Urbanek Education Fund

Foundation · Grantmaker Menlo Park, CA EIN: 94-3372793

Urbanek Education Fund is a family foundation established in 2000 and based in Menlo Park, California. The organization operates as a private 501(c)(3) foundation focused on supporting educational institutions through scholarship funding.

Key facts about Urbanek Education Fund

EIN: 94-3372793
Latest 990 filing: Form 990-PF, 2024
Annual giving (2024): $208,000
Grants made (2024): 34
Average grant: $6,118
Median grant: $5,000
New grantees (estimate): 24% first-time grantees (6 of 25, 2024)
Total assets: $516,489
Primary geography: California (35% 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).

Who Urbanek Education Fund funds

By grant dollars, the top recipient states for Urbanek Education Fund's 34 itemized 2024 grants were California (35%), Massachusetts (15%) and Washington (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Fremont, CA (2 grants). None of its 34 grants with a stated purpose were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Scholarship for Study." (27 grants) and "Scholarship for Study at an Educational Institution." (7 grants).

Is Urbanek Education Fund open to new grantees?

24%

first-time grantees, 2024

In 2024, 6 of 25 grantees (24%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $5K; repeat grants $8K. How we count

Medians: $5K first-time, $8K repeat.

72% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+13%). Method
In 2024 it paid out 655% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized IRS Form 990-PF grant lists (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

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Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$516K

+68.7% YoY

Annual Giving

$208K

-31.1% YoY

Grant Count

-24.4% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$6K

-8.8% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Urbanek Education Fund reported a distributable amount of $33K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated April 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The Urbanek Education Fund primarily funds scholarships for study at educational institutions. The foundation's grantmaking focuses on supporting students pursuing higher education at various universities and colleges.

Grantmaking

The foundation made 45 grants in 2023. Recent scholarship grants include:

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation primarily operates in California, with scholarship support directed to educational institutions across the United States, including UC system schools and major research universities.

Grant Distribution by State

California $72K (35%)

Massachusetts $32K (15%)

Washington $13K (6%)

Texas $13K (6%)

New York $10K (5%)

All other $68K (33%)

Share of all 34 itemized 2024 grant dollars.

States

Arizona California Florida Idaho Illinois Indiana Louisiana Massachusetts Michigan North Carolina New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Texas Washington Wisconsin

Cities

Corte MaderaLos AngelesSanta ClaraBerkeleyCambridgeDavisFremontIrvineNew YorkSanta BarbaraBronxChapel HillHanoverLa JollaNew OrleansSan DiegoSanta CruzTempeBoiseChicago

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

2023 Financial Summary:

Total Assets: $306,196
Total Revenues: $332,006
Total Expenses: $318,705
Total Grants, Contributions, etc.: $202,050
Investment Income and Dividends: $5,120
Number of Employees: 0

The foundation operates with minimal overhead as a family foundation with no paid staff.

Revenue

Expenses

Qualifying Distributions

Net Investment Income

Metric	2024	2023	2022
Total Assets	$516,489	$306,196	$292,895
Revenue	$441,098	$332,006	$5,785
Expenses	$230,805	$318,705	$230,705
Qualifying Distributions	$218,654	$313,168	$227,172
Net Investment Income	$61,267	$399,696	$252
Distributable Amount	$33,360	$27,690	$24,565

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

March 3, 2026 IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

Grant Size Distribution

209 grants across all recorded years

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

Among its reported 2024 grants, the largest recipients include University of California Berkeley ($16,000), University of Texas at Dallas ($13,000), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ($11,000).

Recipient	Purpose	Amount
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY Berkeley, CA	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$16,000
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS Richardson, TX	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$13,000
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Cambridge, MA	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$11,000
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA Santa Barbara, CA	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$11,000
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS amherst, MA	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$10,000
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY New York, NY	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE Irvine, CA	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$10,000
UNIVERISTY OF WISCONSIN MADISON Madison, WI	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Seattle, WA	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$10,000
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Tempe, AZ	SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY.	$8,000

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Compensation Overview

No officer or director reported compensation in the available filings.

From 2024 IRS filing

Name	Title	Hours	Compensation
Karen Urbanek	Treasurer	1	—
Lida Urbanek	President	1	—
Penny Gallo	Secretary	1	—

Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Urbanek Education Fund fund?

How do I apply for a grant from Urbanek Education Fund?

The foundation made 45 grants in 2023. Recent scholarship grants include: • University of California Santa Barbara: $24,000 (2023) • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): $11,000 (2023) • Columbia University: $11,000 (2023) Grant awards typically range from $5,000 to $24,000 based on recent activity.

Where does Urbanek Education Fund make grants?

The foundation primarily operates in California, with scholarship support directed to educational institutions across the United States, including UC system schools and major research universities.

What size grants does Urbanek Education Fund award?

In 2024, Urbanek Education Fund awarded 34 grants totaling $208K — an average of about $6K per grant, based on its IRS Form 990 filings.

How much is Urbanek Education Fund required to give away each year?

Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2024, Urbanek Education Fund reported a distributable amount of $33K on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.