Rippleworks Inc
Rippleworks Inc. is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. It supports social impact organizations and mission-driven ventures with practical assistance and flexible funding to help them scale and improve more lives.
Key facts about Rippleworks Inc
In short: Rippleworks Inc gave $153.8M across 89 grants in 2025 (avg $1.7M), mostly in California. 72% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- EIN
- 46-5604812
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $153,837,539
- Grants made (2025)
- 89
- Average grant
- $1,728,512
- Median grant
- $100,000
- New grantees (estimate)
- 72% first-time grantees (54 of 75, 2025)
- Total assets
- $2,523,976,693
- Primary geography
- California (64% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$2.5B
+77.9% YoY
Annual Giving
$153.8M
+281.0% YoY
Grant Count
89
-3.3% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$1.7M
+293.8% YoY
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Rippleworks Inc reported a distributable amount of $73.1M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Is Rippleworks Inc open to new grantees?
72%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 54 of 75 grantees (72%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2.6M; repeat grants $633K. How we count
Medians: $100K first-time, $250K repeat.
- 20% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 298% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 236% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
Rippleworks’ mission is to provide practical support to social impact organizations so they can scale faster and improve more lives. Its stated areas of interest include challenges related to access to education and healthcare, environmental resilience, and community development.
Rippleworks supports nonprofit and for-profit ventures. Its capital criteria include a clear path to growth, strong leadership, demonstrated impact, service to underserved populations, and a need for timely catalytic capital. It offers grants to nonprofits and flexible debt to for-profit or revenue-generating ventures, generally in the $1 million–$3 million range.
Examples among its 2025 grantees illustrate the range of work supported. Inkomoko describes its mission as supporting African entrepreneurs to grow businesses, create jobs, improve livelihoods, and foster economic development in their communities. Project Healthy Children describes work supporting food-fortification policy and flour millers in Eastern Africa. We Care Solar says it designs and implements solar energy programs to improve healthcare and education. Kheyti describes providing technology solutions to smallholder farmers in India.
Grantmaking
In 2025, Rippleworks reported 89 grants totaling $153,837,539. The median grant was $100,000; grants ranged from $550 to $91,808,000. The largest listed grants included $91,808,000 to A Khmer Buddhist Foundation for general support, $10 million to Windward Fund for general support, and $5 million each to Food for Education and Inkomoko for general support. Other listed grants included $3 million to Project Healthy Children (Sanku), We Care Solar, and several other organizations.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Rippleworks says it is open to funding any sector or geography. In 2025, 64% of grant dollars went to recipients in California, 7% to Washington, DC, 4% to Washington state, and 3% to New York; 11% was listed in an unidentified category. Its grantees’ stated work includes programs in multiple countries, including India and Eastern Africa.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 89 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $6.7M (2021) to $153.8M (2025). In 2025 it made 89 grants totaling $153.8M.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was A Khmer Buddhist Foundation ($91.8M). Together the top 10 received $130.9M.
Grant Size Distribution
454 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 227 grants of 454 (50%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| A Khmer Buddhist Foundation San Francisco, CA | General Support | $91,808,000 |
| Windward Fund Washington, DC | General Support | $10,000,000 |
| Food for Education New York, NY | General Support | $5,000,000 |
| Inkomoko Clinton, WA | General Support | $5,000,000 |
| Covaagua Saint Paul, MN | General Support | $3,000,000 |
| Development Media International | To support dmi in conducting evidence-based social behaviour change (SBC) campaigns | $3,000,000 |
| Project Healthy Children (Sanku) Westborough, MA | General Support | $3,000,000 |
| Smartstart | To support grantees affordable, accessible, and high-quality early learning programs for low-resource communities in south africa. | $3,000,000 |
| We Care Solar Berkeley, CA | General Support | $3,000,000 |
| Mafisa Community Transformation Trust Ltd | To expand mafisas climate and veterinary program in zambia. | $2,500,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Grant total | Number of grants |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $153,837,539 | 89 |
| 2024 | $40,379,366 | 92 |
| 2023 | $53,489,869 | 106 |
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $2,523,976,693 | $1,419,088,778 | $1,110,969,971 |
| Revenue | $437,395,417 | $149,419,625 | $144,469,459 |
| Expenses | $182,809,774 | $56,031,456 | $72,154,652 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $172,265,007 | $53,905,347 | $65,906,995 |
| Net Investment Income | $482,456,338 | $150,546,490 | $73,283,127 |
| Distributable Amount | $73,137,139 | $66,429,091 | $51,220,778 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 3, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 14, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS October 4, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 15, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 15, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 15, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Doug Galen as president/CEO, Christian Larsen as secretary/treasurer, Anushka Ratnayake as a board member, John Carroll as controller, and Alexa Parsons as director of finance/controller. Rippleworks’ website says Chris Larsen and Doug Galen co-founded the organization in 2015.
Rippleworks Inc is led by Doug Galen, President & CEO on every filing since 2019; 3 of 5 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Doug Galen
President & CEO
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$660K (2019) → $970K (2025)
Alexa Parsons
Director of Finance & Controller
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$26K (2025)
John Carroll
Controller
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$207K (2023) → $245K (2025)
Christian Larsen
Secretary & Treasurer
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Anushka Ratnayake
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $970K, to Doug Galen (President/CEO). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Mailing address: 889 Winslow Street 501, Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 499-3120
Website: https://rippleworks.org
Frequently asked questions about Rippleworks Inc
How much does Rippleworks Inc give each year?
Rippleworks Inc gave $153.8M across 89 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $40.4M across 92 grants.
What is Rippleworks Inc's typical grant size?
Rippleworks Inc's median grant in 2025 was $100,000, and its average grant was $1,728,512, across 89 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Rippleworks Inc that year got $2.6M on average.
Where does Rippleworks Inc give grants?
Rippleworks Inc gives mostly in California: 64% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was District of Columbia (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (5 grants), Washington, DC (5 grants), Wilmington, DE (5 grants) and Clinton, WA (3 grants).
Does Rippleworks Inc give general operating support?
Yes: 76% of Rippleworks Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (68 of 89) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Rippleworks Inc's largest grantees?
Rippleworks Inc's largest 2025 grantees include A Khmer Buddhist Foundation ($91,808,000), Windward Fund ($10,000,000) and Inkomoko ($5,237,958 across 3 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 70% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Rippleworks Inc?
Rippleworks Inc reported $2.5B in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $172.3M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $73.1M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Rippleworks Inc fund?
Rippleworks’ mission is to provide practical support to social impact organizations so they can scale faster and improve more lives. Its stated areas of interest include challenges related to access to education and healthcare, environmental resilience, and community development. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Rippleworks Inc?
Rippleworks Inc does not accept unsolicited proposals, according to Grantable's research on its published guidelines. Check rippleworks.org for any change to that policy.
What is Rippleworks Inc's EIN?
Rippleworks Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 46-5604812. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Rippleworks Inc 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.
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