The Sobrato Family Foundation
The Sobrato Family Foundation is based in Mountain View, California. In 2024, it reported 526 grants totaling $69.3 million. The listed grants include support routed through donor-advised funds, impact-investing funds, and direct grants for housing and a bilingual collaborative.
Key facts about The Sobrato Family Foundation
In short: The Sobrato Family Foundation gave $69.3M across 526 grants in 2024 (avg $132K), mostly in California. 33% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- EIN
- 77-0348912
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024
- Annual giving (2024)
- $69,330,316
- Grants made (2024)
- 526
- Average grant
- $131,807
- Median grant
- $75,000
- New grantees (estimate)
- 33% first-time grantees (131 of 394, 2024)
- Total assets
- $886,341,498
- Primary geography
- California (81% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$886.3M
+1.1% YoY
Annual Giving
$69.3M
+10.9% YoY
Grant Count
526
+20.6% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$132K
-8.1% YoY
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Sobrato Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $54.3M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Is The Sobrato Family Foundation open to new grantees?
33%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 131 of 394 grantees (33%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $67K; repeat grants $230K. How we count
Medians: $25K first-time, $125K repeat.
- 54% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving grew 23% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 385% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
The available information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2024 grants show support for general support and impact investing, as well as a project to advance 47 housing units for low-income farmworkers in Half Moon Bay and support a public-private home-ownership model.
Among its recipients, Silicon Valley Community Foundation describes itself as a community foundation that collaborates with philanthropists, nonprofits, businesses, and government leaders to address systemic inequities in Silicon Valley. It says its areas of focus include housing, early childhood development, financial stability, equity and social justice, and emergency response. ImpactAssets describes its mission as being a partner for impact investing and charitable giving.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation reported 526 grants totaling $69,330,316. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $5 million, with a median of $75,000. The largest listed grants included $5 million to Silicon Valley Community Foundation for general support to the Resonance Philanthropies donor-advised fund, and $3 million to ImpactAssets for impact investments. Other listed awards included $1 million to the County of San Mateo for the Half Moon Bay farmworker housing and home-ownership project, and $875,000 to Global Impact to support the Emerging Bilingual Collaborative.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2024, California recipients received 81% of the foundation’s grant dollars. Recipients in Maryland received 8%, the District of Columbia 3%, and New York and Illinois 2% each.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 526 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $52.0M (2022) to $133.4M (2020). In 2024 it made 526 grants totaling $69.3M.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Silicon Valley Community Foundation ($14.7M across 13 grants). Together the top 10 received $26.7M.
Organizations only. It also paid 6 grants to individuals ($872,500), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
2,103 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 900 grants of 2,103 (43%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | General Support to the Resonance Philanthropies DAF #4176 | $5,000,000 |
| Impactassets Inc Bethesda, MD | To Support Impact Investments | $3,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | $1,000,000.00 for general support to the john m. Sobrato and timi sobrato fund (daf #5360) and $1,000,000.00 for general support to the john m. Sobrato fund (daf #3764) | $2,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | General support to the lisa and matthew sonsini family fund #4031 | $2,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | $750,000 for general support to the john m. Sobrato and timi sobrato fund (svcf daf #5360); $750,000 for general support to the john m. Sobrato fund (svcf daf #3764) | $1,500,000 |
| Impactassets Inc Bethesda, MD | To Support the Resonance Impact Fund | $1,500,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | General Support to the Resonance Philanthropies Fund #4176 | $1,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | General support to the john matthew and andie sobrato fund, #4846 (from i53-8 to svcf daf #4846) | $1,000,000 |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mountain View, CA | General Support to the Resonance Philanthropies Fund #4176 | $1,000,000 |
| County of San Mateo Redwood City, CA | To advance the production of 47 housing units focused on low-income farmworkers in half moon bay and support an innovative home-ownership model backed by public-private partnership. | $1,000,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
The foundation’s filing type is 990T. It states that pass-through investments generate trade or business income and losses, which are reported as unrelated business income.
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $886,341,498 | $72,233,422 | $103,563,577 | $69,330,316 |
| 2023 | $876,730,998 | $129,273,885 | $93,979,462 | $62,512,863 |
| 2022 | $843,704,124 | $101,138,114 | $73,261,971 | $51,962,236 |
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $886,341,498 | $876,730,998 | $843,704,124 |
| Revenue | $72,233,422 | $129,273,885 | $101,138,114 |
| Expenses | $103,563,577 | $93,979,462 | $73,261,971 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $209,126,560 | $102,714,536 | $100,129,484 |
| Net Investment Income | $69,113,907 | $111,253,233 | $94,330,017 |
| Distributable Amount | $54,339,504 | $43,969,256 | $33,590,829 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Lisa Sonsini as board chair and John A. Sobrato as chair emeritus. John M. Sobrato is listed as secretary. Directors are Bryan Polster, Greg Avis, Carol Larson, Jeff Sobrato, and Jose Quinonez. D. Valentine is listed as chief financial officer, and Christy Richardson as chief investment officer.
The Sobrato Family Foundation is led by Tony Mestres, Chief Executive Officer on every filing since 2023; none of the 12 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Tony Mestres
Chief Executive Officer
On filings since 2023
13 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Alexa Cortes Cullwell
Chief Impact Officer & President
Interim President → Chief Impact Officer & President, 2024
On filings since 2023
20 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Lisa Sonsini
Board Chair
Board Chariman → Board Secretary, 2021
Board Secretary → Board Chair, 2023
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Bryan Polster
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Carol Larson
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Greg Avis
Director
Director → Board Treasurer, 2021
Board Treasurer → Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeff Sobrato
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jose Quinonez
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
D. Valentine
Chief Financial Officer
CFO → Chief Financial Officer, 2024
On filings since 2020
13 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John M. Sobrato
Chair Emeritus & Secretary
Chair Emeritus, Secretary & Director → Chair Emeritus, Director & Board Vice Chair, 2021
Chair Emeritus, Director & Board Vice Chair → Chair Emeritus & Secretary, 2023
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Christy Richardson
Chief Investment Officer
On filings since 2022
6 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tamara Lewis
Chief People Officer
On filings since 2023
13 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (5)
- Former: Sheri Brisson (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Sue Sobrato (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Susan Hurlimann Herz (2020–2022) — President
- Former: Matt Sonsini (2021–2022) — Board Chair
- Former: Bj Cassin (2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Contact
Mailing address: 599 Castro Street 400, Mountain View, CA 94041
Phone: (650) 876-7010
Frequently asked questions about The Sobrato Family Foundation
How much does The Sobrato Family Foundation give each year?
The Sobrato Family Foundation gave $69.3M across 526 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $62.5M across 436 grants.
What is The Sobrato Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The Sobrato Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $75,000, and its average grant was $131,807, across 526 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Sobrato Family Foundation that year got $67K on average.
Where does The Sobrato Family Foundation give grants?
The Sobrato Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 81% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Maryland (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Jose, CA (105 grants), San Francisco, CA (66 grants), Oakland, CA (35 grants) and Milpitas, CA (31 grants).
Does The Sobrato Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 37% of The Sobrato Family Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (194 of 526) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Employee Matching Gift" (130 grants), "To Provide Project Support." (7 grants) and "24-50104 - to Provide Project Support." (4 grants).
Who are The Sobrato Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The Sobrato Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Silicon Valley Community Foundation ($14,704,500 across 13 grants), Impactassets Inc ($5,500,000 across 3 grants) and New Venture Fund ($1,039,000 across 4 grants), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 6 grants to individuals ($872,500), which are not listed by name. Together they received 31% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is The Sobrato Family Foundation?
The Sobrato Family Foundation reported $886.3M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $209.1M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $54.3M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Sobrato Family Foundation fund?
The available information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2024 grants show support for general support and impact investing, as well as a project to advance 47 housing units for low-income farmworkers in Half Moon Bay and support a public-private home-ownership model. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Sobrato Family Foundation?
The Sobrato Family Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is The Sobrato Family Foundation's EIN?
The Sobrato Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 77-0348912. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
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