CRANKSTART FOUNDATION

Supporting OrganizationIRS data 2022–2024

SAN JOSE, CAEIN 943377099 Website

Annual Giving

$201.3M-1% YoY

Grants

435

Median Grant

$250K

Organizations Funded

441

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Foundation Overview

Mission

CrankStart is a San Francisco-based family foundation devoted to bolstering the foundations of a just society - wider access to better education, jobs with prospects for advancement, housing security, social welfare and the protection of civil rights.

Focus Areas

youth summer programsscholarships and college accesseducation and early college/cte internshipsworkforce development and tech traininghealth researchcommunity health worker and clinic capacity-buildingaffordable housing developmenthomelessness prevention and housing stability

Grant Types

scholarshipsgeneral supportprogram supportcapital campaignevent sponsorshipplanning grantshousing subsidiesflexible funding

Funded Initiatives

$250M distributed in grants (2021), 60% to San Francisco Bay Area nonprofits, Education (40% of grants), Just Communities (38%), Thriving Democracy (14%), Environment and Basic Sciences (8%), multi-year commitments for general support preferred

How to Apply

Does not accept unsolicited funding requests. Committed to building relationships with intention and focus. As a small team, unable to respond to unsolicited requests. Contact form available for established connections.

Does Not Fund

Does not accept unsolicited funding requests, small team limits capacity for new relationships, geographic focus primarily San Francisco Bay Area (60% of grants) with occasional work in Chicago and UK, grant size typically $100K-$1M

Based on publicly available information from the foundation's 990 filings and website.

Giving History

2024-1%

$201.3M

Grants

435

Median

$250K

States

2023+2%

$203.6M

Grants

424

Median

$250K

States

2022

$200.5M

Grants

429

Median

$250K

States

Grant Size Distribution

$250K

Typical Grant (Median)

$550

Smallest

$77K

25th Pctile

$500K

75th Pctile

$10.5M

Largest

Excludes grants ≤ $5K. Half fall between $77K and $500K.

Largest Recent Grants

$10.5M

2024

MERIT AMERICA

DC · TO SUPPORT WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BAY AREA FOR WORKERS WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM TECH TRAINING

$10.0M

2024

ARC RESEARCH INSTITUTE

CA · TO ADVANCE RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND COMPLEX HUMAN DISEASES

$9.1M

2024

UCSF FOUNDATION

CA · TO SUPPORT THE UCSF HEALTH WORKFORCE INITIATIVE

$5.0M

2024

PRO PUBLICA INC

NY · FOR THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

$5.0M

2024

SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION

CA · FOR THE INDIA BASIN WATERFRONT PARK PROJECT FUND

Geographic Focus

$131.9M320 grants

$25.8M28 grants

$21.1M32 grants

$6.9M14 grants

$5.5M9 grants

Top states by total grant dollars. Based on IRS filing data.

Financial Overview

YearTotal AssetsGrants Paid

2024

$4.4B

$201.3M(4.6%)

2023

$3.9B

$203.6M(5.2%)

2022

$3.9B

$200.5M(5.2%)

Grants paid shown as percentage of total assets

Network Intelligence

Funding follows networks, not keywords

SciRise maps 4.8M+ grants across 16,000+ foundations to identify which ones are most likely to fund organizations like yours — based on who they already fund, not just what they say they fund.

Data sourced from IRS 990 and 990-PF filings and publicly available foundation websites. Grant data, financial figures, and organizational details reflect historical filings and may not represent current operations or funding priorities. Verify directly with the foundation before applying. See an issue? Let us know.