Cottonwood Spring
Cottonwood Spring is a private foundation based in Santa Cruz, California. Its mission is to change systems to promote flourishing and reduce suffering for people and animals on their own terms, with a focus on those with the least power to improve their situation. Locally, it also supports the maintenance and growth of existing supportive systems.
Cottonwood Spring at a glance
In short: Cottonwood Spring gave $700K across 25 grants in 2025 (avg $28K), top state California. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $700,000
- +7.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 25
- +13.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $28,000
- -5.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $30,000
- Total assets
- $9,663,628
- +0.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 20% first-time grantees (5 of 25, 2025)
- Primary geography
- California (41% 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 Cottonwood Spring
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 3862, Santa Cruz, CA 95063
Phone: (831) 818-3191
Website: https://www.cottonwoodspring.org/
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Cottonwood Spring funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Animal Legal Defense Fund ($35K). Together the top 10 received $325K.
Grant Size Distribution
76 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 76 grants of 76 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation describes its grantmaking as spanning global, national, and local scales. Its 2025 grants included recipients in California, Washington, DC, and New York, among other locations.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 25 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Cottonwood Spring open to new grantees?
20%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 25 grantees (20%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $25K; repeat grants $29K. How we count
Medians: $20K first-time, $30K repeat.
- 80% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 250% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 102% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2022–2025). 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 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $200K (2022) to $700K (2025). In 2025 it made 25 grants totaling $700K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Legal Defense Fund Cotati, CA | General support | $35,000 |
| Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County Inc Watsonville, CA | General support | $35,000 |
| Housing Matters Santa Cruz, CA | General support | $35,000 |
| United Way of Santa Cruz County Capitola, CA | General support | $35,000 |
| Santa Cruz Welcoming Network Santa Cruz, CA | General Support | $35,000 |
| Amah Mutsun Land Trust Santa Cruz, CA | General support | $30,000 |
| Animal Outlook Washington, DC | General support | $30,000 |
| Committee to Protect Journalists Inc New York, NY | General support | $30,000 |
| Global Change Data Lab | General support | $30,000 |
| Institute for Policy Studies Washington, DC | General support | $30,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $9,663,628 | $834,584 | $820,123 | $700,000 | 25 | $705,005 | $734,726 | $690,657 |
| 2024 | $9,640,941 | $940,172 | $786,707 | $650,000 | 22 | $652,884 | $607,575 | $630,673 |
| 2023 | $9,487,357 | $332,838 | $647,130 | $520,000 | 21 | $546,403 | $142,784 | $484,155 |
| 2022 | $9,801,649 | $119,885 | $318,236 | $200,000 | 8 | $244,750 | $140,475 | $473,695 |
| 2021 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | — | — | — | — | — | $19,228 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Cottonwood Spring reported a distributable amount of $691K 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
Cottonwood Spring’s stated focus areas include free and open media, civil rights and liberties, freely accessible data and information, primary education, habitat restoration and conservation, and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. At the global scale, the foundation says it focuses on free access to information.
Its grantees work in a range of fields. For example, the Committee to Protect Journalists says it promotes press freedom worldwide and defends journalists’ ability to report safely. Animal Outlook says it works to end abuse of farmed animals through investigations, legal advocacy, corporate and food-system reform, and vegan outreach. Housing Matters says it provides emergency and transitional services to homeless people in Santa Cruz County. The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County says its mission is to protect, care for, and connect people to the region’s natural and working lands.
Grantmaking
In 2025, Cottonwood Spring awarded 25 grants totaling $700,000. Grants ranged from $20,000 to $35,000, with a median of $30,000. It awarded 22 grants totaling $650,000 in 2024 and 21 grants totaling $520,000 in 2023.
Among its 2025 grants were $35,000 each to Housing Matters and United Way of Santa Cruz County, and $30,000 each to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Institute for Policy Studies, Wikimedia Foundation, and Animal Outlook. The foundation lists general support as the purpose for its largest grants.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Yael Kisel as President and Weston Arthur Hermann as Secretary and Treasurer.
Cottonwood Spring is led by Yael Kisel, President since 2023 (on filings since 2021); none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Yael Kisel
President
Director & President → President, 2023
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Weston Arthur Hermann
Secretary & Treasurer
Director, Secretary & Treasurer → Secretary & Treasurer, 2023
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "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 Cottonwood Spring
How much does Cottonwood Spring give each year?
Cottonwood Spring gave $700K across 25 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $650K across 22 grants.
What is Cottonwood Spring's typical grant size?
Cottonwood Spring's median grant in 2025 was $30,000, and its average grant was $28,000, across 25 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Cottonwood Spring that year got $25K on average.
Where does Cottonwood Spring give grants?
Cottonwood Spring's top state is California, with 41% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were District of Columbia (30%) and New York (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (8 grants), Santa Cruz, CA (5 grants) and New York, NY (3 grants).
Does Cottonwood Spring give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Cottonwood Spring's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (25 of 25) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Cottonwood Spring's largest grantees?
Cottonwood Spring's largest 2025 grantees include Animal Legal Defense Fund ($35,000), Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County Inc ($35,000) and Housing Matters ($35,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 15% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Cottonwood Spring?
Cottonwood Spring reported $9.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $705K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $691K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Cottonwood Spring fund?
Cottonwood Spring’s stated focus areas include free and open media, civil rights and liberties, freely accessible data and information, primary education, habitat restoration and conservation, and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Cottonwood Spring?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Cottonwood Spring's EIN?
Cottonwood Spring's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 87-3653199. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Does Cottonwood Spring 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 2021 (received by the IRS May 20, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 4, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Cottonwood Spring funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/cottonwood-spring-morg_9fcc75cedaf84be3a815bf6503ace902
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_873653199_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Cottonwood Spring funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/cottonwood-spring-morg_9fcc75cedaf84be3a815bf6503ace902},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Cottonwood Spring'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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