Magic Cabinet
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Magic Cabinet funds capacity building and community-led change, favouring people-focused, locally engaged, community-trusted nonprofits with a learning orientation that have served their communities for at least three years; its standard model fits organisations with annual budgets between $500,000 and $2.5 million.
- Its geographic focus is the Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and 6 more counties in California, plus the Puget Sound region, so nonprofits working there are best placed to approach it.
- Typical grants run from $500 to $135,000, with a median of $23,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic, though the largest grant made was $1,500,000.
- With 79% of grant dollars going to organisations it had already funded in the prior two filings, this looks like a relationship-led funder best approached through its rolling Introduce Your Nonprofit form, after which an Engagement Officer follows up, rather than a quick one-off application.
- Only 501(c)(3) organisations should apply, as the foundation states this is required of its partners.
Overview
Magic Cabinet is a US private foundation based in Bellevue, WA.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
Magic Cabinet centres its grantmaking on community knowledge and supports the whole nonprofit, not just its programmes. It provides multi-year, flexible capacity-building funding to cohorts of nonprofits, which use funds as they see fit and share learning and decisions about proposals. Its partners are people-focused, locally engaged, community-trusted organisations with a learning orientation; its standard model includes nonprofits with annual budgets between $500,000 and $2.5 million, but it adapts that model to the makeup of nonprofit communities. Magic Cabinet emphasises listening first, strengthening organisations from within, long-term commitment and collaboration among nonprofits with mutually supporting missions. Its stated cohort regions include the Bay Area and Puget Sound.
Themes
- Capacity building
- Community-led change
Geographic Focus
Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and 6 more counties in California; Puget Sound region.
How to apply
Nonprofits can use the Introduce Your Nonprofit form to share information about their work. A Magic Cabinet Engagement Officer then reaches out with details of the process.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 79% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 685 grants to organisations were $23,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It looks for nonprofits focused on bettering the lives of people in their communities and situated in or near the communities they serve.
- Its standard model includes organisations with annual budgets between $500k and $2.5m.
- It values nonprofits that have served their communities for at least three years.
- It favours learning organisations that are open to new ideas, analyse outcomes and adjust accordingly.
- Partners must have a 501(c)(3) tax determination from the US IRS.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
3 other states: <1%
- The largest single recipient received 4% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 79% of grant dollars went to organisations Magic Cabinet had funded in earlier filings.
- <1% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Australia).
- 1% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 280 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $19,404 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Native Americans in Philanthropy · Capacity building support$1,500,0002024 tax year
- Decolonizing Wealth Project · Philanthropic partnerships grant$500,0002024 tax year
- La Liga de Ciudades · Capacity building support$450,0002024 tax year
- Rainbow Center · Capacity building support$249,0002024 tax year
- Coalition on Homelessness · Capacity building support$248,1612024 tax year
- FEEST · Capacity building support$230,0002024 tax year
- Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation · Philanthropic partnerships grant$200,0002024 tax year
- Homeless Children's Network · Capacity building support$180,7002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Leticia Landa — Board Member
- Trish Dziko Millines — Board Member
- Maeve Elise Brown — Secretary
- Keith Vernon — Treasurer
- Rebecca Spadoni — Vice President
- Ken Birdwell — President
- Ed Lee — Chief Financial Officer
- Christina Engel — Chief Executive Officer
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $11,855,382 | $8,412,852 | $107,565,585 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $18,952,075 | $12,473,583 | $100,008,103 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $20,330,075 | $13,925,488 | $147,191,046 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
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.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to Magic Cabinet?
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Applying to Magic Cabinet?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required