About Joan M Wismer Foundation
The Joan M Wismer Foundation concentrates on large, impact-oriented grants to organizations that deliver direct human services, reproductive health and family-planning services, and emergency medical relief. They favor established service providers (both national and local) that run programs for vulnerable populations — youth and safety initiatives, homelessness services, family planning/ prenatal education, and disaster response. Grants are sizeable and targeted, often issued as repeat awards to a small set of organizations.
Focus Areas
Youth development and community safety programs (e.g., YMCA operations and youth services)Homeless services and housing-first support (e.g., Project HOME-style outreach and shelter programs)Family planning, reproductive health, and prenatal education (Planned Parenthood and similar providers)Humanitarian and emergency medical relief (international disaster response and emergency health services)
Who They Fund
youth (school-aged and leadership program participants)people experiencing homelessness, specifically womenlow-income students and scholarship recipients (college and vocational)
About Joan M Wismer Foundation
The Joan M Wismer Foundation makes repeated large grants to organizations that deliver direct services, and two of its clearest recurring priorities are youth and safety work and family-planning support. In the latest grant record, it gave $350,000 in both 2023 and 2024 to YMCA of Greater Long Beach for youth and safety programs, and $300,000 in both years to Planned Parenthood Federation for family planning and pre-natal education. That pattern sits alongside major support for homelessness services, emergency relief, and education-related programs. The foundation’s recent awards also show a preference for established service providers that operate practical programs for people facing immediate needs. Project HOME received $325,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for support for the homeless, while International Medical Corps received $400,000 in 2024 for a disaster relief campaign. Other grants reach school support, leadership development, job placement, hunger relief, and medical services, including genetic counseling and pediatric rehabilitation. The grant list suggests a funder that uses substantial, targeted awards to support frontline organizations rather than one-off pilot projects.
What Joan M Wismer Foundation Funds
Education and youth development appear in several recent grants. Philadelphia School Partnership received $250,000 in 2023 for training programs and school support, while Elevate 215 received $250,000 in 2024 for educator training programs and school support. Teach For America Philadelphia also received $100,000 in 2024 for school leadership development. Housing and homelessness support is another clear line of giving. Project HOME received $325,000 in 2024 for support for the homeless, and Downtown Womens Center received $75,000 in 2024 for housing and support for homeless women. Health-related grants include $50,000 in 2024 to Memorial Medical Center Foundation for health and medical evaluation and treatment, and $55,000 in 2023 to the same foundation for a cystic fibrosis genetic counselor. Food security also appears through grants to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Northern Lakes Food Bank, each at $50,000 in 2024 for hunger relief.
How Joan M Wismer Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster tightly around $50,000, with a median of $50,000 and a 75th percentile of $100,000. Larger awards do appear, including $300,000 to $400,000 grants, but the overall pattern is still concentrated in a small set of sizes. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund and makes grants under a general grantmaking structure. Recent records also show repeat support to the same organizations across 2023 and 2024, indicating multi-year relationships rather than isolated gifts. It accepts unsolicited requests through its general grantmaking program.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.9M
Total Assets
$44M
Total Revenue
$3.4M
Total Expenses
$3.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $50K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$50K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
Geographic Reach
National7 states funded
About 4% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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