Zendesk Charitable Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker San Francisco, CA EIN: 47-2024007

The Zendesk Charitable Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations facilitating donations to charities and for an organization focused on access to employment opportunities and career paths.

Zendesk Charitable Foundation at a glance

In short: Zendesk Charitable Foundation gave $2.2M across 3 grants in 2024 (avg $719K), mostly in Delaware. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2024)
$2,157,843
+0.9% vs 2023
Grants made (2024)
3
-84.2% vs 2023
Average grant
$719,281
+538.8% vs 2023
Median grant
$659,001
Total assets
$5,811,575
+36.6% vs 2023
Primary geography
Delaware (69% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026.

How to apply to Zendesk Charitable Foundation

How to Apply

The foundation requests the organization’s name, contact name and title, address, phone number, email address, and a summary of the grant request. Awards are restricted to organizations with activities in locations where Zendesk, Inc. has operations.

Review Cycle
No submission deadlines at this time.
Deadline
No submission deadlines at this time.
Contact

Application contact: Zendesk Charitable Foundation
Mailing address: 181 Fremont Street 17Th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 643-6324
Email: info@neighborfoundation.org

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Zendesk Charitable Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 3 recipients in 2024

American Online Giving Foundation: $1.5MAmerican Online GivingFoundation$1.5MThe UK Online Giving Foundation: $659KThe UK Online GivingFoundation$659KLeap Inc: $3KLeap Inc$3K

The largest 2024 recipient was American Online Giving Foundation ($1.5M). Together the top 3 received $2.2M.

Grant Size Distribution

370 grants across all recorded years

303<$50K30$50–100K29$100–250K5$250–500K2$500K–1M1$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 303 grants of 370 (82%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation’s 2024 filing reports that 69% of grant dollars went to recipients in Delaware, less than 1% to recipients in New York, and 31% to a recipient state listed as “?”. The filing also states that eligible organizations must have activities in locations where Zendesk, Inc. has operations.

Grant Distribution by State

16states

Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 3 itemized grants.

Cities

San FranciscoMadisonNew YorkWashingtonBrooklynNewarkSan MateoDanvilleMount HorebMontgomeryOaklandPhiladelphiaSan JoseArlingtonBaltimoreBerkeleyCambridgeFort WorthLos AngelesPalatine

How Zendesk Charitable Foundation gives

  • Giving fell 44% from 2021 to 2024. Method
  • In 2024 it paid out 841% 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

$0$1M$2M$3M$4M144 grants2020 125 grants2021 79 grants2022 19 grants2023 3 grants2024

From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $2.1M (2023) to $3.9M (2021). In 2024 it made 3 grants totaling $2.2M.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
American Online Giving Foundation Newark, DEFacilitate Donations to US Charities$1,496,000
The UK Online Giving Foundation Facilitate Donations to Registered Charities$659,001
Leap Inc Brooklyn, NYTo Further the Exempt Purpose of the Organization$2,842
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2024$5,811,575$3,696,460$2,383,650$2,157,8433$2,202,143$83,131$261,946
2023$4,255,358$4,395,321$2,126,141$2,139,42419$2,139,424—$154,376
2022$2,031,178$3,471,782$2,727,348$2,632,14879$2,632,148—$87,701
2021$1,241,744$3,517,122$3,673,270$3,882,609125$3,936,197—$26,505
2020$1,695,700$2,571,044$3,325,478$3,410,951144——$60,456

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Zendesk Charitable Foundation reported a distributable amount of $262K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

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

Mission & Focus Areas

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants show support for organizations that facilitate charitable donations, as well as LEAP Inc. LEAP describes its mission as helping low- and moderate-income people access living-wage employment and career paths, while addressing market inequalities and advancing economic justice.

Grantmaking

In 2024, the foundation reported 3 grants totaling $2,157,843. Grant amounts ranged from $2,842 to $1,496,000, with a median of $659,001. Its reported grant total and count were $2,139,424 across 19 grants in 2023 and $2,632,148 across 79 grants in 2022.

The largest 2024 grant was $1,496,000 to American Online Giving Foundation to facilitate donations to US charities. The UK Online Giving Foundation received $659,001 to facilitate donations to registered charities. LEAP Inc. received $2,842 to further its exempt purpose.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The officers and directors listed on the 2024 filing are Megan Trotte, president through December 20, 2024; Tiph Turpin, president; Julie Swinney, treasurer; and Shana Simmons, secretary.

Zendesk Charitable Foundation is led by Megan Trotte, President since 2023 (on filings since 2020); none of the 4 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.

Officers on the 2024 filing

  • Megan Trotte

    President

    President & Director → President & Secretary, 2022

    President & Secretary → President, 2023

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tiph Turpin

    President

    New on the 2024 filing

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Julie Swinney

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Shana Simmons

    Secretary

    On filings since 2023

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (5)
  • Former: Kelly Waldher (2022–2023) — Director
  • Former: Alex Constantinople (2020–2021) — Director
  • Former: Mikkel Svane (2020–2021) — Director
  • Former: Shanti Ariker (2020–2021) — Secretary & Director
  • Former: Shelagh Glaser (2020–2021) — Treasurer & 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.

Frequently asked questions about Zendesk Charitable Foundation

How much does Zendesk Charitable Foundation give each year?

Zendesk Charitable Foundation gave $2.2M across 3 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $2.1M across 19 grants.

What is Zendesk Charitable Foundation's typical grant size?

Zendesk Charitable Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $659,001, and its average grant was $719,281, across 3 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Zendesk Charitable Foundation give grants?

Zendesk Charitable Foundation gives mostly in Delaware: 69% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there.

Does Zendesk Charitable Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2024: none of the 3 grants with a stated purpose on Zendesk Charitable Foundation's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.

How large is Zendesk Charitable Foundation?

Zendesk Charitable Foundation reported $5.8M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $2.2M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $262K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Zendesk Charitable Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants show support for organizations that facilitate charitable donations, as well as LEAP Inc. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Zendesk Charitable Foundation?

The foundation requests the organization’s name, contact name and title, address, phone number, email address, and a summary of the grant request. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Zendesk Charitable Foundation's EIN?

Zendesk Charitable Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-2024007. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.

Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

Data update history

(6)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 12, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 14, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 15, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 14, 2025)
  6. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Zendesk Charitable 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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