The Candelaria Fund
The Candelaria Fund is a private foundation based in Little River, California. Its 2025 grants included general support for organizations working in areas such as railroad preservation, culture, museums, and community services.
The Candelaria Fund at a glance
In short: The Candelaria Fund gave $678K across 15 grants in 2025 (avg $45K), top state Pennsylvania. 13% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $677,500
- -16.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 15
- -25.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $45,167
- +10.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $15,000
- Total assets
- $983,783
- +4.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 13% first-time grantees (2 of 15, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Pennsylvania (44% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Candelaria Fund
- How to Apply
-
The fund does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Requests should be submitted in writing and include the purpose of the requested funds and a brief history of the requesting organization. The filing states that there are no restrictions on awards.
- Contact
Application contact: Candelaria Fund Richard Tower
Mailing address: P O Box 398, Little River, CA 95456
Phone: (415) 722-1714
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Candelaria Fund funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was East Broad Top Foundation ($200K). Together the top 10 received $655K.
Grant Size Distribution
87 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 64 grants of 87 (74%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, grant dollars went to recipients in Pennsylvania (44%), California (23%), New Mexico (12%), Maine (11%), and Ohio (7%). These percentages describe the reported distribution of grant dollars by recipient state.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 15 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Candelaria Fund open to new grantees?
13%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 15 grantees (13%) were first-time recipients. With only 15 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $13K; repeat grants $50K. How we count
Medians: $13K first-time, $20K repeat.
- 80% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+0%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out well above 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 $300K (2021) to $815K (2024). In 2025 it made 15 grants totaling $678K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| East Broad Top Foundation Rock Hill Furnace, PA | General Support | $200,000 |
| Bay Area Electric Railroad Association Suisun City, CA | General Support | $100,000 |
| Railroaders Memorial Museum Altoona, PA | General Support | $100,000 |
| Center of Southwest Culture Albuquerque, NM | General Support | $75,000 |
| Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington RR Alma, ME | General Support | $75,000 |
| Friends of the East Broad Top Cincinnati, OH | General Support | $50,000 |
| San Francisco Chronicle Season of Sharing San Francisco, CA | General Support | $20,000 |
| Nevada Northern Railway Foundation ELY, NV | General Support | $15,000 |
| The Community Foundation of Mendocino County Ukiah, CA | General Support | $10,000 |
| Oakland Museum of California Oakland, CA | General Support | $10,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Candelaria Fund?
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 | $983,783 | $918,393 | $708,512 | $677,500 | 15 | $685,551 | $723,213 | $56,832 |
| 2024 | $944,701 | $896,737 | $831,177 | $815,000 | 20 | $822,901 | $831,377 | $48,822 |
| 2023 | $834,879 | $592,315 | $687,041 | $660,000 | 15 | $667,955 | $463,471 | $53,844 |
| 2022 | $1,139,198 | $1,474,671 | $688,591 | $675,000 | 21 | $682,992 | $693,153 | $58,058 |
| 2021 | $834,801 | $908,399 | $311,989 | $300,000 | 16 | $307,517 | $400,250 | $48,647 |
| 2020 | $700,054 | $297,819 | $671,403 | $660,000 | 15 | — | $138,708 | $51,112 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Candelaria Fund reported a distributable amount of $57K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the fund is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, the Center of Southwest Culture describes its work as developing healthy Indigenous and Latino communities through economic development and educational and cultural work. Friends of the East Broad Top describes its mission as preserving and restoring the East Broad Top Railroad, a National Historic Landmark in Pennsylvania. The Nevada Northern Railway Foundation says it works to increase public awareness and appreciation of White Pine County history through historic train rides and a museum.
Other 2025 grantees include the Oakland Museum of California, whose stated mission is to inspire Californians and engage them with the natural, artistic, and social forces shaping the state, and the California Budget & Policy Center, which describes its work as independent research, public education, and policy guidance to expand economic opportunities and promote well-being for Californians.
Grantmaking
The fund awarded 15 grants totaling $677,500 in 2025. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $200,000, with a median grant of $15,000. In 2024, it awarded 20 grants totaling $815,000; in 2023, it awarded 15 grants totaling $660,000.
Among the largest 2025 awards were $200,000 to East Broad Top Foundation, $100,000 each to Bay Area Electric Railroad Association and Railroaders Memorial Museum, and $75,000 each to Center of Southwest Culture and Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington RR. Friends of the East Broad Top received $50,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Richard Tower and Caroline Tower are listed as directors.
The Candelaria Fund's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Caroline Tower
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Richard Tower
Director
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/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 The Candelaria Fund
How much does The Candelaria Fund give each year?
The Candelaria Fund gave $678K across 15 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $815K across 20 grants.
What is The Candelaria Fund's typical grant size?
The Candelaria Fund's median grant in 2025 was $15,000, and its average grant was $45,167, across 15 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Candelaria Fund that year got $13K on average.
Where does The Candelaria Fund give grants?
The Candelaria Fund's top state is Pennsylvania, with 44% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were California (23%) and New Mexico (12%). The most frequent recipient cities were Sacramento, CA (3 grants) and San Francisco, CA (2 grants).
Does The Candelaria Fund give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of The Candelaria Fund's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (15 of 15) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Candelaria Fund's largest grantees?
The Candelaria Fund's largest 2025 grantees include East Broad Top Foundation ($200,000), Bay Area Electric Railroad Association ($100,000) and Railroaders Memorial Museum ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 59% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Candelaria Fund?
The Candelaria Fund reported $984K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $686K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $57K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Candelaria Fund fund?
No mission statement for the fund is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, the Center of Southwest Culture describes its work as developing healthy Indigenous and Latino communities through economic development and educational and cultural work. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Candelaria Fund?
The fund does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Candelaria Fund's EIN?
The Candelaria Fund's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-3246086. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 7, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 26, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 19, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 12, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Candelaria Fund's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Candelaria Fund funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-candelaria-fund-morg_9c7da446bb0f40d6b925e64853cceebf
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_943246086_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Candelaria Fund funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-candelaria-fund-morg_9c7da446bb0f40d6b925e64853cceebf},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-13. 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 The Candelaria Fund'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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