Zellerbach Family Foundation

What Zellerbach Family Foundation does

Zellerbach Family Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation, established around 1950-1956 and headquartered at 455 Market Street in San Francisco, that provides grants to nonprofit organizations and individual artists working in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. The foundation's grantmaking is organized around four building blocks (building power among excluded communities, diversifying art and cultural expression, transforming public systems, and promoting shared experiences and collective healing) and spans investment areas including Safety & Belonging and Arts & Culture. Signature programs include the Community Arts program (distributing approximately $1 million annually in grants of $5,000-$15,000 to emerging artists and small to mid-sized arts and culture organizations through quarterly open application cycles), Together in Community (grants of $5,000-$10,000 for community festivals and public gatherings), the annual William J. Zellerbach Award for Social Change (a recognition award without a monetary prize, established in 2019), and the Journey to Justice learning cohort launched in January 2025. Applications are processed through the Fluxx online grants management platform.

The foundation operates a trust-based philanthropy model in which the vast majority of grants are awarded as unrestricted general operating support and a Learning Agenda approach replaces traditional outcomes-based evaluation. In 2022, ZFF unified its previously separate program areas (Immigrants and Refugees, Improving Human Service Systems, Community Arts) into a single Theory of Change. It distributes grants both through open application processes and through invited strategic initiatives, with Legacy Grants awarded by nomination only. Beyond direct grantmaking, ZFF participates in regional funder collaboratives including Grantmakers Concerned for Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), California Funders for Boys and Men of Color (CFBMoC), and the California Child Welfare Co-investment Partnership, and co-led the Journey to Justice cohort with San Francisco Foundation, Akonadi Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, and CFBMoC. Foundation leadership comprises Executive Director Allison Magee and Board Chair and President Tom Zellerbach, a fifth-generation San Franciscan.

The foundation's revenue derives from investment returns on its family endowment rather than commercial activity, and financial figures are not publicly disclosed. Notable grantees include Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology (BAYCAT), Hip Hop for Change, Youth Together, Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC), Immigrants Rising, Dimensions Dance Theater, Village Community Resource Center, California Children's Trust, Chinese for Affirmative Action, East Bay Family Defenders, and a 2016 Legacy Grant cohort that included Community Music Center, Dancers' Group, Center for New Music, Pro Arts, Queer Cultural Center, Shotgun Players, and Z Space.

Name

Zellerbach Family Foundation

Legal name

The Zellerbach Family Foundation

Website

https://zff.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zellerbach Family Foundation is a private nonprofit family foundation that provides grants to Bay Area nonprofits and artists in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. It distributes approximately $1 million annually through its Community Arts program and operates trust-based philanthropy programs supporting safety, belonging, and social justice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Family foundation grantmaking
• Community arts grants
• Philanthropic grant programs
• Social justice philanthropy
• Nonprofit grantmaking services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grantmaking (Philanthropy): ZFF is a private family foundation that generates revenue through its endowment and distributes grants to nonprofit organizations working in the Bay Area. The foundation does not sell products or services; its income is derived from investment returns on its endowment, making it a philanthropic funding organization rather than a revenue-generating enterprise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Zellerbach Family Foundation is a private, tax-exempt family foundation that distributes grants from its endowment to nonprofit organizations and individual artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. It funds arts and culture, immigrant and refugee services, youth justice reform, child welfare, and behavioral health through structured grant programs (Community Arts, Together in Community, Safety & Belonging strategic grants, Journey to Justice learning cohort) and the annual William J. Zellerbach Award for Social Change.

Product overview

Zellerbach Family Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization offering multiple grant programs rather than a traditional product company. The Foundation provides grants through its Community Arts Program (supporting Bay Area artists and arts organizations with $5,000-$15,000 grants), Together in Community Grants (for festivals and cultural events), and Safety & Belonging investments. It also runs the Journey to Justice learning program and the annual WJZ Award for Social Change. The Foundation's work centers on four building blocks: diversifying art and cultural expression, building power among excluded communities, transforming public systems, and promoting shared experiences and collective healing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Arts Program A grant program that awards $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000 grants to emerging artists and small to mid-sized arts and culture organizations in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored, with annual budgets under $2,000,000. Approximately $1 million is distributed annually through quarterly open application cycles.
• Together in Community Grants Grants of $5,000 or $10,000 supporting fairs, festivals, and public gatherings that celebrate historically underserved communities and create opportunities for cultural connection in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties. Grantseekers must be 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored, and events must occur within six months of award notification.
• Journey to Justice Learning Cohort A six-month learning cohort for Bay Area system leaders, advocates, and community partners working to reimagine and transform juvenile justice systems. The program includes travel to New Zealand to study restorative justice practices drawn from Māori culture and offers Journey to Justice grants for cohort-aligned initiatives.
• William J. Zellerbach Award for Social Change (WJZ Award) An annual recognition award honoring Bay Area organizations developing innovative approaches to advance social justice and address pressing community needs, with a focus on bridging and belonging. The award does not include a direct monetary prize and has been awarded annually since 2019.
• Safety & Belonging Strategic Grants Strategic grantmaking investment area promoting belonging, connection, and a shared sense of safety among individuals and communities in the Bay Area. Grants support the transformation of justice, child welfare, children's mental health, safety net, and immigration systems at local and statewide levels.
• Arts & Culture Strategic Grants Strategic grantmaking investment area ensuring that the voices, experiences, traditions, and dreams of all individuals can be celebrated through community-based arts, culture, and narrative change in the Bay Area.

Quantifiable outcome

• Youth incarceration in California reduced by 75% between 2002 and 2023, with San Francisco reducing by 78% and Alameda by 73% — progress supported by ZFF-funded advocacy and systems change partners.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Impact JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact Justice served as a key partner and source of inspiration in designing the Journey to Justice program's itinerary and learning experience exploring New Zealand's youth justice system.
• Grantmakers Concerned for Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZFF participates in GCIR, a collaborative of grantmakers that has offered new perspectives and insight to ZFF's grantmaking, particularly for immigrant and refugee-focused programs.
• California Funders for Boys and Men of Color (CFBMoC) — grantmaking collaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZFF participates in this funder collaborative which has offered new perspectives and insight to grantmaking, supporting leaders working to advance equity for boys and men of color.
• California Child Welfare Co-investment PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZFF participates in this collaborative focused on child welfare, which has informed ZFF's approach to improving human service systems.
• SOMArts (fiscal sponsor for ABBA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts for a Better Bay Area (ABBA), a collective network focused on building community-wide solidarity for equitable arts access, is a fiscally sponsored project of SOMArts. ZFF supports ABBA through grantmaking as part of its arts and culture investment area.
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law CaucusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsian Prisoner Support Committee (WJZ Award 2022 winner) collaborates with Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus as part of its network of nonprofit organizations serving AAPI communities, immigrants, and the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated.
• Interfaith Movement for Human IntegrityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsian Prisoner Support Committee (WJZ Award 2022 winner) partners with Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity in advocacy and organizing work serving immigrants and communities impacted by detention and deportation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• San Francisco Foundation: Bay Area community foundation with overlapping investment areas in racial and economic inclusion, arts, and immigrant rights. ZFF and SFF co-fund Journey to Justice and the Community Arts program, and both target Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties.
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Major Bay Area foundation focused on performing arts and other fields; has partnered with ZFF on the Community Arts program for over 18 years. Both foundations fund Bay Area arts organizations and operate with similar general-operating-support philosophies.
• Akonadi Foundation: Bay Area funder advancing racial equity and power-building, known for initiatives such as 'All In for Oakland' and supporting boys and men of color. Co-funds ZFF's Journey to Justice cohort and shares a racial-equity and systems-change theory of change.
• California Wellness Foundation: California-focused health and equity foundation that is a core financial partner on ZFF's Journey to Justice collaborative. Comparable in operating as a private foundation making strategic, place-based grants, including in the Bay Area.
• Levi Strauss Foundation: Bay Area corporate-affiliated foundation that has partnered with ZFF's Community Arts program for 30+ years, contributing to program evolution. Operates in the same Bay Area arts and equity funding space.
• Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation: San Francisco-based foundation focused on arts, culture, and civic engagement in the Bay Area; partnered with ZFF on Community Arts for 30+ years. Highly comparable in mission, geography, and arts grantmaking model.

Regional players

• East Bay Community Foundation: Community foundation serving Alameda and Contra Costa counties — ZFF's two non-San Francisco focus counties. Operates a similar grantmaking model with COVID-19 rapid response and arts funding that ZFF directs grantees toward.

Broad incumbents

• California Endowment: Large California health-focused foundation working on immigrant integration, youth justice, and behavioral health — all ZFF investment areas. Acts as a broader funder that ZFF could partner with or be eclipsed by on state-level systems change.
• Ford Foundation: National foundation with major arts, racial equity, and immigrant rights programs that overlap ZFF's four building blocks. Functions as an overarching funder whose grantmaking shifts can influence the Bay Area ecosystem ZFF operates in.

Emerging players

• Heising-Simons Foundation: Bay Area-based family foundation supporting children, families, and communities, including immigrant and education causes that overlap with ZFF's Safety & Belonging work. Smaller and more recent than ZFF, but increasingly active in overlapping Bay Area issues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zfforg
• Facebookfacebook.com/zellerbachfamilyfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zellerbachfamilyfoundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Zellerbach Family Foundation