Benson Family Foundation
The Benson Family Foundation was a private foundation based in La Jolla, California. Its 2024 filing is marked as the organization’s final return, and the filing states that paperwork to dissolve the foundation was filed with the California Secretary of State on November 13, 2024. The foundation appears to have wound down and is no longer making grants.
Benson Family Foundation at a glance
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Benson Family 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.
- Contact
Mailing address: 7550 Hillside Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: (858) 454-3842
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Benson Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Grant Size Distribution
47 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 41 grants of 47 (87%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The listed 2022 grantees are located in California, including Escondido, San Diego, La Jolla, and El Cajon.
Grant Distribution by State
Cities
Is Benson Family Foundation open to new grantees?
47%
first-time grantees, 2022
In 2022, 8 of 17 grantees (47%) were first-time recipients. With only 17 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $128K; repeat grants $12K. How we count
Medians: $6K first-time, $7K repeat.
- 47% of 2022 grantees were also funded in 2021. Method
- In 2022 it paid out well above its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2022). 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 2022, annual grant giving ranged from $170K (2021) to $1.1M (2022). In 2022 it made 19 grants totaling $1.1M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| St Vincent De Paul San Diego, CA | General Fund | $959,136 |
| CASA De Los Pobres La Jolla, CA | General Fund | $60,000 |
| 3 grants to individuals Recipients not named | — | $30,198 |
| Agnus DEI Foundation Escondido, CA | General Fund | $11,000 |
| Father Joe's Villages San Diego, CA | General Fund | $10,000 |
| Prison Fellowship Merrifield, VA | General Fund | $10,000 |
| Birthline of San Diego County San Diego, CA | General Fund | $7,000 |
| Doctors Without Borders New York, NY | General Fund | $7,000 |
| Kraemer Endowment El Cajon, CA | General Fund | $7,000 |
| Catholic Charities San Diego, CA | General Fund | $5,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | — | $318,525 | $1,140,932 | $1,137,334 | 19 | $1,137,334 | $314,927 | $48,067 |
| 2021 | $822,407 | $19,781 | $178,046 | $170,000 | 13 | $170,000 | $19,911 | $60,857 |
| 2020 | $980,672 | $142,588 | $806,258 | $800,000 | 15 | — | $136,330 | $65,413 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2022 grantees included organizations whose stated missions involved adoption and support for pregnant women and families, international disaster and poverty relief, services for low-income seniors, and programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These are the grantees’ missions, not stated focus areas of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2022, the foundation reported $1,137,334 in grants across 19 grants, an average of about $59,860 per grant. Examples of 2022 grants include $11,000 to Agnus Dei Foundation, $7,000 to Birthline of San Diego County Inc, $5,000 to International Relief Teams, $5,000 to Social Service League of La Jolla, and $1,000 to St Madeleine Sophies Center Inc.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation’s 2024 filing lists Judith R Benson, Todd A Benson, and Christopher J Benson as directors.
Benson Family Foundation's 2024 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Christopher J. Benson
Director
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Judith R. Benson
Director
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Todd A. Benson
Director
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "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 Benson Family Foundation
What does Benson Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Benson Family 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 ↑
Where does Benson Family Foundation make grants?
The listed 2022 grantees are located in California, including Escondido, San Diego, La Jolla, and El Cajon.
What is Benson Family Foundation's EIN?
Benson Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 33-0783062. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does Benson Family 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Benson Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Benson Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from Benson Family 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.
Benson Family Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?