The Zellerbach Family Foundation
The Zellerbach Family Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. It supports arts and culture, community connection, and efforts to build power and transform public systems, with a geographic focus on the Bay Area.
Key facts about The Zellerbach Family Foundation
In short: The Zellerbach Family Foundation gave $6.0M across 224 grants in 2024 (avg $27K), mostly in California. 25% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- EIN
- 94-6069482
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024
- Annual giving (2024)
- $5,995,000
- Grants made (2024)
- 224
- Average grant
- $26,763
- Median grant
- $10,000
- New grantees (estimate)
- 25% first-time grantees (41 of 167, 2024)
- Total assets
- $163,560,678
- Primary geography
- California (97% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to apply
- Community Arts applications must be submitted online and include a proposed project description and financials, background information, and a recent work sample. Full details ↓
- Deadline
- The filing lists four submission deadlines each year, usually in March, June, September, and December.
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$163.6M
+2.1% YoY
Annual Giving
$6.0M
-1.6% YoY
Grant Count
224
-6.3% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$27K
+5.0% YoY
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Zellerbach Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $8.0M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Is The Zellerbach Family Foundation open to new grantees?
25%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 41 of 167 grantees (25%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $29K; repeat grants $38K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $20K repeat.
- 60% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+8%). Method
- In 2024 it paid out 103% 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 foundation’s website organizes its work around four building blocks: building power; diversifying arts and cultural expression; promoting shared experiences, allyship, and collective healing; and transforming public systems. Its investment areas include Safety & Belonging and Arts & Culture, with strategies focused on systems innovation and leadership, community-based arts and culture and narrative change, and collaboration, advocacy, and organizing.
The foundation’s 2024 grants included support for legal services, youth, arts, and community organizations. For example, Centro Legal de la Raza describes its mission as protecting and advancing the rights of low-income immigrant communities through bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy. The Youth Law Center says it works to protect minors’ rights through legal education, counsel, representation, and law reform. Life Learning Academy describes its work as creating a nonviolent community and supporting students who have not succeeded in traditional school settings.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation reported 224 grants totaling $5,995,000. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $170,000, with a median of $10,000. Among the largest were $170,000 to IIBA and $150,000 to Young Women’s Freedom Center, both for general operating support; $100,000 to Youth Law Center for general operating support; and $80,000 to Centro Legal de la Raza for legal services.
The foundation’s Community Arts program offers an open application process. Its program guidelines describe quarterly applications and approximately $1 million in annual awards, with grants of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. Eligible applicants include nonprofit arts and culture organizations and fiscally sponsored individual artists, groups, or collectives with annual organizational budgets under $2 million, located in or serving Alameda, Contra Costa, or San Francisco County. Eligible work must be in specified arts disciplines, and activities must be open to the general public; the filing says funded activities cannot be fundraisers or benefits. The foundation’s filing states that other grantmaking is by invitation and that it does not accept unsolicited requests outside the Community Arts program.
Review Cycle
The filing lists four submission deadlines each year, usually in March, June, September, and December.
Invitation Only
Community Arts applications must be submitted online and include a proposed project description and financials, background information, and a recent work sample. The program’s application page also recommends that first-time applicants attend an application workshop. Other grantmaking is by invitation.
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from The Zellerbach Family Foundation
Ready to take the next step with The Zellerbach Family Foundation?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s website identifies Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties as its focus for work promoting belonging, connection, and safety. Its 2024 grants were concentrated in California: 97% of grant dollars went to California recipients, with 2% to Pennsylvania and 1% to Washington, D.C.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 224 itemized grants.
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $5.3M (2020) to $6.1M (2023). In 2024 it made 224 grants totaling $6.0M.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Independent Arts and Media ($315K across 8 grants). Together the top 10 received $1.5M.
Grant Size Distribution
1,132 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 852 grants of 1,132 (75%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Iiba San Francisco, CA | General Operating Support | $170,000 |
| Young Women's Freedom Center San Francisco, CA | General Operating Support | $150,000 |
| Cipc Los Angeles, CA | General Operating Support | $100,000 |
| ILD Oakland, CA | General Operating Support | $100,000 |
| Life Learning Academy San Francisco, CA | General Operating Support | $100,000 |
| Regents of the University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA | Health and Human Rights Initiative | $100,000 |
| Social Good Fund Inc Richmond, CA | To Support Grantee's Project Contra Costa Rights Alliance | $100,000 |
| Tahirih Justice Center San Bruno, CA | General Operating Support | $100,000 |
| Youth Law Center San Francisco, CA | General Operating Support | $100,000 |
| Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity Oakland, CA | Bay Area Work | $85,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $163,560,678 | $9,202,747 | $8,781,654 | $5,995,000 |
| 2023 | $160,251,196 | $9,285,205 | $9,877,662 | $6,092,500 |
| 2022 | $155,442,664 | $3,510,468 | $8,029,068 | $5,774,300 |
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $163,560,678 | $160,251,196 | $155,442,664 |
| Revenue | $9,202,747 | $9,285,205 | $3,510,468 |
| Expenses | $8,781,654 | $9,877,662 | $8,029,068 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $8,292,199 | $8,389,162 | $8,445,110 |
| Net Investment Income | $8,888,792 | $9,674,090 | $10,040,732 |
| Distributable Amount | $8,044,794 | $7,871,012 | $8,134,436 |
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 Thomas H. Zellerbach as chairman and Allison Magee as president and executive director. Susan Au is listed as CFO. Other listed directors are Alexandra Aquino-Fike, Emily Boschwitz, James W. Head, Ravi Karra, and Stephen Shapiro; Karin Kissane is treasurer, and Hilary Reek is vice chair and secretary.
The Zellerbach Family Foundation is led by Allison Magee, President & Executive Director since 2022 (on filings since 2020); 2 of 10 officers listed in 2024 are compensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Allison Magee
President & Executive Director
Executive Director → President & Executive Director, 2022
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$284K (2020) → $349K (2024)
Thomas H. Zellerbach
Chairman
On filings since 2020
8 hrs/week
No compensation reported
James W. Head
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ravi Karra
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stephen Shapiro
Director
Vice President → Director, 2022
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Emily Boschwitz
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Alexandra Aquino-Fike
Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Susan Au
CFO
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$73K (2021) → $229K (2024)
Karin Kissane
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2022
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Hilary Reek
Vice Chair & Secretary
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (5)
- Former: Jeanette M. Dunckel (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Suchi Somasekar (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Lisa Steindler (2020–2022) — Director · Filing note: Thru dec 2022
- Former: Nancy Zellerbach Boschwitz (2020–2022) — Vice President & Secretary · Filing note: Thru jul
- Former: Mary Ann Milias (2020) — Treasurer
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $349K, to Allison Magee (President & Exec Director). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Application contact: Community Arts Program Executive
Mailing address: 455 Market Street Suite 2200, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 421-2629
Email: communityarts@zff.org
Website: https://zff.org
Frequently asked questions about The Zellerbach Family Foundation
How much does The Zellerbach Family Foundation give each year?
The Zellerbach Family Foundation gave $6.0M across 224 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $6.1M across 239 grants.
What is The Zellerbach Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The Zellerbach Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $10,000, and its average grant was $26,763, across 224 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Zellerbach Family Foundation that year got $29K on average.
Where does The Zellerbach Family Foundation give grants?
The Zellerbach Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 97% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (125 grants), Oakland, CA (46 grants), Berkeley, CA (19 grants) and Richmond, CA (12 grants).
Does The Zellerbach Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 52% of The Zellerbach Family Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (116 of 224) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Zellerbach Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The Zellerbach Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Independent Arts and Media ($315,000 across 8 grants), Social Good Fund Inc ($255,000 across 5 grants) and Iiba ($170,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 12% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is The Zellerbach Family Foundation?
The Zellerbach Family Foundation reported $163.6M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $8.3M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $8.0M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Zellerbach Family Foundation fund?
The foundation’s website organizes its work around four building blocks: building power; diversifying arts and cultural expression; promoting shared experiences, allyship, and collective healing; and transforming public systems. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Zellerbach Family Foundation?
Community Arts applications must be submitted online and include a proposed project description and financials, background information, and a recent work sample. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Zellerbach Family Foundation's EIN?
The Zellerbach Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-6069482. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does The Zellerbach 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.
Here's the math on researching The Zellerbach Family Foundation by hand.
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Zellerbach Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-zellerbach-family-foundation-morg_a66e84e3dc4242f6a1c4f41c68fe0ac3
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_946069482_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Zellerbach Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-zellerbach-family-foundation-morg_a66e84e3dc4242f6a1c4f41c68fe0ac3},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-04. 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 Zellerbach 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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