What L.A. Nonprofits Should Know About the John and Maria Laffin Trust

Grantmaking supports animal SHELTERS and other animal welfare causes. Photo: hedgehog94/shutterstock

Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services assists family and private foundations all across the country by serving as a sole trustee, co-trustee or agent. There are quite a few foundations in California that use Wells Fargo for this purpose, including the John and Maria Laffin Trust. Since this is an accessible funder that focuses on Los Angeles, here’s what nonprofits in the area should know about the trust’s funding.

Four topics of interest

The Laffin Trust’s grantmaking falls into four categories: education, environment/animals, health and human services. The highest percentage of grants (30% of total grantmaking) goes toward animal-related efforts, including support for animal welfare organizations and foundations that help abandoned and homeless small domestic animals. Meanwhile, 25% of grants go to medical research and human services. Medical grants sometimes support alternative medicine projects as well as radical and controversial treatments not approved by the American Medical Association. Human services grants fund humanitarian organizations to address suffering and starvation. The fewest grants go to educational institutions, and these funds are focused on higher education.

Only some funding is limited to L.A.

The Laffin Trust has deep roots in Los Angeles and focuses most of its grantmaking there. Valentina Laffin created this foundation in her will as a way to honor her parents, John and Maria Laffin. Valentina Laffin was a lifelong Los Angeles resident and died in 1985. However, only grants for education and animal welfare are restricted to the city and county of Los Angeles. It is not uncommon for medical research and human services grants to have a broader reach and go to organizations in other parts of the country or even abroad.

In recent years, the Laffin Trust has been awarding around 25 grants per year, and these grants typically range from $2,000 to $40,000 each. Past grantees in the Los Angeles area include the Blind Children’s Center, Volunteers of Burbank Animals Shelter, Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, and Los Angeles SPCA.

A yearly application process

One positive point about family foundations working through Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services is the accessible and straightforward grant application process. The Laffin Trust has one grantmaking cycle per year and an annual application deadline on July 31. The funder reviews applications at an annual meeting in September and notifies applicants about its decisions within roughly two months. The online application can be accessed at the foundation’s page on the Wells Fargo website.

Learn more about this funder in IP’s full profile of the John and Maria Laffin Trust, as well as other regional grantmakers in our LA and SoCal Funding Guide.