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

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Nonprofit Funds: How are you building assets to support your nonprofit organization? Join hundreds of forward-thinking nonprofit leaders and open a nonprofit fund at SDF to sustain your good work into the future!

SDF Career Opportunities

The SDF team helps donors and partners transform lives across our region by delivering world-class philanthropy and offering best-in-class services. SDF has been rated a Top Workplace by The San Diego Union-Tribune for four consecutive years.

San Diego Foundation is currently seeking applicants for the following:

  • Accountant
  • Community Impact Manager
  • IT Support Manager

SDF Funding Opportunities

  • The Binational Resilience Initiative seeks to support projects that help build the resiliency of the Cali Baja region. Nonprofit organizations in Mexico or the U.S. should be the lead applicant but partnerships with other stakeholders are highly encouraged. Deadline: March 8, 2024, by 5:00 p.m.
  • A partnership between San Diego Foundation (SDF) and San Diego Community Power (SDCP), the Community Clean Energy Grant Program is seeking to fund new and existing projects that move communities towards a healthier, more sustainable, clean energy future. Deadline: April 5, 2024, by 5:00 p.m.
  • The Community Scholars Initiative 2024 Grant Program is seeking to award innovative, high-impact proposals for the newly re-envisioned Community Scholars Initiative 2024 Grant Program that supports students who identify as students with disabilities, foster youth, students experiencing homelessness and English language learners. Deadline: April 18, 2024, by 3:00 p.m.

Upcoming Events & Development Opportunities

  • Save the Date! The 2024 San Diego Fundraising Conference is Friday, September 20, at the Hilton Bayfront San Diego. Building on the success of last year’s inaugural, sell-out event, we will “navigate the future of philanthropy” together with a full day of learning from national fundraising experts, thought leaders and local colleagues. $125 Early Bird Registration begins April 9.
  • The HIVE, a Leichtag Foundation Initiative, holds in person and virtual workshops for nonprofits. Workshop topics range from effective leadership to strategic approaches to media relations. Learn more about its professional development opportunities here.
  • Join local colleagues in philanthropy for virtual Fundraising Fridays. This is an informal virtual time to check in with one another, ask questions and get advice on fundraising matters. These events are organized by The HIVE, Association for Fundraising Professionals, San Diego and North County Philanthropy Council. Event day is March 15, 2024, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
  • Career Path Trajectory: Optimizing Your Nonprofit Experience Throughout Your Career. Understand the full potential of your nonprofit experience and discover personalized strategies for professional growth, effective networking, and maximizing your impact inside (and outside) the nonprofit sector. Event will be held via Zoom on March 19, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
  • Engaging Donors of All Generations Learn how and why different generations of donors give and opportunities to inspire supporters of all ages to give and volunteer. Panelists include various foundations. Event will be held via Zoom on April 16, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
  • Nonprofit Solutions holds several workshops that help nonprofit employees learn, connect and grow. In-person and virtual workshops are offered. Learn more about its upcoming events and workshops here.
  • CANDID Learning holds a series of free online workshops for nonprofit employees in all stages and experiences of their careers. Search through training opportunities here.
  • SDSU will be holding a 6-week course on starting a nonprofit. The course is supplemented with useful checklists, worksheets, reading lists and field trips to a wide variety of online resources. The course is $147 and has various start dates.
  • The San Diego Public Library offers a wide range of free highly interactive and instructor-led online courses. Courses run for six weeks and new sessions begin every month. You must be a library card holder in good standing to enroll.
  • Nonprofit Learning Lab is a national nonprofit that trains leaders in the nonprofit sector and offers daily online nonprofit training on various subjects.
  • Nonprofit Ready offers hundreds of free professional development resources including courses and certificates on fundraising, grant writing, starting a nonprofit, finance, engagement, marketing and human resources.

Other Funding Opportunities

  • ViiV Healthcare’s 2024 funding cycle of Positive Action Grants is accepting proposals. Through Positive Action Community Grants (PACG), ViiV Healthcare supports community-led efforts to increase engagement in prevention and care, address stigma, and build trust in HIV care among communities most disproportionately impacted by HIV. Organizations applying to PACG may request funding for general operating support or project support. Deadline: March 8, 2024.
  • The Regional Aging Research Network (RARN), as part of the Center for Excellence in Aging and Longevity (CEAL), is proud to announce its call for Pilot Research Awards that help fulfill the mission of RARN and CEAL. Up to 5 Pilot Research Awards will be funded through one-year competitive awards (up to $10,000) to provide support for early-stage projects that can lead to larger extramural funding. The submission deadline is Friday, March 15, 2024, at 5:00 P.M.
  • The Sundt Foundation is accepting applications for its quarterly grant program. The Foundation considers a broad range of social issues but gives special focus to under-served children and teens, domestic violence victims, and military veterans and their families. Deadline: March 15, 2024.
  • Cox Charities is accepting applications for organizations with programs that focus on the following: digital equity, conservation and sustainability, K-12 STEAM education, military and veterans, and affordable housing and food insecurity. Deadline: March 15, 2024.
  • The City of San Marcos and the San Marcos Community Foundation are accepting applications for their regular grants program for projects of benefit to the San Marcos community. The Foundation provides grants to a variety of nonprofit groups serving San Marcos residents. Grants have been awarded to a diverse group of nonprofits serving different purposes: arts & culture; children & youth; civic life; health & Well-being; seniors; education; and wildlife. Deadline: March 29, 2024.
  • The CDA Foundation is accepting applications for the Dental Materials and Supplies Grant. This program provides two years’ worth of in-kind dental materials and supplies to community-based organizations across the state that provide dental care to underserved communities. Selected organizations will receive between $5,000 and $25,000 of in-kind goods. The only cost to a recipient organization is shipping. Deadline: March 31, 2024.
  • The Office of Early Childhood Development within the Administration for Children and Families is accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2024 Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program. Funds will support 5-year cooperative agreements between the Administration for Children and Families and federally recognized Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations interested in developing, implementing, sustaining, or expanding an evidence-based home visiting program serving expectant families and families with young children aged birth to kindergarten. Deadline: April 18, 2024.
  • The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is accepting applications for its Challenge America grant. This grant program offers support primarily to small organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities. Applying is a multi-step process. Please be sure to allow sufficient time for registration, which can take several weeks. Deadline: April 25, 2024, by 8:59 p.m.
  • The Story of Stuff is accepting applications for their grassroots grants program to support underfunded organizations and communities addressing a myriad of environmental and social justice issues, with a focus on flights over water privatization and plastic pollution. Priority will be given to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led and serving groups with a budget of $50,000 or less. Deadline: None.
  • Borealis Philanthropy’s Fund for Trans Generation is accepting applications through their rapid response fund. Priority will be given to supporting organizations and fiscally sponsored projects based in trans communities that are facing high levels of harm and who have limited access to foundation support. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The Waitt Foundation is accepting applications for their Rapid Ocean Conservation (ROC) Grants Program. ROC grants provide small grants with a quick turnaround time for solutions to emerging conservation issues. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The Thomas C. Ackerman Foundation is accepting applications from nonprofits that support or operate a formal classroom K-12 grade program of which the primary purpose, curriculum, or object emphasizes the teaching of mathematics or the sciences and/or the application or development of skills related to art and/or the performing arts and music. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation (CICF) is accepting formal grant applications. CICF makes grants to organizations that are located or operate in U.S. communities where the cruise industry maintains vessel operations, employs significant numbers of individuals, purchases products and services from strategic business partners; and that carry out programs and activities that confer significant local community benefits. Deadline: CICF grant applications are accepted throughout the calendar year. Grant submissions will be reviewed on a quarterly basis for final selection. The full review process may take up to six months.
  • Lyft is accepting applications for its transportation grant program. Lyft is committed to helping reduce transportation barriers for historically excluded communities across the nation. Lyft awards local community grants, in the form of in-app ride credits, on an ongoing basis, as funds become available. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation is a joint initiative between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The foundation is accepting Letters of Inquiry (LOI) from organizations that help increase participation in and expand access to youth baseball and softball. LOI Deadline: Rolling.
  • The California Wellness Foundation is accepting Letters of Interest for their Advancing Wellness Grant Program. The foundation supports nonprofit organizations that are addressing urgent needs people are facing in their communities. Specifically, the focus is on low-income communities, people of color, youth, immigrants and residents of rural areas. Deadline: Ongoing.
  • The Richard and Jean Coyne Family Foundation is accepting inquiries from educational institutions and nonprofit trade organizations that help economically disadvantaged high school students develop portfolios to qualify for admission to art school and provide college scholarships for them to study graphic design, advertising, photography and illustration. Deadline: Ongoing.
  • S. Bank Foundation is accepting Letters of Interest for their Community Possible Grant Program. U.S. Bank Foundation supports organizations and programs that advance the following funding priorities: WORK – Workforce Education and Economic Prosperity, HOME – Neighborhood Stability and Revitalization, PLAY – Artistic and Cultural Enrichment, Learning Through Play and Preserving, Protecting and Enhancing Outdoor Places to Play. Deadline: Ongoing.
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is accepting applications for its 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 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, pay for studio rent and their personal expenses. Deadline: Rolling.
  • The Parker Foundation is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations that provide services that improve the lives of people 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

  • Social Venture Partners provides free, hands-on, customized consulting to nonprofits looking to strengthen its organization and grow its
  • The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) San Diego Chapter is a professional development group for fundraisers. It is a great organization to learn about capacity building, networking and education.
  • gov 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.
  • S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – Applying for Section 501(c)(3) status. Read a PDF or view 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 training, resources and listings 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 serve as a fundraising tool in telling an organization’s story and are viewed by numerous funders and foundations.
  • The Nonprofit Institute’s Digital Library houses 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 a 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 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (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.