The AAM Foundation is a highly concentrated funder that directs the vast majority of its resources to a single mission-driven program, the Freedom Employability Academy, supporting education and workforce-readiness activities. Outside of that primary commitment it makes occasional, much smaller gifts to spiritual/retreat organizations, indicating a secondary interest in spirituality or contemplative programs. Grants are large, infrequent, and focused rather than broadly distributed across many organizations.
Highly concentrated giving: very few grants overall, dominated by multiple large gifts to one recurring grantee/program (repeat major funding to an in-house or closely affiliated academy), with occasional single-purpose grants to unrelated spiritual organizations.
Aam Foundation’s recent giving is dominated by one internal program: the Freedom Employability Academy, which received the foundation’s three largest reported grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Those awards totaled more than $26 million across the period and point to a sustained commitment to education and workforce-readiness rather than broad, distributed grantmaking. The foundation also makes smaller grants to a limited set of organizations, including spiritual retreat and eldercare groups in California. That pattern makes the foundation unusually concentrated. Alongside the academy funding, it has supported the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Tomales for spirituality-related work, and it has made smaller gifts to community organizations such as Homeward Bound in Novato. The recent grants list shows a mix of education, spirituality, and direct-service support, but the scale is heavily weighted toward the academy program. The grant record also shows that Aam Foundation funds within California and that its giving includes both large programmatic support and small, one-off awards. For researchers, the defining feature is not breadth but concentration: a single education-focused initiative receives the overwhelming share of capital, while a narrow cluster of smaller grants fills out the portfolio.
Education and workforce readiness are the foundation’s core focus. In 2025, it gave $10,500,000 to Aam Foundation - Freedom Employability Academy for education, following $9,009,965 in 2024 and $6,550,000 in 2023 to the same program. A second area is spirituality. The foundation awarded $1,018,000 in 2025 to Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Tomales, with additional grants of $108,000 in 2024 and $88,200 in 2023 for the same spiritual purpose. It also makes smaller direct-service grants. One example is $5,000 to Homeward Bound in Novato for emergency shelter for homeless families. Smaller eldercare gifts appear as well, including support to Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly and Partnerships for Change in San Francisco.
The recent grant size distribution is highly skewed: the 25th percentile is $25,800, the median is $98,100, and the 75th percentile is $4,939,500. That spread reflects a portfolio with a few very large awards and several much smaller ones. The foundation’s recent records also show repeated support across multiple years for the same recipients, especially the Freedom Employability Academy and Blue Mountain Center of Meditation. Most of the giving appears to be programmatic support rather than a mix of many unrelated awards. Aam Foundation is a private foundation, and it also funds individuals.
$27.3M
$344.4M
$300.8M
$12.3M
Most grants fall between $26K and $4.9M, with a median of $98K.
25th Percentile
$26K
Median
$98K
75th Percentile
$4.9M
About 100% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Notable grantees: AAM FOUNDATION - Freedom Employability Academy, Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, AAM FOUNDATION (internal/program support)
Aam Foundation’s giving is concentrated in California, which accounts for 100% of the recent grants in the data. The foundation’s top giving city is Novato, seen in awards to the Freedom Employability Academy and Homeward Bound. Tomales also appears through Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, while San Francisco shows up in smaller eldercare grants to Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly and Partnerships for Change. The country distribution is entirely U.S.-based.
The recent grants show three recurring areas: education and workforce readiness through the Freedom Employability Academy, spirituality through Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, and smaller direct-service grants such as emergency shelter for homeless families and eldercare in California.
The grant size distribution is polarized. The 25th percentile is $25,800, the median is $98,100, and the 75th percentile is $4,939,500, which indicates a few very large awards alongside much smaller grants.
Yes. The Freedom Employability Academy appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025 with grants of $6,550,000, $9,009,965, and $10,500,000. Blue Mountain Center of Meditation also appears in each of those three years.
Its recent grantmaking is entirely in California. The grants in the data go to recipients in Novato, Tomales, and San Francisco, and the recipient country distribution is 100% U.S.
Yes. The foundation’s profile indicates that it funds individuals, alongside organizational grants.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAM FOUNDATION - FREEDOM EMPLOYABILITY ACADEMY | NOVATO, CA | $10,500,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION | TOMALES, CA | $1,018,000 | 2025 | SPIRITUALITY |
| LITLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $3,000 | 2025 | ELDERCARE |
| PARTNERSHIPS FOR CHANGE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $2,000 | 2025 | ELDERCARE |
| AAM FOUNDATION - FREEDOM EMPLOYABILITY ACADEMY | NOVATO, CA | $9,009,965 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION | TOMALES, CA | $108,000 | 2024 | SPIRITUALITY |
| HOMEWARD BOUND | NOVATO, CA | $5,000 | 2024 | EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES |
| LITLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $4,000 | 2024 | ELDERCARE |
| AAM FOUNDATION - FREEDOM EMPLOYABILITY ACADEMY | NOVATO, CA | $6,550,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION | TOMALES, CA | $88,200 | 2023 | SPIRITUALITY |
AAM FOUNDATION - FREEDOM EMPLOYABILITY ACADEMY
$10,500,000EDUCATION
BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION
$1,018,000SPIRITUALITY
LITLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY
$3,000ELDERCARE
PARTNERSHIPS FOR CHANGE
$2,000ELDERCARE
AAM FOUNDATION - FREEDOM EMPLOYABILITY ACADEMY
$9,009,965EDUCATION
BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION
$108,000SPIRITUALITY
HOMEWARD BOUND
$5,000EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES
LITLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY
$4,000ELDERCARE
AAM FOUNDATION - FREEDOM EMPLOYABILITY ACADEMY
$6,550,000EDUCATION
BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION
$88,200SPIRITUALITY