Barn Road Foundation
Barn Road Foundation is a private foundation based in Tiburon, California. Its 2025 grants supported organizations working in areas including reproductive health, humanitarian response, conservation, arts and culture, family services, education, and health care.
Barn Road Foundation at a glance
In short: Barn Road Foundation gave $1.3M across 27 grants in 2025 (avg $48K), top state Florida. 19% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,305,500
- -48.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 27
- -41.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $48,352
- -11.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $45,162,314
- +5.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 19% first-time grantees (5 of 27, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Florida (47% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Barn Road Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1 Blackfield Drive 121, Tiburon, CA 94920
Phone: (415) 927-8950
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Barn Road Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Schwab Charitable ($611K). Together the top 10 received $1.1M.
Grant Size Distribution
179 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 126 grants of 179 (70%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 47% of grant dollars went to recipients in Florida, 28% to California, 8% each to New York and Washington, DC, and 4% to Connecticut.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 27 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Barn Road Foundation open to new grantees?
19%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 27 grantees (19%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $57K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $25K repeat.
- 74% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 29% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 72% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.3M (2025) to $2.5M (2024). In 2025 it made 27 grants totaling $1.3M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Schwab Charitable Orlando, FL | General Support | $611,000 |
| Planned Parenthood Norcal Concord, CA | General Support | $100,000 |
| Center for Reproductive Rights Washington, DC | General Support | $100,000 |
| Yale University New Haven, CT | General Support | $50,000 |
| De Young Art Meuseum San Francisco, CA | General Support | $50,000 |
| International Rescue Committee New York, NY | General Support | $50,000 |
| Brigid Alliance New York, NY | General Support | $50,000 |
| Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Houston, TX | General Support | $50,000 |
| Point Blue Conservation Petaluma, CA | General Support | $30,000 |
| SF Moma San Francisco, CA | General Support | $25,500 |
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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 | $45,162,314 | $7,558,595 | $1,703,255 | $1,305,500 | 27 | $1,404,670 | $5,154,843 | $1,958,932 |
| 2024 | $42,960,602 | $1,193,420 | $3,036,555 | $2,524,000 | 46 | $2,664,996 | $919,112 | $1,888,738 |
| 2023 | $39,569,459 | $1,470,185 | $2,089,494 | $1,742,282 | 31 | $1,831,830 | $1,164,193 | $1,891,065 |
| 2022 | $35,153,096 | $1,791,833 | $2,285,841 | $1,831,250 | 37 | $1,872,498 | $1,268,275 | $2,061,949 |
| 2021 | $44,012,699 | $4,881,717 | $2,029,916 | $1,562,500 | 38 | — | $3,282,958 | $1,879,866 |
| 2020 | $31,740,011 | $1,717,322 | $1,908,976 | $1,627,952 | 50 | — | $1,494,779 | $1,599,724 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Barn Road Foundation reported a distributable amount of $2.0M 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 grants went to organizations with varied missions. For example, the International Rescue Committee says it responds to humanitarian crises and helps people affected by conflict and disaster; Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast says it works to support people’s sexual and reproductive health through services, education, and advocacy. The Exploratorium describes itself as a public learning laboratory exploring science, art, and human perception, while Lifehouse says it supports people with developmental disabilities.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 27 grants totaling $1,305,500. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $611,000, with a median of $25,000. The largest listed grant was $611,000 to Schwab Charitable for general support. Other notable grants included $100,000 each to Planned Parenthood Norcal and the Center for Reproductive Rights, and $50,000 each to Yale University, the de Young Museum, the International Rescue Committee, Brigid Alliance, and Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. The 2025 filing lists the grants as general support.
Other 2025 grants included $25,000 to Common Sense Media, $10,000 to the Exploratorium, $10,000 to Lifehouse, $2,000 to San Francisco Free Clinic, and $1,000 to Marin Academy. The grantees describe their work in areas including children’s media and technology, inquiry-based learning, support for people with developmental disabilities, free primary care for uninsured people, and education.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Ian Altman as President and Laura Scher as VP/Sec/Trea.
Barn Road Foundation is led by Ian Altman, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Ian Altman
President
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Laura Scher
Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer
On filings since 2020
0.5 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 Barn Road Foundation
How much does Barn Road Foundation give each year?
Barn Road Foundation gave $1.3M across 27 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $2.5M across 46 grants.
What is Barn Road Foundation's typical grant size?
Barn Road Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $48,352, across 27 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Barn Road Foundation that year got $10K on average.
Where does Barn Road Foundation give grants?
Barn Road Foundation's top state is Florida, with 47% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were California (28%) and New York (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (11 grants), New York, NY (2 grants), Chicago, IL (2 grants) and San Rafael, CA (2 grants).
Does Barn Road Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Barn Road Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (27 of 27) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Barn Road Foundation's largest grantees?
Barn Road Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Schwab Charitable ($611,000), Planned Parenthood Norcal ($100,000) and Center for Reproductive Rights ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 62% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Barn Road Foundation?
Barn Road Foundation reported $45.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.4M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.0M (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Barn Road Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants went to organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Barn Road Foundation?
The foundation 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 Barn Road Foundation's EIN?
Barn Road Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 31-1586078. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Barn Road Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 24, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 12, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 29, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 15, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Barn Road Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Barn Road Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/barn-road-foundation-morg_9253c72ae7bc4564aea28f3344474ada
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_311586078_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Barn Road Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/barn-road-foundation-morg_9253c72ae7bc4564aea28f3344474ada},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Barn Road 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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