Pajadoro Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Santa Barbara, CA EIN: 77-0453458

The Pajadoro Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Santa Barbara, California. Its 2024 filing reports grants to organizations in California, including community, legal, public-safety, health, housing, food-assistance, and arts organizations.

Pajadoro Family Foundation at a glance

In short: Pajadoro Family Foundation gave $208K across 18 grants in 2024 (avg $12K), mostly in California. 17% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2024)
$208,000
+16.5% vs 2023
Grants made (2024)
18
+0.0% vs 2023
Average grant
$11,556
+16.5% vs 2023
Median grant
$9,500
Total assets
$3,613,226
+25.8% vs 2023
New grantees (estimate)
17% first-time grantees (3 of 18, 2024; small sample)
Primary geography
California (100% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Pajadoro Family Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
Yes
How to Apply

The foundation accepts unsolicited requests. Contact Jay Roston; submit a letter on the charity’s letterhead. Applicants must be IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organizations.

Review Cycle
June 1. The filing does not specify a year for this deadline.
Deadline
June 1.
Contact

Application contact: Jay Roston
Mailing address: 1933 Cliff Drive 14, Santa Barbara, CA 93109
Phone: (805) 962-7629

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Pajadoro Family Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

Santa Barbara Foundation: $34KSanta Barbara Foundation$34KPacific Legal Foundation: $25KPacific Legal Foundation$25KSanta Barbara Police Activities Lea: $25KSanta Barbara PoliceActivities Lea$25KSanta Barbara Police Foundation: $25KSanta Barbara PoliceFoundation$25KThe Friendship Paddle: $10KThe Friendship Paddle$10KLaguna Cottages for Seniors: $10KLaguna Cottages for Seniors$10KVNA Health Foundation: $10KVNA Health Foundation$10KFoodbank of Santa Barbara County: $10KFoodbank of Santa BarbaraCounty$10KTransition House: $10KTransition House$10KSanta Barbara Bowl Foundation: $9KSanta Barbara Bowl Foundation$9K

The largest 2024 recipient was Santa Barbara Foundation ($34K). Together the top 10 received $168K.

Grant Size Distribution

83 grants across all recorded years

82<$50K1$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 82 grants of 83 (99%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All grant dollars reported for 2024 went to recipients in California. The listed grants include many organizations based in Santa Barbara, as well as Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento.

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 18 itemized grants.

States

Cities

Santa BarbaraSacramentoBakersfieldGoletaLompocVentura

Is Pajadoro Family Foundation open to new grantees?

17%

first-time grantees, 2024

In 2024, 3 of 18 grantees (17%) were first-time recipients. With only 18 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $15K; repeat grants $11K. How we count

Medians: $5K first-time, $10K repeat.

  • 83% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
  • Giving grew 66% from 2021 to 2024. Method
  • In 2023 it paid out 124% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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

$0$100K$200K$300K18 grants2020 15 grants2021 14 grants2022 18 grants2023 18 grants2024

From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $110K (2020) to $208K (2024). In 2024 it made 18 grants totaling $208K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Santa Barbara Foundation Santa Barbara, CATo mobilize collective wisdom and philanthropic capital to build empathetic, inclusive and resilient communities.$34,000
Pacific Legal Foundation Sacramento, CASupporting the nonprofit organization fighting in the courts for limited government, individual rights, and free enterprise.$25,000
Santa Barbara Police Activities Lea Santa Barbara, CATo support youth activities through leadership from members of the santa barbara police dept$25,000
Santa Barbara Police Foundation Santa Barbara, CASupport Police Outreach Programs$25,000
The Friendship Paddle Santa Barbara, CAPromote Support for Persons with Severe Illneses$10,000
Laguna Cottages for Seniors Santa Barbara, CATo provide afforable housing for seniors in santa barbara$10,000
VNA Health Foundation Santa Barbara, CATo provide home health care, hospice and provide equipment for illness$10,000
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara, CATo tranform hunger into health by offering nutrition education, providing nutritious foods and fresh produce to those in need$10,000
Transition House Santa Barbara, CATo provide solution of family homelessness in the santa barbara community$10,000
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation Santa Barbara, CASupport Arts in Community$9,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2024$3,613,226$376,452$219,564$208,00018$208,000$364,888—
2023$2,873,052$272,121$181,130$178,50018$178,500$269,491$144,434
2022$3,311,861$214,204$188,250$191,00014$186,000$211,954$141,033
2021$2,717,240$485,739$128,107$125,50015$125,500$339,432$124,683
2020$1,980,003$52,476$116,829$110,00018—$45,647$87,406

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants show support for organizations addressing a range of needs. For example, the Santa Barbara Foundation describes itself as a community foundation that analyzes local issues, convenes stakeholders, and invests philanthropic capital; Transition House says it works to address family homelessness in Santa Barbara; and Foodbank of Santa Barbara County says it provides food and education to address hunger and nutrition problems.

Other 2024 grantees describe their work as supporting the Santa Barbara Police Department (Santa Barbara Police Foundation), litigating to secure individual rights (Pacific Legal Foundation), providing financial and emotional support to people with life-threatening illnesses (The Friendship Paddle), and presenting music and performing arts in the community (Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation).

Grantmaking

In 2024, the foundation gave $208,000 through 18 grants. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $34,000, with a median of $9,500. Notable awards included $34,000 to the Santa Barbara Foundation; $25,000 each to Pacific Legal Foundation, Santa Barbara Police Activities League, and Santa Barbara Police Foundation; and $10,000 each to The Friendship Paddle, Laguna Cottages for Seniors, VNA Health Foundation, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, and Transition House.

The foundation states on its 2024 filing that it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. The filing requests a letter on the charity’s letterhead and requires recipients to be IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organizations.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2024 filing lists Jay P. Roston as President & CEO and Doreen Roston as Vice President.

Pajadoro Family Foundation is led by Jay P. Roston, President & CEO since 2022 (on filings since 2020); none of the 2 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.

Officers on the 2024 filing

  • Jay P. Roston

    President & CEO

    Vice President & Secretary → President & CEO, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Doreen Roston

    Vice President

    President → Vice President, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: J. Paul Roston (2020–2021) — CFO & Treasurer

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 Pajadoro Family Foundation

How much does Pajadoro Family Foundation give each year?

Pajadoro Family Foundation gave $208K across 18 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $179K across 18 grants.

What is Pajadoro Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Pajadoro Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $9,500, and its average grant was $11,556, across 18 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Pajadoro Family Foundation that year got $15K on average.

Where does Pajadoro Family Foundation give grants?

Pajadoro Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Santa Barbara, CA (14 grants).

Does Pajadoro Family Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2024: none of the 18 grants with a stated purpose on Pajadoro Family Foundation's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.

Who are Pajadoro Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Pajadoro Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Santa Barbara Foundation ($34,000), Pacific Legal Foundation ($25,000) and Santa Barbara Police Activities Lea ($25,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 40% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.

How large is Pajadoro Family Foundation?

Pajadoro Family Foundation reported $3.6M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $376K.

What does Pajadoro Family Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants show support for organizations addressing a range of needs. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Pajadoro Family Foundation?

The foundation accepts unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Pajadoro Family Foundation's EIN?

Pajadoro Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 77-0453458. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.

Does Pajadoro Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?

Yes, 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

(1)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Pajadoro Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/pajadoro-family-foundation-morg_e39cf67bca374bc9a589e64cb667a697

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_770453458_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Pajadoro Family Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/pajadoro-family-foundation-morg_e39cf67bca374bc9a589e64cb667a697},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-21. 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 Pajadoro 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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