The Roddenberry Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- The Foundation's stated focus is creative minds and bold ideas, and no geographic focus is stated, so a small organisation in any area can judge fit on its work rather than assume a regional limit.
- Most of its grants are modest: about 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $2,000 and $50,000, and half of its 400 grants were $12,000 or less, so a request near that scale matches its usual pattern, though its largest grant was $1,000,000, so that band is not a ceiling.
- If you are seeking a Roddenberry Catalyst Fund award of up to $15,000, check the Catalyst exclusions first: that fund does not support individuals, work to influence legislation or elections, or non-charitable purposes, and the Foundation selects Catalyst Awardees at its sole discretion.
- Applications go through its grant portal, where you log in or sign up for an account.
- Repeat funding is common, with 63% of grant dollars to organisations going to groups it had also funded in earlier filings, so building a relationship over time may help, but a first approach is still open.
Overview
The Roddenberry Foundation is a US private foundation based in Sherman Oaks, CA.
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
The Roddenberry Foundation says it invests in creative minds and bold ideas in pursuit of a more humane and abundant future. Its public statement centres on exploration and possibility rather than naming a particular funding field. Its grant record shows support for a wide range of organisations, including research institutes, educational bodies, charitable and community organisations, and international project organisations. Recorded purposes include scientific and health research, food systems and farming, environmental work and social initiatives; many grants are recorded as general or operating support. The Foundation’s stated approach is to carry forward exploration through creative ideas, while its grantmaking reaches organisations working across varied causes and forms.
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California, Sweden, Africa and Europe.
What They Don't Fund
- Roddenberry Catalyst Fund only: Individuals representing government entities; Applications for initiatives intended to influence legislation or the outcome of any specific public election or the caring on of any voter registration drive; Current and former directors, officers, employees or agents of The Roddenberry Foundation, and any of their subsidiaries and affiliates; Immediate Family (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) of such persons; any persons living in the same households of such persons; For non-charitable or non-educational purposes; To carry on propaganda or otherwise to attempt to influence legislation within the meaning of Code Section 4945(d)(1); To influence the outcome of any specific public election, or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive within the meaning of Code Section 4945(d)(2); To pay fees or wages for the services of fundraising or fundraising consulting firms; To make a grant to any individual for travel, study, or other similar purposes, or to make a grant to any organization, except in compliance with the provisions of Sections 4945(g) or (h), as the case may be
How to apply
Applicants use the grant portal, logging in or signing up for an account.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 63% 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 400 grants to organisations were $12,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The Foundation selects Catalyst Awardees at its sole discretion.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 5%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 28%
- The largest single recipient received 27% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 63% of grant dollars went to organisations The Roddenberry Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- 25% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Sweden, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria).
- 1% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 128 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $12,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Gladstone Institutes · General support$1,000,0002024 tax year
- Academy Foundation · General support$400,0002024 tax year
- Elypta · Development of a liquid biopsy to enable early detection of cancer (optimizing for low-cost and broad use potential)$333,3332024 tax year
- Contentment Foundation · General support$150,0002024 tax year
- Contentment Foundation · General support$100,0002024 tax year
- Harmony Project · General support$75,0002024 tax year
- Crohns And Colitis Foundation · General support$60,0002024 tax year
- Hollywood Food Coalition · General support$50,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Eugene Roddenberry — Vice President
- Heidi Roddenberry — President
- Andrew Garb — Secretary
- Morton Kessler — Treasurer
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $5,099,540 | $3,897,754 | $80,243,145 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $6,317,181 | $5,063,224 | $83,692,966 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $5,884,371 | $4,029,214 | $85,009,834 | 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 The Roddenberry Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (818) 382-7800
- info@roddenberryfoundation.org
- info@roddenberryfellowship.org
- Sherman Oaks, CA
- roddenberryfoundation.org
Applying to The Roddenberry Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (818) 382-7800
- info@roddenberryfoundation.org
- info@roddenberryfellowship.org
- Sherman Oaks, CA
- roddenberryfoundation.org