Bob A. Ross Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Bob A. Ross Foundation awards grants to LGBTQ organizations in San Francisco.

IP TAKE: The Bob A. Ross Foundation supports LGBTQ and arts and cultural organizations in San Francisco with grants of up to $200,000. It is a low-profile funder and does not appear to accept unsolicited applications for funding. An address and phone number are provided below. Grantseekers will definitely need to network here to get on this funder’s radar.

PROFILE: Not to be confused with host of the PBS show The Joy of Painting with the same name, Bob A. Ross was the founder and publisher of the Bay Area Reporter and a well-known activist for gay rights and HIV/AIDS. Ross established his foundation in San Francisco, California in 1998. The Bob A. Ross Foundation is a low-profile funder that does not maintain a website or a formal staff, limiting information about its grantmaking.

Grants for LGBTQ

According to its tax filings, the Bob A. Ross Foundation has broadly supported a broad range of LGBTQ organizations in the San Francisco area; however, most funding invests in LGBTQ youth services, social services and the arts, as they relate to the LGBTQ community.

Recent grantees include the GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco Pride, the GLBT National Help Center and Larkin Street Youth Services. The foundation has also demonstrated a strong interest in San Francisco arts and cultural organizations, with grants supporting the San Francisco Ballet, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Important Grant Details:

This funder has made between $500,000 and $650,000 in grants annually in recent years. Its grants range in size from $2,500 to $200,000, with an average grant size of about $15,000.

  • Grantmaking is limited to organizations operating in San Francisco.

  • The Bob A. Ross Foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited applications for funding, but a mailing address and phone number are provided below.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

Bob A. Ross Foundation

950 Rockdale Drive

San Francisco, California 94127

(415) 861-5019