Robert R Sprague Foundation

NEWPORT BEACH, CA EIN: 95-7052355

The Robert R Sprague Foundation is a private foundation established in 1998 and located in Newport Beach, California. The foundation operates as a family foundation with a primary focus on higher education philanthropy.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$12.6M

+3.0% YoY

Annual Giving

$1.0M

+17.9% YoY

Grant Count

+18.8% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$54K

-0.7% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Robert R Sprague Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.3M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

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

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation's giving is primarily directed toward higher education institutions and related charitable purposes.

Grantmaking

The foundation maintains active grantmaking operations with recent grants including:

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation supports organizations primarily in California, with documented grants to institutions in San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles.

Grant Distribution by State

California $4.4M (93%)

New York $195K (4%)

District of Columbia $50K (1%)

Connecticut $25K (1%)

Virginia $25K (1%)

Massachusetts $20K (0%)

States

California Connecticut District of Columbia Massachusetts New York Virginia

Cities

El SegundoFairfieldGoletaHermosa BeachIrvineLong BeachLos AngelesManhattan BeachMerrifieldModestoNew Port BeachNew YorkPasadenaRedondo BeachSan ClementeSan Luis ObispoSan PedroSanta MonicaSyracuseWaltham

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

As of May 2025:

Total Assets: $12,648,833
Total Revenues: $1,609,937
Total Expenses: $1,240,345
Investment Income and Dividends: $427,551

As of 2024:

Total Assets: $12,279,241
Total Giving: $864,000

The foundation maintains zero employees and operates with no outstanding liabilities.

Revenue

Expenses

Qualifying Distributions

Net Investment Income

Metric	2025	2024	2023
Total Assets	$12,648,833	$12,279,241	$12,425,271
Revenue	$1,609,937	$896,299	$1,020,690
Expenses	$1,240,345	$1,042,329	$1,336,033
Qualifying Distributions	$1,115,808	$939,125	$1,171,940
Net Investment Income	$1,497,400	$805,816	$930,747
Distributable Amount	$1,268,392	$1,110,092	$995,727

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Grant Size Distribution

113 grants across all recorded years

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

Among its reported 2025 grants, the largest include Make-a-wish Foundation Orange Count ($160,000), California Community Foundation ($110,000), California Polytechnic State Univer ($100,000).

Recipient	Purpose	Amount
CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION LOS ANGELES, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$110,000
CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVER SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$100,000
CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY - PASADENA PASADENA, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$20,000
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$50,000
HERMOSA BEACH EDUCATION FOUNDATION HERMOSA BEACH, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$30,000
HOUSING WORKS LOS ANGELES, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$75,000
KING HARBOR YOUTH FOUNDATION REDONDO BEACH, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$20,000
MANHATTAN BEACH EDUCATION FOUNDATIO MANHATTAN BEACH, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$100,000
MARINE MAMMAL CARE CENTER SAN PEDRO, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$20,000
NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY LOS ANGELES, CA	QUALIFIED CHARITABLE PURPOSE	$14,000

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Joel Sprague serves as President of the foundation.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

From 2025 filing

Name	Title	Hours	Compensation
JOEL SPRAGUE	President	5	—

Contact Information

Address: 4695 MacArthur Court, Suite 1500, Newport Beach, CA 92660-8885

Telephone: 949-216-2200

EIN: 95-7052355

Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Robert R Sprague Foundation fund?

The foundation's giving is primarily directed toward higher education institutions and related charitable purposes.

How do I apply for a grant from Robert R Sprague Foundation?

The foundation maintains active grantmaking operations with recent grants including: • California Community Foundation: $110,000 (2025) • Associated Students Inc California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo: $100,000 (2025) • UCLA Foundation: $100,000 (2025) Annual giving has ranged from approximately $864,000 to $1.1 million in recent years.

Where does Robert R Sprague Foundation make grants?

The foundation supports organizations primarily in California, with documented grants to institutions in San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles.

What size grants does Robert R Sprague Foundation award?

In 2025, Robert R Sprague Foundation awarded 19 grants totaling $1.0M — an average of about $54K per grant, based on its IRS Form 990 filings.

How much is Robert R Sprague Foundation required to give away each year?

Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2025, Robert R Sprague Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.3M on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.