The Sam Simon Charitable Giving Foundation

• The foundation fits best with work on mistreated or exploited animals in captivity, including wild animal rescue and rehabilitation, with poverty programmes in the Los Angeles region that expand education, housing, health or employment, and with urgent threats to children worldwide.
• It does not fund public awareness, policy advocacy or organisational capacity building, so requests in those areas should not be sent.
• Its typical grant runs from $10,000 to $500,000, and half of its grants are $150,000 or less, so a modest, well-costed request sits within the usual range.
• The filing says it accepts no unsolicited proposals and gives by invitation only, so build a relationship with the foundation before making any request rather than sending a cold application.
• Most of its grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had funded before, with 91% of them in the latest filing, so the foundation is largely relationship-led.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• Sam Simon Feeding Families Foundation · To support the ongoing charitable, scientific, literary, or educational activities of the grantee.
  $3,500,0002024 tax year
• Sam Simon Charitable Foundation · To support the ongoing charitable, scientific, literary, or educational activities of the grantee.
  $2,774,0002024 tax year
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals · To support the sam simon animal rescue fund, cruelty investigations and interventions, and organizational capacity building.
  $1,000,0002024 tax year
• Para Los Niños · To support para los ninos early education program.
  $600,0002024 tax year
• Food Forward · To support food forward's core programming.
  $580,0002024 tax year
• Homeless Health Care Los Angeles · To support THE STREET OUTREACH AND INTEGRATION PROGRAM.
  $500,0002024 tax year
• Save the Chimps · To support the emergency rescue and care for chimpanzees.
  $500,0002024 tax year
• KIPP SoCal Public Schools · TO SUPPORT creating joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with skills and confidence they need to pursue their paths.
  $450,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.