Sunstone Community Fund

What Sunstone Community Fund does

Sunstone Community Fund (SCF) is a 501(c)(3) charitable donor-advised fund founded in 2022 by John Shen and Stella Zhang and administered by National Philanthropic Trust (NPT). Headquartered at 18881 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 500, Irvine, California, SCF's purpose is to catalyze partnerships that create economic opportunities for startup founders and communities across the United States, with a particular focus on Southern California and the California State University system.

SCF does not operate a technology product. Its "products" are programmatic grant vehicles: a five-year, $1 million Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition covering all 23 CSU campuses; the five-year Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price ($162,500 grant); the Long Beach Accelerator partnership ($100,000); the CSULB Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship partnership ($75,000); UCI University Lab Partners Pitch. Launch. Grow. sponsorship; and recurring fundraising events including the Irvine Dream Run 5K and quarterly boat events. A single example outcome is BookBase, which won $15,000 plus in-kind legal services at the Sunstone Innovation Challenge at CSULB.

SCF's business model is non-commercial. It receives tax-deductible contributions from individual and corporate donors (with NPT charging a 3% processing fee) and sells annual corporate sponsorships across five tiers — Platinum $100,000, Gold $50,000, Silver $25,000, Bronze $15,000, and Contributing $5,000. Named cornerstone supporters include the Annenberg Foundation, Sunstone Management (a multi-year sponsor), and ALC. The fund is sponsored by Sunstone Management, Inc., and uses an event-driven go-to-market motion combining competitions, workshops, and community fundraisers to engage founders, students, investors, and local government partners.

Name

Sunstone Community Fund

Legal name

Sunstone Community Fund

Website

https://sunstonecommunity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sunstone Community Fund is a 501(c)(3) donor-advised fund founded in 2022 that grants capital to universities, accelerators, and local governments to support entrepreneurship and economic development across the U.S., funded via corporate sponsorships and donor contributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Donor advised fund
• Nonprofit grant funding
• Entrepreneurship program grants
• Economic development funding
• Startup accelerator support

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship Programs: The fund generates revenue through annual sponsorship commitments from corporate partners at multiple tiers (Platinum $100,000, Gold $50,000, Silver $25,000, Bronze $15,000, Contributing $5,000), providing marketing visibility and networking opportunities in exchange.
2. Donor Contributions: Individual and corporate donors make tax-deductible contributions to the donor-advised fund, which are managed by National Philanthropic Trust and distributed to support entrepreneurship programs and economic development initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sunstone Community Fund is a charitable donor-advised fund managed by National Philanthropic Trust that channels tax-deductible donations and corporate sponsorships into grants for university-based entrepreneurship programs, early-stage tech accelerators, and local economic development initiatives. It operates multi-year competition programs (such as the CSU Startup Launch Competition and the USC Economic Development Challenge) and partners with universities, nonprofits, accelerators, and local governments to support diverse startup founders.

Product overview

Sunstone Community Fund is a charitable Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) managed by National Philanthropic Trust that catalyzes partnerships creating economic opportunities for startup founders and communities throughout the United States. The fund operates as a unified giving platform providing university entrepreneurship program grants, early-stage tech accelerator sponsorships, startup competitions (including the CSU Startup Launch Competition and USC Economic Development Challenge), and various event-based fundraising programs. All donations are tax-deductible and 100% of contributions go to 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners supporting inclusive entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of donations go to 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023SCF granted $162,500 to USC's City/County Management Fellowship to fund the Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price, a five-year competition empowering students to collaborate with local governments on inclusive strategies to support early-stage tech startups.
• University of California, Irvine (UCI) - University Lab PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023SCF sponsored the Pitch. Launch. Grow. Pitch competition at UCI's University Lab Partners, where top companies in Life Science and Medical Technology each won $10,000 from SCF.
• Annenberg Foundation / Annenberg TechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Annenberg Foundation and Annenberg Tech have been cornerstone supporters of SCF's mission to drive innovation and community growth. Their contributions have significantly enhanced university participation for the Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition, enabling broader engagement across California State University campuses.
• California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Institute for Innovation & EntrepreneurshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022SCF granted $75,000 to CSULB's Institute to partner with Sunstone Management coordinating university-based entrepreneurship activities across CSU campuses, helping early-stage entrepreneurs access resources and increasing awareness of such activities among campus partners.
• ALCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerALC's support has empowered early-stage entrepreneurs, especially from underrepresented communities. Their commitment to diversity and inclusion aligns closely with SCF's mission of creating opportunities for all entrepreneurs.
• Sunstone ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunstone Management has made a multi-year commitment to support various SCF initiatives including the flagship CSU Startup Launch Competition and the Long Beach Accelerator. This ongoing partnership is shaping the future of technology and entrepreneurship. SCF is an important component of Sunstone Management's vision to advance public-benefit programs.
• Long Beach AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCF granted $100,000 to the Long Beach Accelerator to partner on developing a model for implementing and operating a network of nonprofit, community-based technology startup accelerators to assist diverse, early-stage technology entrepreneurs with access to capital, networks, and resources.
• National Philanthropic TrustcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNational Philanthropic Trust is the administrator and manager of the Sunstone Community Fund. NPT offers investment options to grow the fund and vets organizations to ensure IRS qualification before disbursing grants and sponsorships. NPT charges a 3% processing fee for donations and receives administrative fees for services.
• 100 Startup Initiative in Long BeachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting the 100 Startup Initiative in Long Beach as part of the Grow Long Beach initiative to foster economic investment and funding opportunities for startups.
• Long Beach Venture FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting the Long Beach Venture Fund to provide funding opportunities for startups and investment partners who wish to grow and establish roots in Long Beach.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Orange County Community Foundation: Regional community foundation headquartered in Irvine, CA — same Southern California geography, similar donor-advised fund products, and overlapping grantmaking themes around education and economic opportunity.
• Annenberg Foundation: Major private foundation and named cornerstone supporter of SCF; operates a similar philanthropic grantmaking model with comparable focus on education, community development, and innovation.
• Founders First Capital Partners: Community-development financial institution providing capital and support to underrepresented founders, with operations in Southern California — directly comparable mission and overlapping beneficiary base.
• Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation: Venture philanthropy foundation that supports early-stage social entrepreneurs and nonprofits with multi-year capacity-building grants — comparable operating model (multi-year unrestricted funding, focus on early-stage organizations) and similar focus on inclusive entrepreneurship.
• Long Beach Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Long Beach and surrounding areas with grantmaking to local nonprofits — operates in the same geographic footprint and serves overlapping beneficiaries (entrepreneurship, education, economic development).

Broad incumbents

• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: One of the largest US private foundations focused on entrepreneurship and education, with substantial grantmaking to university-based entrepreneurship programs — directly comparable in mission though vastly larger in AUM.
• California Community Foundation: Large California-focused community foundation offering donor-advised funds and grantmaking across education, economic development, and inclusive entrepreneurship — directly comparable services and geography, with much broader scale.
• Schmidt Futures: Philanthropic venture that supports talent, communities, and innovation ecosystems — comparable use of multi-year strategic grants to build entrepreneurship capacity, though at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs): Global nonprofit fostering entrepreneurship through mentorship, education, and funding programs with strong California chapter presence — overlapping mission of supporting underrepresented founders and university-based entrepreneurship.
• Right to Start (Kauffman initiative): National initiative focused on inclusive entrepreneurship policy and ecosystem building — overlapping mission of supporting diverse founders and policy-driven economic development at the municipal level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/sunstonecommunityfund

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunstone Community Fund