Funding search · EIN 943377099 · San Jose, CA

Crankstart Foundation

Name: Crankstart Foundation grants, 2022–2024
Creator: PaperOrbit
License: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organization-public-disclosure-and-availability-requirements

A private foundation (files IRS Form 990-PF). Most private foundations do not take unsolicited applications; the route in is usually a program officer.

1,276
grants reported: $600.1M
total given: 2022–2024
filing years: $250,000
median grant

Based on grants this organization reported to the IRS for tax years 2022–2024. This is what they filed, not a complete record of their giving, and recent years may be incomplete because filings lag.

What they fund

event sponsorship francisco scholarship entry area justice

Full IRS filings ↗How this is built Report an error

Funding pattern

What this funder pays for, at what size, and how to position adjacent work. Read from their filings, with every number checked against the record.

Where the money goes

Affordable housing and homelessness services in San Francisco and Oakland
College access, scholarships, and workforce training for low-income Bay Area residents
Voter engagement, proportional representation, and pro-democracy infrastructure
Immigration legal services: DACA, TPS, Bay Area family reunification
Criminal justice reform: expungement, parole, youth justice, indigent defense
Climate accountability, oil and gas cleanup, and ocean conservation

Typical grant

Median grant is $250,000, with the middle half falling between $50,000 and $500,000. The eight-figure checks go to workforce and health workforce initiatives and to a research institute; the $750K to $1.5M band goes to established Bay Area housing, youth, and immigration organizations. Multi-year commitments are explicit in the record, including a five-year pledge and a three-year general operating grant, and several grantees appear more than once in the same year for distinct initiatives.

Their words

Phrases from their own grant descriptions, worth speaking back to them.

“TO SUPPORT THE BAY AREA FAMILY REUNIFICATION INITIATIVE”
“LOW-INCOME SAN FRANCISCANS”
“TO ADVANCE PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION”
“CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN CALIFORNIA”
“FOR GENERAL SUPPORT”

Positioning adjacent work

Anchor to a named initiative they already fund: expungement, youth justice, proportional representation, or family reunification.
Ask $250K to $750K for a first grant; reserve seven figures for regional infrastructure or capital.
Make the Bay Area beneficiary explicit, even if your institution sits in New York, DC, or Boston.
Frame research as serving low-income residents or policy change, not as academic inquiry alone.

Worth knowing: This is overwhelmingly a Bay Area funder: 927 of 1,276 grants went to California, with San Francisco and Oakland organizations dominating, and out-of-state grantees like uAspire, Cornell, and Merit America were funded specifically for Bay Area work. The Chicago cluster and a set of national democracy and Jewish advocacy grants look relationship-driven rather than open, and the San Francisco Foundation serves as a repeat vehicle for donor-advised and project funds.

3 grants matching “cleanup” · $2.5M

$1.3M
Rockefeller Family Fund · New York, NY · 2024
For funder collaborative on oil and gas to promote increased accountability among us oil & gas companies regarding environmental cleanup expenses
$625,000
Center for Biological Diversity · Tucson, AZ · 2024
To promote increased accountability among us oil & gas companies regarding environmental cleanup expenses
$625,000
New York University · New York, NY · 2024
To support the state energy & environmental impact center to promote increased accountability among us oil & gas companies regarding environmental cleanup expenses

Top recipients

Repeat recipients are the strongest signal of whether a funder has an open door or quietly re-funds the same organizations.

San Francisco Foundation19 grants · $50.0M
San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families4 grants · $25.9M
Arc Research Institute4 grants · $25.0M
New Venture Fund13 grants · $22.5M
Pro Publica5 grants · $14.5M
Merit America1 grant · $10.5M
Booker Prize Foundation8 grants · $9.7M
Ucsf Foundation6 grants · $9.6M
Tipping Point Community7 grants · $8.6M
Spanish-Speaking Unity Council of Alameda County9 grants · $7.3M

Giving over time

$198.0M

2022

$201.3M

2023

$200.8M

2024

Grant history

The 100 largest of 1,276 grants.

$15.9M
San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families · San Francisco, CA · 2022
For summer together
$12.3M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
For the crankstart transfer and re-entry scholarship program
$10.5M
Merit America · Washington, DC · 2024
To support workforce opportunities in the bay area for workers who will benefit from tech training
$10.0M
Arc Research Institute · Palo Alto, CA · 2024
To advance research to understand complex human diseases
$10.0M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To provide equitable access to india basin shoreline park
$10.0M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
For catalyst impact fund
$10.0M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
To support project daybreak
$9.1M
Ucsf Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To support the ucsf health workforce initiative
$7.5M
Arc Research Institute · Palo Alto, CA · 2022
To advance research to understand complex human diseases
$6.9M
Arc Research Institute · Palo Alto, CA · 2022
To advance research to understand complex human diseases
$6.0M
Mercy Housing California · San Francisco, CA · 2022
For the community hub at sunnydale
$5.0M
Pro Publica · New York, NY · 2024
For the capital campaign
$5.0M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
For the india basin waterfront park project fund
$5.0M
Pro Publica · New York, NY · 2023
For the capital campaign
$5.0M
Tipping Point Community · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To support the san francisco housing strategy
$5.0M
San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families · San Francisco, CA · 2022
Before and aftercare programs for sfusd students
$4.5M
San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Their Families · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To provide san francisco youth with summer programming opportunities
$4.0M
Togethersf · San Francisco, CA · 2023
General support help help san franciscans connect with the city and each other
$3.0M
Neo Philanthropy · New York, NY · 2024
To support more equitable democracy to support and expand the electoral justice initiative
$3.0M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
For the crankstart giving fund daf
$3.0M
The Affordability Project · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To create affordable homes at 5250 third street in san francisco
$3.0M
Uaspire · Boston, MA · 2024
To support the san francisco crankstart scholarship initiative
$3.0M
Voter Registration Project · Washington, DC · 2024
To support the everybody votes campaign (evc)
$3.0M
Sixteen Thirty Fund · Washington, DC · 2023
To support the education-only efforts of the voter turnout fund
$2.8M
Oakland Public Education Fund · Oakland, CA · 2022
To support the oakland community united for education success project
$2.5M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2023
To support the climate and clean energy equity fund
$2.5M
San Francisco Education Fund · San Francisco, CA · 2023
For additional scholarships to summer camp
$2.5M
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation · Washington, DC · 2022
For the charitable purpose of way to rise?s support to community-based organizations working to engage voters
$2.5M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
General support climate and clean energy equity fund
$2.5M
Year Up · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General support
$2.4M
National Center for Youth Law · Oakland, CA · 2024
To support the youth justice initiative
$2.3M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To fund the employee giving alignment program
$2.3M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To fund the employee giving alignment program
$2.0M
Alliance for Safety and Justice · Oakland, CA · 2024
For the expungement initiative
$2.0M
Climateworks Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To decarbonize maritime shipping
$2.0M
George Washington University · Washington, DC · 2024
To support the multiracial democracy project to advance proportional representation
$2.0M
The San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To the india basin waterfront park equitable development plan fund for neighborhood beautification
$2.0M
Center for Technology and Civic Life · Chicago, IL · 2023
To support the integrity of election administration
$2.0M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2023
To support the institute for responsive government to further protection of voting rights and ensure election integrity to support the institute for responsive government to further protection of voting rights and ensur… read allTo support the institute for responsive government to further protection of voting rights and ensure election integrity to support the institute for responsive government to further protection of voting rights and ensure election integrity less
$2.0M
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation · Washington, DC · 2022
General support to all voting is local
$2.0M
Bay Area Community Services · Oakland, CA · 2022
General support for keep oakland housed
$2.0M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2022
To fund crankstart's employee giving alignment program through crankstart's daf
$1.9M
Booker Prize Foundation · 2024
Year 6 (2024) of the 5 year pledge for general support
$1.9M
A Better Chicago · Chicago, IL · 2024
To fund bold ideas that create opportunity for chicago youth
$1.8M
The Nature Conservancy · Sacramento, CA · 2024
To protect, restore, and sustainably manage the worlds mangrove forests
$1.8M
Spark Sf Public Schools · San Francisco, CA · 2023
General support for early college interns
$1.8M
Spark Sf Public Schools · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General support for early college interns
$1.8M
Bay Area Community Services · Oakland, CA · 2023
For keep oakland housed
$1.5M
Booker Prize Foundation · 2022
Digital efforts
$1.5M
Bay Area Community Services · Oakland, CA · 2024
For keep oakland housed
$1.5M
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation · Oakland, CA · 2024
To support organizational sustainability and production and preservation of affordable housing
$1.5M
International Refugee Assistance Project · New York City, NY · 2024
To support the bay area family reunification initiative
$1.5M
Louis D Brandeis Center · Washington, DC · 2024
For general support
$1.5M
Pro Publica · New York, NY · 2024
General support
$1.5M
Spanish-Speaking Unity Council of Alameda County · Oakland, CA · 2024
To provide culturally relevant programs and services to low income oakland residents
$1.5M
Alameda Health Consortium · San Leandro, CA · 2023
To support chws, clinics, and dedicated collaboration
$1.5M
Immigrant Legal Resource Center · San Francisco, CA · 2023
General support
$1.5M
Pico California · Los Angeles, CA · 2023
General support over 3 years
$1.5M
Pro Publica · New York, NY · 2023
General support
$1.5M
Public Rights Project · Oakland, CA · 2023
To support public rights project's free and fair elections program
$1.5M
Safe & Sound · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To support the family resource center alliance, 40% of the grant will go to the alliance and the remaining 60% will be regranted
$1.5M
San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To support chws, clinics, and dedicated collaboration
$1.5M
Spanish-Speaking Unity Council of Alameda County · Oakland, CA · 2023
To support the resilient fruitvale collaborative, with 75% of the funds going directly to individual member organizations and safety-net services, and 25% dedicated to collaboration & coordination
$1.5M
St Anthony Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To support housing and targeted recovery services for unhoused san franciscans
$1.5M
States United Democracy Center · Washington, DC · 2023
To advance election protection efforts
$1.5M
Tipping Point Community · San Francisco, CA · 2023
For the leaders of color initiative
$1.5M
Alameda Health Consortium · San Leandro, CA · 2022
To support chws, clinics, and dedicated collaboration
$1.5M
Immigrant Legal Resource Center · San Francisco, CA · 2022
Deportation defense
$1.5M
Immigrant Legal Resource Center · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General support
$1.5M
Larkin Street Youth Services · San Francisco, CA · 2022
One-time support for the funding gap, fy july 2022-june 2023
$1.5M
Pico California · Los Angeles, CA · 2022
General support over 3 years
$1.5M
Pro Publica · New York, NY · 2022
General support
$1.5M
Safe & Sound · San Francisco, CA · 2022
To support the family resource center alliance
$1.5M
San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium · San Francisco, CA · 2022
To support chws, clinics, and dedicated collaboration
$1.5M
Spanish-Speaking Unity Council of Alameda County · Oakland, CA · 2022
To support the resilient fruitvale collaborative
$1.5M
Tides Center · San Francisco, CA · 2022
To support pro-democracy center?s work related to the administration of free and fair elections
$1.5M
Tipping Point Community · San Francisco, CA · 2022
For the leaders of color initiative
$1.5M
Togethersf · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General support help help san franciscans connect with the city and each other
$1.4M
Booker Prize Foundation · 2023
Digital efforts
$1.4M
Oakland Public Education Fund · Oakland, CA · 2023
To support oakland united for education success
$1.3M
American Immigration Council · Washington, DC · 2023
General support over 3 years
$1.3M
American Immigration Council · Washington, DC · 2022
General support over 3 years
$1.3M
San Francisco Education Fund · San Francisco, CA · 2022
To provide scholarships to youth to attend summer camps in san francisco
$1.3M
Prism the Gift Fund · 2024
To support hurricane fund
$1.3M
Rockefeller Family Fund · New York, NY · 2024
For funder collaborative on oil and gas to promote increased accountability among us oil & gas companies regarding environmental cleanup expenses
$1.3M
San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
To support the charitable activities related to the bay area housing finance authority
$1.3M
Tides Center · Los Angeles, CA · 2022
General support of all home's organization's growth
$1.1M
Rockefeller Family Fund · New York, NY · 2024
For funder collaborative on oil and gas to work on oil and gas projects in corpus christi
$1.1M
San Francisco Education Fund · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To support the literacy coalition in expanding its collaborative pilot to priority sfusd elementary schools
$1.1M
Booker Prize Foundation · 2023
To support the booker prize
$1.1M
California Immigrant Policy Center · Los Angeles, CA · 2024
For the advancing representation in california initiative
$1.1M
Casa · Hyattsville, MD · 2024
To support the temporary protected status initiative
$1.0M
California Calls Education Fund · Los Angeles, CA · 2024
To continue supporting the civic engagement of marginalized communities in california
$1.0M
Centro Legal De La Raza · Oakland, CA · 2024
To support the bay area family reunification initiative
$1.0M
Civic Space Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To support the civic joy fund
$1.0M
Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
To continue advancing structural policy change and advancing community-driven priorities for climate action and clean energy transition
$1.0M
Cornell University · Ithaca, NY · 2024
To support the mggg redistricting lab to advance proportional representation
$1.0M
Edvance · San Francisco, CA · 2024
To expand higher education pipelines for early childhood educators
$1.0M
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in California · Oakland, CA · 2024
To support the ca racial justice act initiative
$1.0M
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund · New York, NY · 2024
General support

View all 1,276 grants →

Who else funds this kind of work

Same state

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Tides Foundation9,402 grants · $1.86B
UCLA Foundation276 grants · $1.75B

Similar purposes

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Baptist Health South Florida510 grants · $1.14B
Community Hospital of the Monterey100 grants · $478.4M

Similar grant size

Corporation for Public Broadcasting3,863 grants · $2.33B
Foundation To Promote Open Society3,312 grants · $1.72B
The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation5,652 grants · $1.75B

Grants already paid are the record; PaperOrbit reads your paper and finds the funders whose record matches it — then explains why.

Search funders like this one

Source: IRS Form 990-PF, Part XV, as filed by the foundation. These are grants already paid — a record of what this funder backs, not an open call.