About Sanders Foundation
The Sanders Foundation concentrates its funding on higher education and local El Paso community institutions, combining significant gifts to select colleges with support for regional nonprofit infrastructure and children’s programming. A majority of dollars have gone to a few repeat recipients—particularly university endowments—while meaningful investments also flow to local civic and cultural organizations in the Paso del Norte region.
Focus Areas
Major gifts to college and university endowments (e.g., Cornell University, Williams College)Support for El Paso-area cultural and children’s institutions (e.g., El Paso Children's Museum)Regional community foundation and capacity building in the Paso del Norte region (e.g., Paso del Norte Community Foundation)Economic and community development initiatives in the El Paso region (inferred from recurring grants to CREEED Foundation)
Giving Approach
Concentrated, high-dollar giving to a small set of repeat grantees — heavy emphasis on multi-grant support for higher education combined with targeted local grants in the foundation’s home region.
Funding Style
general operating / unrestricted support
About Sanders Foundation
Three Cornell University Foundation grants, including a $275,000 award in 2023 and $250,000 awards in both 2024 and 2025, show how The Sanders Foundation uses sizable, repeated gifts to back higher education. That university pattern sits alongside a second track of support closer to home in El Paso, where the foundation has funded CREEED Foundation, the El Paso Children's Museum, the Borderplex Bi-national Economic Alliance Foundation, and El Pasoans Fighting Hunger. The result is a grantmaking profile that mixes large institutional support with regional community giving. Across the recent grants list, the foundation’s largest awards are concentrated in general support rather than restricted project lines. Williams College also appears in back-to-back years, and smaller gifts extend to organizations such as Kids Excel and Santa Fe Prep. The existing program descriptions show additional interest in tuition assistance, economic development, and direct financial assistance, but the grant history makes clear that higher education and El Paso-area institutions are central to the foundation’s public footprint. Its giving pattern suggests a preference for recurring relationships with a limited set of recipients rather than a long list of one-time awards.
What Sanders Foundation Funds
Higher education is a defining area for The Sanders Foundation. Cornell University Foundation received $275,000 in 2023 and $250,000 in both 2024 and 2025, while Williams College received $50,000 in 2024 and $50,000 in 2025. Hollins University and Chi Psi Educational Trust also appear in the recent grants list. In El Paso, the foundation supports civic and children’s organizations. It gave $100,000 to El Paso Children's Museum in 2023 and $20,000 to Kids Excel in 2025 after a $10,000 grant in 2024. Community infrastructure and regional development are also visible through grants to Paso Del Norte Community Foundation, Borderplex Bi-national Economic Alliance Foundation, and CREEED Foundation. El Pasoans Fighting Hunger received $25,000 in 2025.
How Sanders Foundation Gives
Typical grants fall at $22,500 at the 25th percentile, $50,000 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent record shows repeat giving to several recipients across multiple years, especially Cornell University Foundation, CREEED Foundation, Paso Del Norte Community Foundation, Williams College, Borderplex Bi-national Economic Alliance Foundation, and Kids Excel. The foundation operates as a private foundation with no program-related investments and no funding to individuals. Its active programs indicate that it also accepts unsolicited applications by email for grants and financial assistance.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$425K
Total Assets
$950K
Total Revenue
$125K
Total Expenses
$437K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $23K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$23K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
Geographic Reach
Regional5 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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