The O'Brien Family Foundation
The O'Brien Family Foundation is a private foundation based in San Mateo, California. Its 2025 filing reports grants to organizations supporting education, scholarships, youth programs, and charitable services, with most grant dollars going to California recipients.
The O'Brien Family Foundation at a glance
In short: The O'Brien Family Foundation gave $780K across 56 grants in 2025 (avg $14K), mostly in California. 16% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $779,550
- +8.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 56
- +9.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $13,921
- -1.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $845,699
- +91.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 16% first-time grantees (8 of 50, 2025)
- Primary geography
- California (96% 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 O'Brien Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.
- Contact
Mailing address: 3130 La Selva Street Suite 101, San Mateo, CA 94403
Phone: (650) 377-0300
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The O'Brien Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was University of San Francisco ($125K). Together the top 10 received $435K.
Organizations only. It also paid 3 individual scholarships ($137,600), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
261 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 238 grants of 261 (91%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 96% of grant dollars went to California recipients, 3% to Texas, and 1% to New York. The filing also lists recipients in Hawaii and Tennessee, each at 0% of grant dollars.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 56 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The O'Brien Family Foundation open to new grantees?
16%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 50 grantees (16%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $7K; repeat grants $14K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 84% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−19%). 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 $578K (2023) to $991K (2021). In 2025 it made 56 grants totaling $780K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA | University Ministry Tutoring Program | $125,000 |
| 3 individual scholarships Recipients not named | — | $137,600 |
| Mercy High School Burlingame, CA | Capital Campaign for Athletic and Student Life Center | $100,000 |
| Flintridge Sacred Heart La Canada Flintridge, CA | Capital Campaign | $50,000 |
| Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy La Canada Flintridge, CA | FSHA Eaton Fire Fund | $25,000 |
| California Homebuilding Foundation Sacramento, CA | Bita Program | $25,000 |
| Catholic Charities San Francisco, CA | General Fund | $25,000 |
| Justin Siena High School Leap Napa, CA | Lasallian Education Access Progam | $24,500 |
| Hanna Academy Sonoma, CA | In Honor of John Heilman | $20,000 |
| Catholic Worker House Redwood City, CA | General Support | $15,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The O'Brien Family Foundation?
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 | $845,699 | $1,229,895 | $825,767 | $779,550 | 56 | $790,346 | $232,695 | $70,943 |
| 2024 | $441,571 | $428,152 | $756,434 | $720,900 | 51 | $730,448 | $252,979 | $48,288 |
| 2023 | $769,853 | $216,136 | $613,611 | $578,475 | 50 | $587,097 | $106,340 | $67,991 |
| 2022 | $1,167,328 | $350,507 | $1,001,611 | $957,250 | 52 | $965,009 | $56,306 | $103,531 |
| 2021 | $1,818,432 | $413,813 | $1,042,584 | $991,250 | 52 | $998,931 | $137,033 | $148,007 |
| 2020 | $2,447,203 | $166,765 | $788,196 | $735,320 | 54 | — | $119,478 | $157,560 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The O'Brien Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $71K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for university tutoring, scholarships, school capital campaigns, and general charitable support. The University of San Francisco describes its mission as educating leaders to help fashion a more humane and just world. An individual recipient says it works to help promising low-income students access and flourish at college preparatory Catholic high schools. The California Homebuilding Foundation describes its work as promoting the homebuilding industry through scholarship, research, education, and professional recognition.
Other 2025 recipients include the Alameda Boys & Girls Club, which says it aims to help young people—especially those from disadvantaged circumstances—realize their potential, and the Women’s Coaching Alliance, which says it develops female leaders through youth sports coaching.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 56 grants totaling $779,550. Grants ranged from $250 to $125,000, with a median grant of $5,000. Larger awards included $125,000 to the University of San Francisco for its University Ministry Tutoring Program; $100,000 to an individual recipient for a Thanksgiving luncheon and scholarships; $100,000 to Mercy High School for a capital campaign for its athletic and student life center; and $50,000 to Flintridge Sacred Heart for a capital campaign.
Other notable grants included $27,600 to St. Ignatius College Preparatory for scholarships, $25,000 to Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy for its Eaton Fire Fund, $25,000 to the California Homebuilding Foundation for its BITA Program, and $25,000 to Catholic Charities for its general fund.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Dennis C. O’Brien as president, Gloria A. O’Brien as secretary, and Susan Frimel and Chris O’Brien as directors.
The O'Brien Family Foundation is led by Dennis C. O'Brien, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Dennis C. O'Brien
President
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Chris O'Brien
Director
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Susan Frimel
Director
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Gloria A. O'Brien
Secretary
On filings since 2020
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 O'Brien Family Foundation
How much does The O'Brien Family Foundation give each year?
The O'Brien Family Foundation gave $780K across 56 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $721K across 51 grants.
What is The O'Brien Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The O'Brien Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $13,921, across 56 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The O'Brien Family Foundation that year got $7K on average.
Where does The O'Brien Family Foundation give grants?
The O'Brien Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 96% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (8 grants), Redwood City, CA (6 grants), Menlo Park, CA (4 grants) and Burlingame, CA (2 grants).
Does The O'Brien Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 48% of The O'Brien Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (27 of 56) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The O'Brien Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The O'Brien Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include University of San Francisco ($125,000), Mercy High School ($100,000) and Flintridge Sacred Heart ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 3 individual scholarships ($137,600), which are not listed by name. Together they received 35% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The O'Brien Family Foundation?
The O'Brien Family Foundation reported $846K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $790K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $71K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The O'Brien Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for university tutoring, scholarships, school capital campaigns, and general charitable support. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The O'Brien Family Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The O'Brien Family Foundation's EIN?
The O'Brien Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 52-2390855. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does The O'Brien 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 October 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 June 3, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work The O'Brien Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in The O'Brien Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The O'Brien Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-o-brien-family-foundation-morg_4dd9a1d07a72457482c63629eaa30963
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_522390855_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The O'Brien Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-o-brien-family-foundation-morg_4dd9a1d07a72457482c63629eaa30963},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-23. 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 O'Brien 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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