Sita Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & Voluntarism
EIN (Tax ID): 26-0011433Latest Form 990: 2025Total assets: $9.5M3 filings on recordFind their full 990 filing →
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About Sita Foundation
The Sita Foundation directs virtually all of its charitable dollars into a single vehicle (the Sita Fund) that provides community support, suggesting the foundation operates primarily as a donor-directed or regranting fund rather than making many direct programmatic awards. Its giving is broad-purpose community support rather than focused program grants, implying flexibility for downstream grantmaking by the Sita Fund in the local community.
Focus Areas
Donor-directed / regranting through a private charitable fund (Sita Fund)General community support for local Saratoga/Santa Clara County nonprofitsFlexible unrestricted operating support allocated by the Sita Fund
Who They Fund
local communitiesstudents / learnerspatients and medical research beneficiarieschildren and orphans (including India-focused)international / underserved global populationsartists and arts programs
Giving Approach
Extremely concentrated: two large grants (totaling the full reported budget) to a single grantee vehicle. Likely a donor-advised or regranting approach that channels funds for later distribution rather than multiple direct grants to operating charities.
Funding Style
direct service / community grantsresearch funding (medical research)program-specific / project grantsinternational / foreign aid
Notable grantees: Sita Fund
Topics
community development and supporteducation support (K-12 and educational programs)medical research and healthcare supportglobal hunger and humanitarian aidchild welfare / orphanage supportarts and music funding
About Sita Foundation
The Sita Foundation’s largest recent awards go to its own Sita Fund, including $4,302,697 in 2024 and $3,000,000 in 2025 for community support. That pattern points to a funder that channels most of its charitable dollars through a single regranting vehicle rather than a wide set of direct program grants. Beyond the Sita Fund, the foundation has backed education and related support across universities and community organizations, including $120,000 to the MIT Alumni Association for education and $100,000 to Drexel University for education. The recent grant list also shows sustained support for local and regional nonprofits such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Santa Fe Institute, and CSU Foundation, alongside health- and research-oriented recipients. In practice, the foundation’s grantmaking combines broad community support with education, medical research, global hunger, and child-focused giving. Grant sizes vary from five-figure awards to multimillion-dollar grants, which suggests flexibility in how it allocates resources across its priority areas and regranting channel.
What Sita Foundation Funds
Education is one of the clearest threads in the recent grants record. The foundation gave $100,000 to Drexel University for education and $120,000 to the MIT Alumni Association for education. It also supported the CSU Foundation with grants of $26,000 in 2024, $25,262 in 2025, and $25,000 in 2023, all coded for education. Medical research and care appear in multiple awards as well, including $40,000 to Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer and $30,000 to Cancer Research Institute for medical research. For basic needs, the foundation gave $70,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank for community support and $20,000 to Akshaya USA for global hunger. Arts and learning also appear through a $10,000 grant to The Tech Museum of Innovation for education.
How Sita Foundation Gives
Recent grants cluster around a median size of $10,000, with the lower quartile at $5,000 and the upper quartile at $20,000. The distribution is therefore anchored by modest awards, even though the foundation also makes very large regranting transfers. The biggest recent grants go to the Sita Fund itself, which is the clearest recurring recipient across years and indicates a donor-directed or regranting structure. Other organizations also recur, including Santa Fe Institute, Drexel University, CSU Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, and Akshaya USA. The foundation is classified as a Regular Funder and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
Where Sita Foundation Makes Grants
Grant recipients are overwhelmingly in the United States, with all 63 recent grants going to U.S. organizations. California appears frequently, including recipients in Saratoga, San Jose, Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Carlos, Milpitas, Stanford, Santa Clara, and Mountain View. Washington, D.C. is the top state by grant count, while California accounts for 62% of grants by recipient location. Outside California, the foundation’s recent awards also reach Massachusetts, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, and Florida.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sita Foundation
What are The Sita Foundation’s main funding areas?
The recent grants point to education, community support, medical research, global hunger, and child-related support. Examples include grants to Drexel University and the MIT Alumni Association for education, Second Harvest Food Bank for community support, Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer for medical research, and Akshaya USA for global hunger.
How large are The Sita Foundation’s typical grants?
Typical awards are modest: the 25th percentile is $5,000, the median is $10,000, and the 75th percentile is $20,000. The recent record also includes much larger transfers to the Sita Fund itself, showing that the foundation can make both routine grants and large regranting allocations.
Does The Sita Foundation make repeated grants to the same organizations?
Yes. The Sita Fund appears in the recent record in both 2024 and 2025. Other repeat recipients include Santa Fe Institute, Drexel University, CSU Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, and Akshaya USA.
Where does The Sita Foundation give most often?
Its recent grants are concentrated in the United States, with 63 grants to U.S. recipients. California recipients account for 62% of grants by recipient location, and Washington, D.C. is the top state by grant count. California cities that appear include Saratoga, San Jose, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Carlos.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.3M
Total Assets
$9.5M
Total Revenue
$153K
Total Expenses
$3.5M
Latest 990 Filing
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $5K and $20K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$20K
Geographic Reach
Regional13 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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