Bothin Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Bothin Foundation supports nonprofits in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and San Mateo counties with grants for building renovations, technology and vehicles.
IP TAKE: By solely providing capital grants that build capacity, the Bothin Foundation takes a refreshingly different approach for supporting direct service nonprofits in the Bay Area.
PROFILE: Established in 1917 and based in San Francisco, the Bothin Foundation is the foundation of Henry E. Bothin, who was a successful businessman and real estate investor at the end of the 19th century. This is a locally-focused nonprofit that provides capital grants to nonprofits for building renovation, technology and vehicles or transportation services.
Grants for Community Development
Beyond its mandate of providing nonprofits with capital grants for renovation, technology or vehicles, this funder does not name specific ares of grantmaking. Instead, it targets organizations that “serve significant numbers of the residents of San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and/or San Mateo counties.”
It also prioritizes nonprofits serving “disadvantaged children and youth, low-income families and/or people with disabilities.” Renovation grants generally fund outsources labor for building renovations. Bothin’s technology grants support the purchase of technology for organizations’ infrastructure or for participant use, but not for website development or software. In transportation, the foundation supports the purchase of vehicles to transport program participants. Past support has gone to the Agricultural Institute of Marin, Aim High, and Literacy for Environmental Justice.
Important Grant Details:
Grants from the Bothin Foundation generally fall into range of $5,000 to $50,000. View the funder’s grantmaking history homepage. It generally does not fund hospitals, although some exceptions are made for public hospitals and community clinics, and most education grants are given to schools that provide services to children with learning differences and developmental disabilities.
The Bothin Foundation has an open application process online, and it will only fund an organization every four years. There are three deadlines per year that coincide with board meetings and decision-making. Direct general questions to the staff at 415-561-6540 or to individual staff members via email.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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