Downing Family Operating Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker San Diego, CA EIN: 33-0643597

Downing Family Operating Foundation is a private foundation focused on Arts, Culture & Humanities, based in San Diego, CA. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. Net investment income was $25.

Key facts about Downing Family Operating Foundation

EIN
33-0643597
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

—

Revenue

$6K

+134.1% YoY

Net Investment Income

$25

-66.2% YoY

Expenses

$8K

+143.2% YoY

How Downing Family Operating Foundation gives

  • Giving fell 98% from 2020 to 2023. Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Your AI grants department

Ready to take the next step with Downing Family Operating Foundation?

Fully replaces Grant database subscriptions Instrumentl · Foundation Directory · GrantStation & similar

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

1state

States

Cities

San DiegoAuberry

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$50K$100K$150K1 grant2019 3 grants2020 0 grants2021 0 grants2022 2 grants2023 0 grants2024 0 grants2025

From 2019 to 2023, annual grant giving ranged from $1K (2019) to $131K (2020). In 2023 it made 2 grants totaling $2K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

2 grants across all recorded years

2<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 2 grants of 2 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for 2025.

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$50K$100K$150K$200K2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets—$1,860$2,528
Revenue$6,025$2,574$63
Expenses$7,885$3,242$5,757
Qualifying Distributions——$2,000
Net Investment Income$25$74$63

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 12, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 16, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS July 8, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS October 14, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 27, 2023)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 22, 2025)
  7. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS January 26, 2026)
  8. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Downing Family Operating Foundation is led by John C Downing, President on every filing since 2019; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • John C Downing

    President

    On filings since 2019

    20 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Toni M Leadingham

    Secretary

    CFO → Secretary, 2025

    On filings since 2019

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 Downing Family Operating Foundation

What is Downing Family Operating Foundation?

Downing Family Operating Foundation is a private foundation focused on Arts, Culture & Humanities, based in San Diego, CA.

Where does Downing Family Operating Foundation operate?

Downing Family Operating Foundation has awarded grants in California.

What is Downing Family Operating Foundation's EIN?

Downing Family Operating Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 33-0643597. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings.

Your AI grants department

Here's the math on researching Downing Family Operating Foundation by hand.

Explore Open Grants

Browse active grant opportunities in Downing Family Operating Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database

Similar Funders

Funders with grantees in common

Jacobs Family Foundation

San Diego, CA

Assets

$84.4M

Grants

1

Total Given

$2.5M

Gould Family Foundation

Westport, CT

The Gould Family Foundation funds public-interest work worldwide, especially nature preservation, poverty and disease relief in developing countries, and local cultural, civic, and humane institutions. Its giving has no clear typical level: it made no grants in 2023 or 2024, and its sole reported 2022 grant was $34.4 million; its filing lists a letter as application material and says funding is not limited to preselected organizations.

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Assets

$2.1M

Grants

1

Total Given

$34.4M

Julia Richardson Brown Foundation

La Jolla, CA

Assets

$2.4M

Grants

4

Total Given

$183K

Downing Family Foundation

San Diego, CA

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Assets

$2.8M

Grants

4

Total Given

$96K

Niki Charitable Art Foundation

Park City, UT

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Assets

$37.4M

Grants

5

Total Given

$52K

The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation

Wilmington, DE

The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation funds photography education, exhibitions, collections, and related cultural and educational projects, primarily through support for museums, libraries, schools, and universities. Its 2024 grants ranged from $1,000 to $200,000, with a median of $25,000; most funding went to New York, with smaller amounts to California and Pennsylvania. It supports only preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Assets

$4.8M

Grants

8

Total Given

$455K

Patrons of the Prado

San Diego, CA

Raising funds to benefit the arts, science and cultural centers on the prado in balboa park and for programs that provide eduational access for san diego school children to the museums and arts in balboa park.

Assets

$103K

Grants

9

Total Given

$931K

The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Inc

New York, NY

The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation funds photography exhibitions, acquisitions, and publications at museums and other public institutions, as well as HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and care; it does not fund individual photographers. Its 2025 grants ranged from $1,000 to $137,500, with a median of $12,500, and most funding went to New York recipients, with HIV/AIDS projects in the New York area currently prioritized. It provides proposal guidelines and accepts inquiries and applications by email, with no formal deadlines.

Assets

$192.0M

Grants

12

Total Given

$419K

The Ginger E and Robert D Wallace Foundation

Salt Lake City, UT

In 2025, the foundation supported food assistance, health care, cultural and educational programs, and community services, primarily in Utah, with grants also going to California and Idaho. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $11,000, with a median of $5,000. It contributes only to preselected organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Assets

$663K

Grants

15

Total Given

$93K

Peterson Charitable Foundation

La Jolla, CA

Assets

—

Grants

15

Total Given

$24K

Capdevilla Gillespie Foundation

Wilmington, DE

The Capdevilla Gillespie Foundation supports preselected programs and projects in education, arts, community services, and women’s leadership, with 2025 grants ranging from $2,250 to $50,000 and a median of $10,000. Its 2025 grants primarily went to California, with additional funding in New York and New Jersey. It does not accept unsolicited requests.

Assets

$1.1M

Grants

16

Total Given

$236K

The Legler Benbough Foundation

San Diego, CA

The Legler Benbough Foundation’s 2020 grants supported California organizations, primarily in the San Diego area, across education, outdoor programs, civic leadership, tourism, journalism, technology, and community advancement. It awarded 16 grants totaling about $4.54 million, with a median grant of $50,000 and amounts ranging from $1,390 to $2.55 million. It accepted no unsolicited requests and appears to have wound down after its 2020 final return.

Assets

—

Grants

16

Total Given

$4.5M

More Funders in California

Downing Family Operating Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?

Want AI to do this for you?