Funding search · EIN 770444504 · San Carlos, CA

The Benificus Foundation

Name: The Benificus 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.

154
grants reported: $506.0M
total given: 2022–2024
filing years: $284,103
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

disease parkinson research

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

Climate mitigation policy and clean energy advocacy at national scale
Unrestricted gifts to research universities: Stanford, Northwestern, Rice, UCSF
Parkinson's disease research through Calico and the Fox Foundation
Carbon accounting and emissions data tools: WattTime, CarbonPlan, E-Liability
Free digital learning and K-12 reform: Khan Academy, NewSchools, ExcelinEd
Public-interest media and ideas platforms: TED, WETA, CalMatters, ProPublica

Typical grant

Median grant is $284,103, with the middle half running from $41,250 to $2.48 million, so the distribution is barbell-shaped rather than clustered. The eight-and-nine-figure checks go to a short list of institutional partners (Stanford at $105.6 million in 2023, Climate Imperative at $45.8 million and $35.9 million, Calico at $31.4 million, Michael J. Fox at $21.4 million), while $5,000 to $100,000 checks go to Bay Area and Roaring Fork Valley community groups. Repeat giving is the norm: nearly every large grantee appears in both 2023 and 2024 at similar or larger amounts.

Their words

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

“GENERAL PURPOSE”
“PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH”
“Climate”
“Carbon”
“Energy”

Positioning adjacent work

Tie work to decarbonization policy or emissions measurement, the themes behind Climate Imperative, WattTime, and CarbonPlan.
Parkinson's biology is the one disease area they name explicitly; frame neuro work against Calico and Fox Foundation.
Ask for general operating support, not project funds. Nearly every grant is coded GENERAL PURPOSE.
A first ask from a new relationship should sit between $100,000 and $350,000, not millions.

Worth knowing: Money is extraordinarily concentrated: Stanford, Climate Imperative, Calico, the Fox Foundation, Aspen Global Change Institute, and TED account for the large majority of $506 million across three years, and the recipient list barely changes year to year. Geographic clusters around the Bay Area, Aspen, Houston, and Washington DC read as relationship-driven rather than programmatic, and the absence of any project-specific grant language means these are trusted partners getting renewed, not proposals getting reviewed.

Top recipients

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

Climate Imperative Foundation3 grants · $117.7M
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University2 grants · $112.7M
Calico Life Sciences Llc1 grant · $31.4M
Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson'S Research2 grants · $31.3M
Aspen Global Change Institute3 grants · $30.4M
Ted Foundation3 grants · $25.2M
Alliance for Climate Protection Dba Climate Reality Project3 grants · $21.0M
Environmental Defense Fund3 grants · $17.2M
Texas Children'S Hospital2 grants · $10.5M
One Campaign3 grants · $10.3M

Giving over time

$99.9M

2022

$220.1M

2023

$186.0M

2024

Grant history

The 100 largest of 154 grants.

$105.6M
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University · Redwood City, CA · 2023
General purpose
$45.8M
Climate Imperative Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
General purpose
$35.9M
Climate Imperative Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2023
General purpose
$35.9M
Climate Imperative Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General purpose
$31.4M
Calico Life Sciences Llc · South San Francisco, CA · 2024
Parkinson's disease research
$21.4M
Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson'S Research · New York, NY · 2024
General purpose
$10.2M
Aspen Global Change Institute · Basalt, CO · 2023
General purpose
$10.1M
Aspen Global Change Institute · Basalt, CO · 2024
General purpose
$10.1M
Aspen Global Change Institute · Basalt, CO · 2022
General purpose
$9.9M
Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson'S Research · New York, NY · 2023
General purpose
$8.9M
Ted Foundation · New York, NY · 2022
General purpose
$8.9M
Ted Foundation · New York, NY · 2023
General purpose
$8.1M
Northwestern University · Evanston, IL · 2024
General purpose
$7.4M
Ted Foundation · New York, NY · 2024
General purpose
$7.1M
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University · Redwood City, CA · 2024
General purpose
$7.1M
Alliance for Climate Protection Dba Climate Reality Project · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$7.0M
Alliance for Climate Protection Dba Climate Reality Project · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$6.9M
Alliance for Climate Protection Dba Climate Reality Project · Washington, DC · 2023
General purpose
$6.9M
Environmental Defense Fund · New York, NY · 2022
General purpose
$6.8M
Environmental Defense Fund · New York, NY · 2023
General purpose
$6.6M
Texas Children'S Hospital · Houston, TX · 2023
General purpose
$5.0M
Khan Academy · Mountain View, CA · 2024
General purpose
$4.5M
Khan Academy · Mountain View, CA · 2023
General purpose
$4.3M
One Campaign · Washington, DC · 2023
General purpose
$4.1M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York, NY · 2022
General purpose
$4.0M
United States of Care Campaign · Arlington, VA · 2024
General purpose
$4.0M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York, NY · 2023
General purpose
$3.9M
Texas Children'S Hospital · Houston, TX · 2024
General purpose
$3.5M
Environmental Defense Fund · New York, NY · 2024
General purpose
$3.0M
New Schools Fund · Oakland, CA · 2023
General purpose
$3.0M
New Schools Fund · Oakland, CA · 2024
General purpose
$3.0M
New Schools Fund · Oakland, CA · 2022
General purpose
$3.0M
One Campaign · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$3.0M
One Campaign · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$2.6M
College Track · Oakland, CA · 2022
General purpose
$2.6M
University of California San Francisco Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
General purpose
$2.5M
Rice University · Houston, TX · 2024
General purpose
$2.5M
College Track · Oakland, CA · 2024
General purpose
$2.5M
Watttime Corporation · Oakland, CA · 2023
General purpose
$2.4M
Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Associates Inc (Weta) · Arlington, VA · 2024
General purpose
$2.4M
Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Associates Inc (Weta) · Arlington, VA · 2023
General purpose
$2.0M
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties · San Jose, CA · 2022
General purpose
$2.0M
United States Energy Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General purpose
$2.0M
United States Energy Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
General purpose
$2.0M
Rice University · Houston, TX · 2023
General purpose
$2.0M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York, NY · 2024
General purpose
$2.0M
United States of Care Campaign · Arlington, VA · 2022
General purpose
$2.0M
Friends of Wildcare · San Rafael, CA · 2024
General purpose
$2.0M
Rice University · Houston, TX · 2022
General purpose
$1.1M
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties · San Jose, CA · 2023
General purpose
$1.0M
Calmatters · Sacramento, CA · 2022
General purpose
$1.0M
Foundation for Excellence in Education · Tallahassee, FL · 2023
General purpose
$1.0M
Voter Participation Center · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$1.0M
Calmatters · Sacramento, CA · 2023
General purpose
$1.0M
Foundation for Excellence in Education · Tallahassee, FL · 2022
General purpose
$1.0M
San Francisco Food Bank · San Francisco, CA · 2022
General purpose
$1.0M
University of California Berkeley Foundation · Berkeley, CA · 2024
General purpose
$1.0M
Calmatters · Sacramento, CA · 2024
General purpose
$1.0M
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties · San Jose, CA · 2024
General purpose
$1.0M
Gold House Foundation · Covina, CA · 2022
General purpose
$985,043
Foundation for Excellence in Education · Tallahassee, FL · 2024
General purpose
$607,132
Planet Word (the Museum of Language Arts) · Washington, DC · 2023
General purpose
$606,593
Planet Word (the Museum of Language Arts) · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$606,149
Planet Word (the Museum of Language Arts) · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$514,025
Windward Fund for Rewiring America · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$512,663
Newdeal Forum · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$512,663
Securing America'S Future Energy Foundation · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$509,979
Alameda County Community Food Bank · Oakland, CA · 2022
General purpose
$488,538
Smarthistory · Pleasantville, NY · 2024
General purpose
$419,319
Smarthistory · Pleasantville, NY · 2023
General purpose
$419,272
Smarthistory · Pleasantville, NY · 2022
General purpose
$337,972
Carbonplan · San Francisco, CA · 2024
General purpose
$335,004
Carbon Plan · San Francisco, CA · 2023
General purpose
$333,000
E-Liability Institute · San Rafael, CA · 2024
General purpose
$333,000
E-Liability Institute · San Rafael, CA · 2023
General purpose
$314,433
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$308,415
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$259,791
Aspen Valley Land Trust · Carbondale, CO · 2023
General purpose
$257,013
Newdeal Forum · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$256,331
Third Way Institute · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$254,616
Equis Institute · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$253,238
Aspen Valley Land Trust · Carbondale, CO · 2022
General purpose
$250,000
Accountable for Health Institute · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$250,000
Aspen Valley Land Trust · Carbondale, CO · 2024
General purpose
$250,000
Carbon Removal Institute · Alexandria, VA · 2023
General purpose
$250,000
Third Way Institute · Washington, DC · 2023
General purpose
$250,000
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies · Aspen, CO · 2022
General purpose
$250,000
Securing America'S Future Energy Foundation · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$250,000
Third Way Institute · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$226,014
Lucile Packard Foundation for Children'S Health · Palo Alto, CA · 2023
General purpose
$200,000
National Academy of Sciences · Washington, DC · 2022
General purpose
$150,000
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies · Aspen, CO · 2024
General purpose
$150,000
Foundation for a College Education · East Palo Alto, CA · 2022
General purpose
$135,000
The Aspen Institute · Washington, DC · 2023
General purpose
$125,000
Human Rights Watch · New York, NY · 2023
General purpose
$102,411
Giffords · Washington, DC · 2024
General purpose
$100,000
Human Rights Watch · New York, NY · 2024
General purpose
$100,000
Pro Publica · New York, NY · 2024
General purpose
$100,000
Raphael House · San Francisco, CA · 2024
General purpose
$100,000
St Anthony Foundation · San Francisco, CA · 2024
General purpose

View all 154 grants →

Who else funds this kind of work

Same state

Silicon Valley Community Foundation10,471 grants · $10.10B
Tides Foundation9,402 grants · $1.86B
UCLA Foundation276 grants · $1.75B

Similar purposes

The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley2,251 grants · $1.69B
Sergey Brin Family Foundation457 grants · $1.58B
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center737 grants · $297.5M

Similar grant size

Corporation for Public Broadcasting3,863 grants · $2.33B
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation13,441 grants · $18.24B
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.