The Bernstein Family Fund concentrates its giving in Santa Barbara-area institutions, with heavy support for local healthcare providers and performing arts organizations. Grants skew toward general operating support for flagship cultural institutions (Music Academy of the West, Lobero Theatre) and substantive gifts to medical providers—particularly Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Sansum Clinic, including targeted support for endocrinology. The foundation favors sustaining community anchors rather than a broad national portfolio.
The Leslie S and Philip L Bernstein Family Fund shows a clear pattern of supporting Santa Barbara institutions that serve as long-term community anchors. Its largest recent grants go to the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Lobero Theatre Foundation, and Sansum Clinic, with support repeated across multiple years rather than appearing as isolated gifts. The funding mix combines general operating support for arts and medical organizations with more targeted help for specific hospital and clinic programs. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital received general support in 2023, 2024, and 2025, while Sansum Clinic was funded repeatedly for endocrinology department support in those same years. The fund also backs organizations tied to local culture and community life, including the Music Academy of the West and the Lobero Theatre Foundation, both of which received general funding. Smaller grants extend to other Santa Barbara institutions such as the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara, Direct Relief, UC Santa Barbara Foundation, and Ganna Walska Lotusland, reinforcing a strong local institutional focus alongside selective gifts beyond the region.
In healthcare, the fund has supported both broad hospital operations and specialized care. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital received $50,000 grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025 for general funding, and Sansum Clinic received $30,000 grants in those same three years to support the endocrinology department. The portfolio also includes program-specific health funding outside Santa Barbara: California Pacific Medical Center Foundation received $15,000 in 2023 and $10,000 in 2025 for the Living Donor Kidney Program. Beyond medicine, the fund supports classical music and performance organizations. The Music Academy of the West received $75,000 in 2025, plus $53,500 in 2023 and $25,000 in 2024, all for general funding, while the Lobero Theatre Foundation received $50,000 in 2025 for general funding. It has also made smaller general grants to the Metropolitan Opera Guild Inc and Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
Typical grants are small: the p25, median, and p75 are $1,000, $1,000, and $5,000, even though the recent grants list also shows larger operating gifts. The pattern is repeated support rather than one-off giving, with several organizations funded across 2023, 2024, and 2025. The fund is a family fund, and it funds individuals. Most grants are straightforward operating or program support, including general funding, department-level support, and scholarship funding. The top state by grant count is California, and 59% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state.
$209K
$1.5M
$190K
$223K
Most grants fall between $1K and $5K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$5K
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Concentrated, high-dollar local giving with repeat multi-year grants to a small set of core grantees; funding split roughly between health and arts, primarily as general operating support and occasional program-directed gifts.
Notable grantees: Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Music Academy of the West, Sansum Clinic, Lobero Theatre Foundation
Giving is heavily centered in Santa Barbara, with many recipients located there, including Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Sansum Clinic, the Music Academy of the West, and the Lobero Theatre Foundation. California is the top state by grant count, and 59% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. Outside California, the fund has made smaller grants to organizations in New York, Wyoming, Massachusetts, and Colorado. All recent grants in the data went to U.S. recipients.
The fund most often supports Santa Barbara institutions in healthcare and the arts. Recent grants include repeated operating support for Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and the Music Academy of the West, plus program support for Sansum Clinic’s endocrinology department and the Living Donor Kidney Program at California Pacific Medical Center Foundation.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Sansum Clinic was funded in each of those years for endocrinology support; and the Music Academy of the West received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The p25, median, and p75 grant sizes are $1,000, $1,000, and $5,000. Recent grants range higher for a few recurring institutional gifts, including $75,000 to the Music Academy of the West and $50,000 grants to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and the Lobero Theatre Foundation.
California is the top state by grant count, and 59% of grants go to recipients in the fund’s HQ state. Santa Barbara is the main city in the recent grants list, but the fund also makes smaller grants to organizations in New York, Wyoming, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
The fund mainly gives general operating support, along with targeted program and department support. Examples in the data include general funding for hospitals, arts organizations, and local nonprofits; endocrinology department support at Sansum Clinic; Living Donor Kidney Program support at California Pacific Medical Center Foundation; and scholarship support through the Santa Barbara Foundation.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SANTA BARBARA COTTAGE HOSPITAL | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| SANSUM CLINIC | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $30,000 | 2026 | TO SUPPORT THE ENDOCRINOLOGY DEPARTMENT |
| Germantown Academy | FORT WASHINGTON, PA | $11,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| OPHTHALMICEDGE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| CANCER FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION | WOODS HOLE, MA | $10,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| California Pacific Medical Center Foundation | sacramento, CA | $5,000 | 2026 | To Support Living Donor Kidney program |
| WORLD CLASS ACCESSIBILITY FOUNDATION | VAIL, CO | $2,500 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| Ganna Walska Lotusland | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $2,500 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| THE METROPOLITAN OPERA GUILD INC | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| Santa Barbara BOTANIC GARDEN | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,500 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| THE LAND TRUST FOR SANTA BARBARA COUNTY | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ART | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC | ARLINGTON, VA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| UC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| PUBLIC MEDIA GROUP OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | BURBANK, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| YELLOWSTONE FOREVER | YELLOWSTONE NATL PARK, WY | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION | WAHINGTON, DC | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| ANGEL FLIGHT OF NEW ENGLAND INC | NORTH ANDOVER, MA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF SANTA BARBARA | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL MUSEUM | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| HEAL THE OCEAN INC | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| DIRECT RELIEF | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| MONTECITO TRAILS FOUNDATION | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| MONTECITO FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY | MIDDLETOWN, CT | $1,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| John & Anna Newton Porter Foundation | ALTON BAY, NH | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| SANTA BARBARA SOCCER CLUB | GOLETA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| YOSEMITE CONSERVANCY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| St JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC | MEMPHIS, TN | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| Lobero Theatre Foundation | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| Montecito Community Foundation | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $1,000 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| GRAND CANYON CONSERVANCY | GRAND CANYON, AZ | $500 | 2026 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $500 | 2026 | Wharton Fund |
| Adventure Cycling Association | missoula, MT | $250 | 2026 | Provide General Funding |
| MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $75,000 | 2025 | Provide General Funding |
| Lobero Theatre Foundation | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | Provide General Funding |
| SANTA BARBARA COTTAGE HOSPITAL | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| SANSUM CLINIC | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $30,000 | 2025 | TO SUPPORT THE ENDOCRINOLOGY DEPARTMENT |
| California Pacific Medical Center Foundation | sacramento, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | To Support Living Donor Kidney program |
| OPHTHALMICEDGE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | Provide General Funding |
| CANCER FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| THE METROPOLITAN OPERA GUILD INC | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2025 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| Ganna Walska Lotusland | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $2,500 | 2025 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION | WOODS HOLE, MA | $2,000 | 2025 | Provide General Funding |
| DIRECT RELIEF | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $2,000 | 2025 | PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING |
| Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation | SANTA BARBARA, CA | $2,000 | 2025 | Provide General Funding |
OPHTHALMICEDGE INC
$10,000Provide General Funding
PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING
To Support Living Donor Kidney program
WORLD CLASS ACCESSIBILITY FOUNDATION
$2,500Provide General Funding
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF ART
$1,000Provide General Funding
UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS INC
$1,000Provide General Funding
SANTA BARBARA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
$1,000Provide General Funding
ANGEL FLIGHT OF NEW ENGLAND INC
$1,000Provide General Funding
MONTECITO TRAILS FOUNDATION
$1,000Provide General Funding
MONTECITO FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY
$1,000Provide General Funding
John & Anna Newton Porter Foundation
$1,000Provide General Funding
SANTA BARBARA SOCCER CLUB
$1,000Provide General Funding
YOSEMITE CONSERVANCY
$1,000PROVIDE GENERAL FUNDING
Montecito Community Foundation
$1,000Provide General Funding
Adventure Cycling Association
$250Provide General Funding
To Support Living Donor Kidney program
OPHTHALMICEDGE INC
$10,000Provide General Funding