Issa Family Foundation
Issa Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Vista, California. Its 2025 filing reports $1,554,000 in grants to 41 organizations, with listed awards supporting organizations working in areas such as family homelessness, food assistance, youth mentoring, and arts education.
Issa Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Issa Family Foundation gave $1.6M across 41 grants in 2025 (avg $38K), mostly in California. 5% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,554,000
- -93.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 41
- +20.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $37,902
- -94.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $36,473,739
- +1.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 5% first-time grantees (2 of 41, 2025)
- Primary geography
- California (92% 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 Issa Family 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: P O Box 1388, Vista, CA 92085
Phone: (760) 727-6888
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Issa Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Solutions for Change ($400K). Together the top 10 received $1.2M.
Grant Size Distribution
284 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 232 grants of 284 (82%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, California organizations received 92% of grant dollars. Virginia received 4%, Pennsylvania 3%, and Illinois 1%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 41 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Issa Family Foundation open to new grantees?
5%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 41 grantees (5%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $6K; repeat grants $40K. How we count
Medians: $6K first-time, $15K repeat.
- 76% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 33% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 94% 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 (2020) to $22.2M (2024). In 2025 it made 41 grants totaling $1.6M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Solutions for Change Vista, CA | Annual Giving | $400,000 |
| St Anthony Orthodox Christian Church San Diego, CA | Annual Giving | $250,000 |
| National Conflict Resolution Center San Diego, CA | Annual Giving | $175,000 |
| Leap to Success Carlsbad, CA | Annual Giving | $75,000 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Vista Vista, CA | Annual Giving | $70,000 |
| Interfaith Community Services Escondido, CA | Annual Giving | $70,000 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters Philadelphia, PA | Annual Giving | $50,000 |
| The Salvation Army Alexandria, VA | Annual Giving | $50,000 |
| New Haven Youth & Family Services Vista, CA | Annual Giving | $40,000 |
| San Diego Food Bank San Diego, CA | Annual Giving | $35,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Issa Family Foundation?
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 | $36,473,739 | $2,153,692 | $1,725,964 | $1,554,000 | 41 | $1,554,000 | $2,095,117 | $1,647,330 |
| 2024 | $36,046,011 | $14,369,601 | $22,351,804 | $22,180,313 | 34 | $22,180,313 | $2,308,016 | $2,012,862 |
| 2023 | $51,598,480 | $3,831,192 | $2,762,811 | $1,929,000 | 71 | $1,929,000 | $2,155,768 | $1,753,109 |
| 2022 | $55,725,293 | $2,625,133 | $2,639,541 | $2,304,100 | 71 | $2,304,100 | $1,861,537 | $1,887,922 |
| 2021 | $46,579,988 | $3,561,722 | $1,913,214 | $1,788,100 | 67 | $1,788,100 | $3,479,239 | $1,979,128 |
| 2020 | $40,355,710 | $1,585,838 | $1,462,968 | $1,303,500 | 51 | — | $1,273,407 | $1,746,205 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Issa Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.6M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for a range of charitable organizations. For example, Solutions for Change describes its mission as solving family homelessness, one family and one community at a time. Feeding San Diego says it connects people facing hunger with nutritious meals, while Big Brothers Big Sisters describes itself as a youth matching and mentoring service organization. Moonlight Cultural Foundation says it builds community through arts experiences and philanthropic support for Moonlight Stage productions and Moonlight Youth Theatre’s arts education programs.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 41 grants totaling $1,554,000. Awards ranged from $350 to $400,000, with a median grant of $10,000. The largest awards included $400,000 to Solutions for Change, $250,000 to St Anthony Orthodox Christian Church, and $175,000 to National Conflict Resolution Center. Other listed grants included $75,000 to Leap to Success, $70,000 each to Boys and Girls Club of Vista and Interfaith Community Services, and $50,000 each to Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Salvation Army. The listed purposes for these largest grants were “annual giving.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Katharine S Issa as president.
Issa Family Foundation is led by Katharine S. Issa, President since 2024 (on filings since 2020) — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Katharine S. Issa
President
CFO → President, 2024
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Darrell E. Issa (2020–2023) — CEO
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 Issa Family Foundation
How much does Issa Family Foundation give each year?
Issa Family Foundation gave $1.6M across 41 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $22.2M across 34 grants.
What is Issa Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Issa Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $37,902, across 41 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Issa Family Foundation that year got $6K on average.
Where does Issa Family Foundation give grants?
Issa Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 92% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were San Diego, CA (15 grants), Vista, CA (7 grants), Carlsbad, CA (2 grants) and Escondido, CA (2 grants).
Does Issa Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 41 grants with a stated purpose on Issa Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Annual Giving" (39 grants).
Who are Issa Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Issa Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Solutions for Change ($400,000), St Anthony Orthodox Christian Church ($250,000) and National Conflict Resolution Center ($175,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 53% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Issa Family Foundation?
Issa Family Foundation reported $36.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.6M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.6M (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 Issa Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for a range of charitable organizations. For example, Solutions for Change describes its mission as solving family homelessness, one family and one community at a time. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Issa Family 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 Issa Family Foundation's EIN?
Issa Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 33-0834068. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Issa Family 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 October 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 May 15, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Issa Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Issa Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Issa Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/issa-family-foundation-morg_15124a6d4e19409ca73c42ae71981a2b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_330834068_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Issa Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/issa-family-foundation-morg_15124a6d4e19409ca73c42ae71981a2b},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18. 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 Issa 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.
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