The Duncan Great Cause Foundation
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation is a private foundation based in San Marino, California. Its 2025 filing reports grants to nonprofit organizations supporting education, arts and culture, community programs, and services for people experiencing homelessness.
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation at a glance
In short: The Duncan Great Cause Foundation gave $78K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in California. 43% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $77,548
- -4.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- -17.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,539
- +15.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,750
- Total assets
- $1,510,207
- -1.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 43% first-time grantees (6 of 14, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (98% 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 The Duncan Great Cause Foundation
- Review Cycle
- December 31.
- Deadline
- December 31.
- Contact
Application contact: Qing Duncan
Mailing address: 3742 E 26Th Street, Vernon, CA 90058
Phone: (323) 362-5505
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Duncan Great Cause Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was The Huntington Library ($40K). Together the top 10 received $76K.
Grant Size Distribution
74 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 73 grants of 74 (99%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing reports that 98% of grant dollars went to California recipients, with 1% each going to recipients in Virginia and Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Duncan Great Cause Foundation open to new grantees?
43%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 6 of 14 grantees (43%) were first-time recipients. With only 14 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $7K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $1K repeat.
- 50% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+11%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 102% of 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 $45K (2021) to $84K (2023). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $78K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington Library San Marino, CA | To support enrichment, education and stewardship of the extensive gardens, library and art collections and provide educational opportunities and public programs. | $40,000 |
| Cal State La University Auxiliary Services Inc Los Angeles, CA | Education | $10,350 |
| John Raitt Awards for Youth (Jray) Costa Mesa, CA | To support high school performing arts education in los angeles, orange, riverside and inland Empire counties of California. | $9,000 |
| Museique Pasadena, CA | Support for Local Art Programs | $5,000 |
| Caltech Pasadena, CA | Education | $4,000 |
| Ascencia Glendale, CA | To provide shelter to families and individuals and outreach/support to assist with job seeking, addiction and mental illness. | $2,650 |
| San Marino Rotary Charities San Marino, CA | Community Outreach | $2,000 |
| San Marino Motor Classic San Marino, CA | Community Benefit | $1,500 |
| Monroe Institute Faber, VA | Education | $1,000 |
| The Rotary Foundation Evanston, IL | Rotary International Programs | $700 |
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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 | $1,510,207 | $184,244 | $88,266 | $77,548 | 14 | $77,548 | $88,952 | $76,079 |
| 2024 | $1,537,703 | $219,781 | $89,268 | $81,380 | 17 | $81,380 | $212,038 | — |
| 2023 | $1,375,795 | $86,035 | $90,356 | $83,550 | 13 | $83,550 | $86,035 | — |
| 2022 | $1,121,238 | $64,797 | $73,769 | $69,659 | 13 | $69,659 | $11,126 | — |
| 2021 | $1,130,211 | $132,527 | $51,005 | $45,400 | 17 | $45,400 | $132,527 | $51,492 |
| 2020 | $1,003,346 | $677 | $72,820 | $52,050 | 13 | — | $1,373 | $35,588 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Duncan Great Cause Foundation reported a distributable amount of $76K 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 foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for education, performing arts education, local arts programs, library and garden programs, community outreach, and shelter and support services.
Among its grantees, Muse/Ique describes its mission as creating live music events and outreach programs to engage the community and foster new generations of music lovers. ASCENCIA describes its mission as lifting people out of homelessness, one person and one family at a time. San Marino Rotary Charities says it receives charitable donations and contributes to community and other organizations. The San Marino Schools Foundation says it supports the San Marino Unified School District’s four schools and full-time teachers.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 14 grants totaling $77,548. Grant amounts ranged from $103 to $40,000, with a median of $1,750. Notable grants included $40,000 to The Huntington Library for garden, library, and art collection stewardship, educational opportunities, and public programs; $10,350 to Cal State LA University Auxiliary Services for education; $9,000 to John Raitt Awards for Youth for high school performing arts education; and $5,000 to Muse/Ique for local arts programs. Other grants included $4,000 to Caltech for education, $2,650 to ASCENCIA for shelter and related support, and $2,000 to San Marino Rotary Charities for community outreach.
The foundation’s filing states that it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. To apply, the filing asks applicants to include the charity’s name, address, phone number, contact person, and purpose of the grant, and lists Qing Duncan as the contact. The stated award restrictions are libraries, schools, hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Qing S. Duncan as CEO and director, Megan Duncan as CFO and director, and Joshua Duncan as director.
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation is led by Qing S. Duncan, CEO & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Qing S. Duncan
CEO & Director
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Joshua Duncan
Director
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Megan Duncan
CFO & Director
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Kyle G Duncan (2020–2023) — Secretary & Director
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 Duncan Great Cause Foundation
How much does The Duncan Great Cause Foundation give each year?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation gave $78K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $81K across 17 grants.
What is The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's typical grant size?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,750, and its average grant was $5,539, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Duncan Great Cause Foundation that year got $4K on average.
Where does The Duncan Great Cause Foundation give grants?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation gives mostly in California: 98% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were San Marino, CA (5 grants) and Pasadena, CA (3 grants).
Does The Duncan Great Cause Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 14 grants with a stated purpose on The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (3 grants).
Who are The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's largest grantees?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include The Huntington Library ($40,000), Cal State La University Auxiliary Services Inc ($10,350) and John Raitt Awards for Youth (Jray) ($9,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 77% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Duncan Great Cause Foundation?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation reported $1.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $78K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $76K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Duncan Great Cause Foundation fund?
No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for education, performing arts education, local arts programs, library and garden programs, community outreach, and shelter and support services. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Duncan Great Cause Foundation?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's EIN?
The Duncan Great Cause Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 82-3709895. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 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 12, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Duncan Great Cause Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-duncan-great-cause-foundation-morg_497e20ff06a74cf496399dc0f5da5bf0
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_823709895_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Duncan Great Cause Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-duncan-great-cause-foundation-morg_497e20ff06a74cf496399dc0f5da5bf0},
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 Duncan Great Cause 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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