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Community foundation scholarships in California

Community foundations pool local donors' funds, and many run dozens of small scholarships with one shared application for students from their area. The IRS lists 49 community foundations in California with at least $1 million in assets.

Largest in California (by assets)

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Mountain View · $12.3 billion in assets (Dec 2024 IRS filing)
Scholarships page ↗Page checked Oct 17, 2026

All 49 in California

Largest first. Most smaller foundations serve one city or county. Look for the one where you live or went to high school, then check its website for "scholarships". Deadlines are often months before the school year, so check early.

FoundationCityAssetsVerify
Silicon Valley Community FoundationMountain View$12.3 billionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
California Community FoundationLos Angeles$2.3 billionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Marin Community FoundationNovato$1.3 billionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Orange County Community FoundationIrvine$744 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
East Bay Community FoundationOakland$514 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation for Monterey CountyMonterey$420 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Sacramento Region Community FoundationSacramento$257 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation Santa Cruz CountyAptos$252 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Ventura County Community FoundationCamarillo$250 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Sonoma County Community FoundationSanta Rosa$231 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Pasadena Community FoundationPasadena$225 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Humboldt Area FoundationBayside$196 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Inland Empire Community FoundationRiverside$169 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation San Luis Obispo CountySn Luis Obisp$99 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation of the Napa ValleyNapa$97 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation of Mendocino County Inc.Ukiah$66 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Los Altos Community FoundationLos Altos$64 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Desert Community FoundationPalm Desert$60 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Stanislaus Community FoundationModesto$51 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Tahoe Truckee Community FoundationTruckee$46 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Kern Community FoundationBakersfield$46 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
North Valley Community FoundationChico$44 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
San Joaquin Community Foundation Inc.Stockton$42 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Shasta Regional Community FoundationRedding$40 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
El Dorado Community FoundationPlacerville$35 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
The San Bruno Community FoundationSan Bruno$32 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation of San Benito CountyHollister$29 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Placer Community FoundationAuburn$22 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Sonora Area FoundationSonora$22 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Legacy Endowment-the Community FoundationBonsall$18 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation of the VerdugosGlendale$15 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Solano Community FoundationFairfield$14 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Elk Grove Community FoundationElk Grove$6.9 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Richmond Community FoundationRichmond$6.8 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Anaheim Community FoundationAnaheim$6.1 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Three Valleys Community FoundationPleasanton$5.6 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Belvedere Community FoundationBelvedere$3.4 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Calaveras Community FoundationAngels Camp$3.1 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation of San CarlosSan Carlos$3.1 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Avila Beach Community FoundationAvila Beach$2.5 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Montecito Community FoundationSanta Barbara$1.7 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Coalinga Community FoundationCoalinga$1.3 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Community Foundation of Merced CountyMerced$1.3 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Crockett Community FoundationCrockett$1.3 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Lincoln Community FoundationLincoln$1.2 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
San Francisco Police Community FoundationSan Francisco$1.2 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Garden Grove Community Foundation Inc.Garden Grove$1.1 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
The Community Foundation of OrangeOrange$1.1 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗
Corte Madera Community FoundationCorte Madera$1.1 millionIRS filings (ProPublica) ↗

More for California: California scholarships on this site · California state grants · California apprenticeships

Source & coverage. Foundation list: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File ↗ (file dated Oct 13, 2026). We include active 501(c)(3) public charities the IRS codes as community foundations (NTEE T31) with at least $1 million in assets, and drop names that are clearly faith-based funds, schools, colleges, hospitals or health funds, service clubs or national donor-advised-fund sponsors. That filter can miss a foundation or include one that works a little differently, and local affiliates that file under a larger foundation don’t appear separately, so a small count doesn’t mean your area has no community foundation. Assets are the IRS figure from each group’s latest filing. Scholarship pages were checked Oct 17, 2026 for the largest foundation in each state only. Not affiliated with the IRS or any foundation listed. For the full national directory, see the Council on Foundations locator ↗.