The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation is a private foundation based in San Diego, California. In 2025, it reported making 16 grants totaling $102,310 to charitable organizations.
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation at a glance
In short: The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation gave $102K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in California. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $102,310
- Grants made (2025)
- 16
- Average grant
- $6,394
- Median grant
- $3,050
- Total assets
- $1,091,583
- 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.
How to apply to The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 4238 Balboa Avenue, San Diego, CA 92117
Phone: (858) 273-4431
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was SD Museum of Contemporary Art ($34K). Together the top 10 received $98K.
Grant Size Distribution
16 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 16 grants of 16 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 98% of grant dollars went to recipients in California, 1% to Pennsylvania, and 1% to Washington, D.C. The filing also reports 0% for New York.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.
Cities
How The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation gives
- In 2025 it paid out 141% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $102K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| SD Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla, CA | Charitable Purposes | $34,300 |
| Congregation Beth Israel San Diego, CA | Charitable Purposes | $11,160 |
| Jewish Community Center La Jolla, CA | Charitable Purposes | $10,000 |
| Old Globe Theatre San Diego, CA | Charitable Purposes | $10,000 |
| Ucsd Foundation La Jolla, CA | Charitable Purposes | $10,000 |
| United Jewish Federation San Diego, CA | Charitable Purposes | $10,000 |
| Children's Museum San Diego, CA | Charitable Purposes | $5,000 |
| Jewish Family Services (UJC) San Diego, CA | Charitable Purposes | $3,600 |
| Zoological Society - San Diego San Diego, CA | Charitable Purposes | $2,500 |
| Israel Guide Dog Warrington, PA | Charitable Purposes | $1,000 |
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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 | $1,091,583 | $191,482 | $107,551 | $102,310 | 16 | $102,510 | $185,941 | $72,900 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $73K 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
The foundation’s own mission is not stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for cultural, community, and social-service organizations. The Old Globe Theatre describes its mission as advancing American theatre through professional productions, programming, and education. The Kindness Initiative says it works to alleviate poverty in the San Diego Jewish community by meeting vulnerable households’ basic physical and psychological needs.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation awarded 16 grants totaling $102,310. Grants ranged from $250 to $34,300, with a median grant of $3,050. Among the largest listed grants were $34,300 to the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art; $11,160 to Congregation Beth Israel; and $10,000 each to the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla, the Old Globe Theatre, UCSD Foundation, and United Jewish Federation. The foundation also gave $5,000 to Children’s Museum and $3,600 to Jewish Family Services (UJC). The listed grant purposes were charitable purposes.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Melissa Garfield Bartell as president and Michael Bartell as secretary and treasurer.
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation is led by Melissa Garfield Bartell, President on every filing since 2023; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Melissa Garfield Bartell
President
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michael Bartell
Secretary & Treasurer
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2023–2025. "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 Garfield Bartell Family Foundation
How much does The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation give each year?
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation gave $102K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
What is The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $3,050, and its average grant was $6,394, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation give grants?
The Garfield Bartell Family 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 Diego, CA (7 grants) and La Jolla, CA (4 grants).
Who are The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include SD Museum of Contemporary Art ($34,300), Congregation Beth Israel ($11,160) and Jewish Community Center ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 54% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation?
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $103K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $73K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation fund?
The foundation’s own mission is not stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for cultural, community, and social-service organizations. The Old Globe Theatre describes its mission as advancing American theatre through professional productions, programming, and education. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation's EIN?
The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 88-2699666. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2023–2025.
Does The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2023–2025
Live grants for the work The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-garfield-bartell-family-foundation-morg_b2104cd4436544f4a01f56ccd490f9e1
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_882699666_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Garfield Bartell Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-garfield-bartell-family-foundation-morg_b2104cd4436544f4a01f56ccd490f9e1},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. 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 Garfield Bartell 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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