Electra Foundation
Electra Foundation is a private foundation based in Sausalito, California. In filing year 2025, it reported 10 grants totaling $29,533 to charitable organizations, with listed recipients working in areas including conservation, arts, and access to digital collections.
Electra Foundation at a glance
In short: Electra Foundation gave $30K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in California. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $29,533
- -7.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- -28.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $2,953
- +29.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,000
- Total assets
- $14,133
- -17.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 20% first-time grantees (2 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (97% 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 Electra 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: 13 South 40 Pier, Sausalito, CA 94965
Phone: (415) 710-9409
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Electra Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Longnoworg ($10K). Together the top 10 received $30K.
Grant Size Distribution
63 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 63 grants of 63 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 97% of grant dollars went to recipients in California and 3% to recipients in Arizona.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Electra Foundation open to new grantees?
20%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 10 grantees (20%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $1K; repeat grants $3K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $1K repeat.
- 80% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+18%). Method
- In 2021 it paid out 154% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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 $21K (2023) to $69K (2020). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $30K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Longnoworg San Francisco, CA | Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Revive and Restore Sausalito, CA | Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Petaluma River Park Foundation Petaluma, CA | Unrestricted | $2,500 |
| Bay Nature Berkeley, CA | Unrestricted | $1,033 |
| Owl Foundation Petaluma, CA | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
| Island Conservation Santa Cruz, CA | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
| Northern Jaguar Project Tucson, AZ | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
| Internet Archive San Francisco, CA | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
| Asteroid Institute Mill Valley, CA | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
| Marin Museum of Contemporary Art San Rafael, CA | Unrestricted | $1,000 |
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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 | $14,133 | $27,982 | $30,923 | $29,533 | 10 | $29,533 | $27,982 | — |
| 2024 | $17,074 | $26,262 | $33,399 | $32,050 | 14 | $32,050 | $26,262 | — |
| 2023 | $24,211 | $31,752 | $24,894 | $21,174 | 13 | $21,174 | $31,752 | — |
| 2022 | $17,353 | $17,625 | $25,127 | $25,025 | 14 | $25,025 | $17,625 | — |
| 2021 | $24,855 | $19,528 | $29,490 | $27,000 | 12 | $27,000 | $19,528 | $17,556 |
| 2020 | $34,817 | $55,714 | $70,110 | $69,150 | 16 | — | $55,714 | $17,608 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Petaluma River Park Foundation says its mission is to create shared space connecting people, art, and nature. Northern Jaguar Project says it works to preserve and recover the world’s northernmost jaguar population and its habitat. Island Conservation says it works to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. The Internet Archive describes its mission as providing permanent access to digital historical collections, and Marin Museum of Contemporary Art says it provides artistic education for the Northern California community.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation gave $29,533 through 10 grants. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $10,000, with a median grant of $1,000. Its largest grants were $10,000 each to Long Now Foundation (listed as LONGNOWORG) and Revive and Restore. Other grants included $2,500 to Petaluma River Park Foundation and $1,033 to Bay Nature. The remaining grants were $1,000 each to Owl Foundation, Island Conservation, Northern Jaguar Project, Internet Archive, Asteroid Institute, and Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. All listed grants were for unrestricted purposes.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Ryan Phelan as president and secretary, and Stewart Brand as treasurer.
Electra Foundation is led by Ryan Phelan, President & Secretary since 2022 (on filings since 2020); none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Ryan Phelan
President & Secretary
President → President & Secretary, 2022
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stewart Brand
Treasurer
On filings since 2022
1 hr/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 Electra Foundation
How much does Electra Foundation give each year?
Electra Foundation gave $30K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $32K across 14 grants.
What is Electra Foundation's typical grant size?
Electra Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $2,953, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Electra Foundation that year got $1K on average.
Where does Electra Foundation give grants?
Electra Foundation gives mostly in California: 97% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (2 grants) and Petaluma, CA (2 grants).
Does Electra Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Electra Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Electra Foundation's largest grantees?
Electra Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Longnoworg ($10,000), Revive and Restore ($10,000) and Petaluma River Park Foundation ($2,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 76% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Electra Foundation?
Electra Foundation reported $14K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $28K.
What does Electra Foundation fund?
No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Petaluma River Park Foundation says its mission is to create shared space connecting people, art, and nature. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Electra 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 Electra Foundation's EIN?
Electra Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-3346928. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Electra 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 24, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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