Ankitara Foundation
Ankitara Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. It makes grants to charitable organizations; in 2025, its grants supported organizations in several states, with the largest share of grant dollars going to recipients in New York.
Ankitara Foundation at a glance
In short: Ankitara Foundation gave $272K across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $23K), mostly in New York. 58% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $272,285
- -2.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- +71.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $22,690
- -43.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $6,030
- Total assets
- $6,943,416
- +13.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 58% first-time grantees (7 of 12, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- New York (66% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Ankitara Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. No application process or materials are specified.
- Contact
Mailing address: 111 Pine St 1750, San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (302) 531-1142
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Ankitara Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was World Spiritual Awareness Forum ($180K). Together the top 10 received $271K.
Grant Size Distribution
53 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 48 grants of 53 (91%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grants went to recipients in New York, California, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas. New York received 66% of grant dollars, California 14%, Massachusetts 11%, and Washington, D.C., and New Jersey 4% each.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Ankitara Foundation open to new grantees?
58%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 7 of 12 grantees (58%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $5K; repeat grants $48K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 25% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 217% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 110% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2021–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $85K (2021) to $280K (2024). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $272K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| World Spiritual Awareness Forum Roslyn Heights, NY | General Support | $180,000 |
| Samarthanam USA Southborough, MA | General Support | $29,695 |
| H2H Foundation Santa Clara, CA | General Support | $25,000 |
| SOS Children's Villages USA Washington, DC | General Support | $10,000 |
| Divine Will Foundation Encinitas, CA | General Support | $10,000 |
| World Without Cancer E Brunswick, NJ | General Support | $10,000 |
| Hands on Bay Area San Francisco, CA | General Support | $2,060 |
| Empower Uplift Baltimore, MD | General Support | $2,000 |
| Mercyshipsorg Garden Valley, TX | General Support | $1,030 |
| Neythriorg Palo Alto, CA | General Support | $1,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Ankitara Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $6,943,416 | $532,680 | $387,421 | $272,285 | 12 | $338,410 | $488,344 | $306,968 |
| 2024 | $6,108,794 | $359,159 | $413,657 | $280,000 | 7 | $371,308 | $318,781 | $278,721 |
| 2023 | $5,148,306 | $68,327 | $397,969 | $270,835 | 14 | $351,049 | $133,867 | $233,762 |
| 2022 | $4,479,505 | $-346,740 | $154,390 | $86,000 | 9 | $97,926 | $20,374 | $245,803 |
| 2021 | $6,043,035 | $-46,918 | $220,347 | $85,000 | 11 | $102,338 | $4,813,638 | $199,450 |
| 2020 | $5,117,875 | $5,117,875 | — | — | — | — | — | $14,289 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Ankitara Foundation reported a distributable amount of $307K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees included organizations whose stated missions cover a range of activities. Samarthanam USA describes its work as empowering visually impaired, disabled, and underprivileged people through educational, social, employment, cultural, and technological initiatives in the United States and India. Divine Will Foundation says it supports charitable programs in India providing free healthcare and education. Science From Scientists describes its mission as inspiring students, building interest in STEM, and improving STEM competency.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 12 grants totaling $272,285. Grant amounts ranged from $500 to $180,000, with a median grant of $6,030. The largest awards were $180,000 to World Spiritual Awareness Forum for general support, $29,695 to Samarthanam USA for general support, and $25,000 to H2H Foundation for general support. Other listed grants included $10,000 each to SOS Children’s Villages USA, Divine Will Foundation, and World Without Cancer.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Vidyalakshmi Nagarajan as President, Secretary, and CEO, and Rajesh Raman as Director.
Ankitara Foundation is led by Vidyalakshmi Nagarajan, President, Secretary & CEO since 2021 (on filings since 2020); none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Vidyalakshmi Nagarajan
President, Secretary & CEO
President → President, Secretary & CEO, 2021
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rajesh Raman
Director
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Ankitara Foundation
How much does Ankitara Foundation give each year?
Ankitara Foundation gave $272K across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $280K across 7 grants.
What is Ankitara Foundation's typical grant size?
Ankitara Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $6,030, and its average grant was $22,690, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Ankitara Foundation that year got $5K on average.
Where does Ankitara Foundation give grants?
Ankitara Foundation gives mostly in New York: 66% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were California (14%) and Massachusetts (11%).
Does Ankitara Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Ankitara Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (12 of 12) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Ankitara Foundation's largest grantees?
Ankitara Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include World Spiritual Awareness Forum ($180,000), Samarthanam USA ($29,695) and H2H Foundation ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 86% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Ankitara Foundation?
Ankitara Foundation reported $6.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $338K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $307K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Ankitara Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees included organizations whose stated missions cover a range of activities. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Ankitara Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Ankitara Foundation's EIN?
Ankitara Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 85-4278009. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Ankitara Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 15, 2023)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 16, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Ankitara Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Ankitara Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/ankitara-foundation-morg_114bb9cebc7a4302848f6f129261a630
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_854278009_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Ankitara Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/ankitara-foundation-morg_114bb9cebc7a4302848f6f129261a630},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Ankitara Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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