The Walt and Lilly Disney Foundation concentrates almost all of its giving on arts and museum-related education, with the vast majority of funds directed to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Grants are clearly intended to support the museum’s educational programming, operations, and preservation of the Disney family legacy; a small secondary gift supports a related family foundation. The foundation’s philanthropy is highly focused and locally oriented, prioritizing cultural heritage and arts education over broad charitable diversification.
Highly concentrated: very few, large grants focused on repeat funding to a single flagship institution (three grants to the Walt Disney Family Museum) with one smaller related gift. Little geographic or sector diversity.
The Walt and Lilly Disney Foundation’s giving is anchored by a single institution: the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, which receives the foundation’s largest grants and repeated support across multiple years. That relationship defines the foundation’s profile as a focused cultural funder rather than a broad general-purpose grantmaker. Alongside the museum, the foundation supports a small set of closely related education and preservation grantees tied to the Disney family name and legacy. Its portfolio includes arts education, museum education, and select research and health grants that connect to specific beneficiary groups. The largest recent grants to the museum are measured in the millions, while other awards are much smaller and more targeted, indicating a layered approach that combines major institutional support with narrower program grants. Recent recipients also include the Walt Disney Family Foundation, California Institute of the Arts, and La Philharmonic Association, showing that the foundation’s arts support extends beyond a single venue even as the museum remains the central focus.
In arts education, the foundation gave $300,000 to California Institute of the Arts in 2025 for arts support, and $250,000 to La Philharmonic Association in 2025 for arts support. It also supported the Walt Disney Magnet School with $200,000 in 2025 for education—arts, showing a mix of institutional and school-based giving. Its health-related grantmaking is narrower but consistent. Research to Prevent Blindness received $250,000 in 2024, $150,000 in 2025, and $100,000 in 2023 for amblyopia research. The John Tracy Clinic received $25,000 in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025 for medical/hearing loss support. The foundation also makes small history and education grants. Hyperion Historical Alliance received $20,000 in 2025 for history, and Walt Disney Elementary School received $10,000 in 2023, 2024, and 2025 for education.
Typical grants cluster around a median of $100,000, with a lower quartile of $45,000 and an upper quartile of $275,000. The foundation’s pattern is heavily recurring: the Walt Disney Family Museum appears in multiple years, as do the Walt Disney Family Foundation, Research to Prevent Blindness, John Tracy Clinic, La Philharmonic Association, and Walt Disney Magnet School. The grant list shows a mix of large operating-style institutional support and smaller program grants, all within a tightly defined portfolio. It does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
$8.9M
$154.4M
$9.9M
$9.9M
Most grants fall between $45K and $275K, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$45K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$275K
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Notable grantees: The Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt Disney Family Foundation
Grant recipients are entirely in the United States. California dominates the map, with 60% of grants going to recipients in the state and several awards landing in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Santa Clarita. Chicago also appears through Walt Disney Magnet School, while smaller grants go to New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. The strongest city concentration is San Francisco, led by repeated support for the Walt Disney Family Museum and the Walt Disney Family Foundation.
Its giving centers on arts education, museum-based programming, and preservation of the Walt Disney family legacy. Recent recipients include the Walt Disney Family Museum, the Walt Disney Family Foundation, California Institute of the Arts, La Philharmonic Association, and Walt Disney Magnet School.
The typical grant size is $100,000 at the median, with a p25 of $45,000 and a p75 of $275,000. The recent grants list also includes much larger awards to the Walt Disney Family Museum, which sits well above the typical range.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including the Walt Disney Family Museum, the Walt Disney Family Foundation, Research to Prevent Blindness, John Tracy Clinic, La Philharmonic Association, and Walt Disney Magnet School. That pattern points to recurring support rather than one-time giving.
California receives most of the foundation’s grants, accounting for 60% of awards in the recipient state distribution. San Francisco is a major hub, with additional grants going to Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, and other U.S. locations such as Chicago, New York, and Levittown, Pennsylvania.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $7,513,075 | 2025 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $700,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS | SANTA CLARITA, CA | $300,000 | 2025 | ARTS |
| LA PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $250,000 | 2025 | ARTS |
| WALT DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL | CHICAGO, IL | $200,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| RESEARCH TO PREVENT BLINDNESS | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | AMBLYOPIA RESEARCH |
| JOHN TRACY CLINIC | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | MEDICAL/HEARING LOSS |
| HYPERION HISTORICAL ALLIANCE | BAKERSFIELD, CA | $20,000 | 2025 | HISTORY |
| WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | LEVITTOWN, PA | $10,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $9,458,450 | 2024 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $1,300,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS | SANTA CLARITA, CA | $300,000 | 2024 | ARTS |
| LA PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $250,000 | 2024 | ARTS |
| RESEARCH TO PREVENT BLINDNESS | NEW YORK, NY | $250,000 | 2024 | AMBLYOPIA RESEARCH |
| WALT DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| JOHN TRACY CLINIC | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | MEDICAL/HEARING LOSS |
| WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | LEVITTOWN, PA | $10,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $8,259,325 | 2023 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| LA PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $250,000 | 2023 | ARTS |
| WALT DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL | CHICAGO, IL | $100,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| RESEARCH TO PREVENT BLINDNESS | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2023 | AMBLYOPIA RESEARCH |
| WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $65,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION - ARTS |
| JOHN TRACY CLINIC | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | MEDICAL/HEARING LOSS |
| WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | LEVITTOWN, PA | $10,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM
$7,513,075EDUCATION - ARTS
WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
$700,000EDUCATION - ARTS
WALT DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL
$200,000EDUCATION - ARTS
AMBLYOPIA RESEARCH
HYPERION HISTORICAL ALLIANCE
$20,000HISTORY
WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
$10,000EDUCATION
WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
$1,300,000EDUCATION - ARTS
WALT DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL
$100,000EDUCATION - ARTS
WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
$10,000EDUCATION
WALT DISNEY MAGNET SCHOOL
$100,000EDUCATION - ARTS
WALT DISNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
$65,000EDUCATION - ARTS
WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
$10,000EDUCATION