About Sahandaywi Foundation
The Sahandaywi Foundation’s recent giving shows a strong preference for Los Angeles arts and health institutions, with repeated support for organizations such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Los Angeles Opera, Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California Inc, and Los Angeles Master Chorale Association. The foundation also backed Huntington Memorial Hospital in both 2023 and 2024, alongside grants to local organizations serving education, housing, and basic needs. That pattern matches its stated emphasis on community philanthropy support and general charitable grantmaking across housing and homelessness, education, health, immigration, arts and culture, civic engagement, public-private partnerships, special initiatives, community resilience, meeting basic needs, and economic opportunity.
A recurring feature of the portfolio is follow-on support. Several grantees appear in multiple years, including Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale Association, Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California Inc, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and Huntington Memorial Hospital. Grant sizes in the recent list range from $6,000 to $50,000, showing a mix of smaller community awards and larger cultural and health grants. The foundation’s 2024 activity continues the same local pattern, with multiple awards in Los Angeles and Pasadena and a grant to Quantum Academy in Escondido.
What Sahandaywi Foundation Funds
Arts and culture is the clearest theme in the recent grants list. The foundation gave $50,000 to Henry E Huntington Library & Art Gallery for arts, then supported the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Los Angeles Opera, Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California Inc, and Los Angeles Master Chorale Association with grants of $20,000 and $15,000 across 2023 and 2024.
Health is another recurring area. Huntington Memorial Hospital received $25,000 in 2023 and $20,000 in 2024, and Scripps Health Foundation received $10,000 in 2023.
Education also appears in the portfolio through a $10,000 grant to Quantum Academy in Escondido. On the community side, Corona Norco Settlement House received $6,000 for housing.
How Sahandaywi Foundation Gives
The typical grant size centers on a modest mid-range: p25 is $12,500, median is $15,000, and p75 is $20,000. Recent awards in the list range from $6,000 to $50,000, with several repeated grants at $15,000 and $20,000. The pattern suggests relationship-based support rather than one-off awards, since multiple organizations appear in both 2023 and 2024. The foundation is a supporting-organization style grantmaker rather than an individual-giving vehicle, and it does not make program-related investments. One listed California Community Foundation program accepts unsolicited applications, while other active funds do not.
