1.1B
Total Revenue
$34M
Total Expenses
$67.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $20K and $100K, with a median of $40K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$40K
75th Percentile
$100K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
About 100% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
GRANT OLIPHANT
CEO
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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