To support your efforts, San Diego Foundation (SDF) is sharing valuable information every month about upcoming workshops, events, fundraising opportunities and resources with your organization.

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Nonprofit Funds: Are your nonprofit’s asset investments doing the best for your organization? Join hundreds of forward-thinking nonprofit leaders and open a nonprofit fund at San Diego Foundation to sustain your good work into the future!

SDF Career Opportunities

The SDF team is committed to advancing racial and social justice, fostering equity of opportunity and building resilient communities. We help our donors transform lives across our region by delivering world-class philanthropy and offering best-in-class services. SDF is rated a Top Workplace by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Join our team! San Diego Foundation is currently seeking applicants for the following:

  • Director of Accounting
  • Director, Donor Services
  • Director, People, Culture & Diversity
  • Lead Fellow, Community Impact Fellows Initiative
  • Regional Affiliates Specialist

Upcoming Events & Development Opportunities

  • Equinox Quality of Life Dashboard Release: The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego invites you to join them for the Equinox Quality of Life Dashboard Release. This event will be held in Warren Auditorium located in Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, at the University of San Dieg Event Day: Tuesday, June 20, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Blackbaud will be holding a virtual Donor Stewardship Best Practices Workshop Event Day: Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ET.
  • The 2023 Justice40 Accelerator is accepting applications. The Accelerator is a 12-month-long learning community of projects accountable to communities and committed to delivering climate-related solutions. The Accelerator is designed to be a cohort experience to meet projects where they are at in their journey to become eligible for public funding. The Accelerator will provide project development support and technical assistance to cohort members to apply for grant funding competitively. The program will also offer a $25,000 unrestricted grant to help support the organization’s staff participation during the Accelerator. Deadline: July 31, 2023, at 8:59 p.m. PST.
  • Nonprofit Learning Lab is a national nonprofit that trains leaders in the nonprofit sector and offers daily online nonprofit training on various subjects.
  • Nonprofit Solutions provides effective, impactful and relevant professional development. In-person and virtual (live and interactive) workshops are both available.

Other Funding Opportunities

  • The City of San Diego is accepting applications to support community engagement activities and inform the Environmental Justice Element of the City of San Diego’s General Plan. Up to $100,000 (up to $20,000 per organization) is available for San Diego-based organizations to help carry out outreach and engagement activities. These organizations will collaborate with the City and gather community input to address environmental issues, such as access to healthy food, air quality and public spaces. Deadline: June 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m.
  • Charter Communications, Inc. is accepting applications for the company’s 2023 Spectrum Digital Education grant program. This program supports nonprofit organizations that educate community members on the benefits of broadband and how to use it in their lives. Deadline: June 23, 2023.
  • Under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Renew America’s Nonprofits program, nonprofit organizations can apply for grant funding for energy efficiency projects. The awards will support projects to reduce energy use in buildings owned and operated by 501(c)(3)s. Letter of Intent Deadline: June 29, 2023, 5:00 p.m. ET.
  • The Charles and Ruth Billingsley Foundation is accepting applications and supports a variety of charitable causes, primarily in San Diego County. Deadline: June 30, 2023.
  • The Barona Band of Mission Indians is accepting grant applications from schools throughout California. Grants may be used to purchase much-needed supplies and materials such as books and computers. Your locally-elected state official may submit applications for the grant on your behalf, or you may submit the application directly as long as it is accompanied by an endorsement letter by your State Executive Office holder, Senator or Assembly member. Deadline: June 30, 2023.
  • SAMHSA offers several funding opportunities for mental health and well-being programs. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply for the following funding opportunities: Preventing Youth Overdose: Treatment, Recovery, Education, Awareness and Training. Deadline: June 27, 2023. Family Counseling and Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex+ Youth and their Families. Deadline: July 3, 2023.
  • The Dr. Seuss Foundation 2023 grant cycle is now open. The Dr. Seuss Foundation supports evidence-based programs which increase the number of children who enter school ready to learn and thrive and who are proficient readers by the time they enter fourth grade. The Foundation will primarily make grants to organizations that support projects located within San Diego. Deadline: Interested organization must submit a LOI by July 1, 2023. 
  • The National Garden Bureau is accepting applications for their Therapeutic Garden Grant. Grant awards assist organizations in expanding or perpetuating their initiatives. Deadline: July 1, 2023.
  • Latham Foundation for the Promotion of Humane Education will accept applications beginning July 1, 2023, to the annual cycle. This year priority will be given to programs that include services to the military, veterans, first-responders and their families. Deadline: July 8, 2023, by midnight.
  • Alliance for California Traditional Arts is accepting applications for their Living Cultures Grant Program. The Living Cultures Grant seeks to sustain and strengthen traditional arts in California with $5,000 grants to individual artists/culture bearers and $12,500 to California-based nonprofits and Tribal Nations, as well as other organizations and community groups who work with fiscal sponsors. Deadline: July 3, 2023, by 8:59 p.m.
  • National Endowment for the Arts is accepting applications to their Grants for Arts Projects program. Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with arts and arts education, for integrating the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for improving overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector. Deadline: July 6, 2023, by 11:49m. ET.
  • The Children and Youth Resilience Challenge, launched by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, will award prizes to innovative community-led solutions to promote resilience in children and adolescents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other man-made or natural disasters. An informational webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 21 at 7:00pm EDT. This webinar will be available in Spanish and English. Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 7, 2023.
  • The Home Depot Foundation (THDF) is accepting applications to the Veteran Housing Grants Program. This program awards grants to nonprofit organizations to develop and repair veterans housing. Awards typically range from $100,000 to $500,000. Deadline: July 9, 2023.
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications to support the 988 Tribal Response program. Eligibility is limited to federally recognized Indian Tribes, tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations. Tribes and tribal organizations may apply individually or as a consortium. Deadline: July 18, 2023.
  • The Impact Fund is accepting Letters of Inquiry for recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms seeking to advance justice in civil and human rights, environmental justice, and poverty law. Deadline: July 18, 2023.
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is accepting applications for their Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity grant from organizations to support studies about “upstream” causes of health inequities, such as the systems, structures, laws, policies, norms, and practices that determine the distribution of resources and opportunities, which in turn influence individuals’ options and behaviors. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The MIT Club of San Diego is accepting applications to assist local educators, schools and nonprofits in improving STEM education in San Diego. Deadline: Rolling. 
  • The W.K. Kellogg Foundation accepts applications at any time from organizations whose projects or proposals align with their three areas of focused work: Thriving Children, Working Families, and Equitable Communities. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The Pollock-Krasner Foundation is accepting applications from artists for their Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant for individual artists. Pollock-Krasner grants have enabled artists to create new work, purchase needed materials and pay for studio rent and their personal expenses. Deadline: Rolling.
  • Based on the belief that it is important to be responsive to time-sensitive community needs and opportunities affecting the most vulnerable populations, Alliance Healthcare Foundation provides responsive funding up to $25,000. Responsive funding applications may be submitted at any time. Deadline: Ongoing.
  • The Parker Foundation is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations that provide services that improve people’s lives throughout the San Diego region. Deadline: Rolling.
  • American Humane’s Second Chance grant offers public and private animal sheltering agencies and rescue groups financial assistance to help offset the costs of rescuing animals who are homeless or victims of human cruelty. Nonprofits who focus on animal rights and rescue are encouraged to submit proposals. Deadline: Ongoing.

Nonprofit Resources

  • Grant Learning Center is the gateway to the federal grants world. Learn more about the federal grants process and how to register to their system.
  • CalNonprofits offers a wide array of resources for California-based nonprofits.
  • CA Attorney General’s Guide for Charities provides information about best practices for nonprofits that operate or fundraise in California.
  • IRS- Applying for Section 501(c)(3) status. View or read a video about how to file for nonprofit status.
  • Mission Driven Finance provides services in nonprofit investment opportunities and financial services.
  • The Nonprofit Board Exchange is a free service offered by Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego in collaboration with their community partners to expand the pool of nonprofit board members in San Diego by sharing trainings, resources, and listing of open board positions.
  • Nonprofit Hub produces free guides on several helpful topics for nonprofits.
  • BoardSource provides resources and tools on various board leadership topics that help educate nonprofits and their boards, including downloadable resources, articles, and publications.
  • Learn how to claim and update your organization’s Candid profile. Nonprofit profiles are a fundraising tool for telling an organization’s story and are viewed by numerous funders and foundations.
  • The Nonprofit Institute’s Digital Library houses our public reports and evaluations, including our State of California and State of Nonprofits & Philanthropy Annual Reports.
  • Wallace Foundation offers general nonprofit resources, including articles and studies by leading thinkers in nonprofit finances.
  • The National Council on Nonprofits helps nonprofits achieve greater collective impact by identifying emerging trends, sharing proven practices and promoting solutions that benefit charitable nonprofits and the communities they serve.
  • Nonprofit Ready provides free online course library supporting the most common nonprofit job families, including fundraising, leadership, accounting and finance, operations, marketing and communications, volunteer engagement, and program management.
  • Volunteer Management Guide provides tools and best practices for effectively managing volunteers.
  • Tech Soup offers free and discounted software and hardware for nonprofits.
  • Impact Cubed’s DEI Resource Library provides a growing list of DEI resources from community partners, including the Alliance for Regional Solutions, Fieldstone Leadership Network, and North County Philanthropy Council.