The Rose Hills Foundation

What The Rose Hills Foundation does

The Rose Hills Foundation is a private nonprofit philanthropic foundation established in 1996 with proceeds from the sale of The Rose Hills Memorial Park. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, it operates as a responsive grantmaker serving nonprofit organizations across Los Angeles County, with an endowment that grew from $216 million at inception to $550 million by 2022. The Foundation disburses grants across four focus areas — Education, At-Risk Youth & Families, Arts/Culture/Community, and Human Services — through an online GivingData portal, with grant sizes ranging from $10,000 to multi-million-dollar commitments reviewed at five annual Board meetings and distributed quarterly.

Beyond general operating, program, and capital-project grants, the Foundation operates two signature initiatives. The Science and Engineering Initiative (launched 2004) has deployed $85 million in scholarships, fellowships, and junior faculty seed grants across Southern California. The Independent and Parochial High School Scholarship Initiative (launched 2008) has committed $15.5 million to more than 750 students at 18 LA County schools. In 2025 the Foundation awarded 387 grants totaling approximately $30 million to 314 grantees.

As a private foundation, revenue is generated entirely from investment returns on its endowment rather than from commercial activity. Its go-to-market is community-led: year-round applications via the online portal, no fixed deadlines, an eligibility quiz as front-end qualification, and quarterly distributions. Recent strategic activity includes a December 2024 $4 million commitment to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation for 2028 LA Games athlete support and roughly $4.25 million in rapid-response wildfire relief grants in early 2025 across Altadena and Pacific Palisades.

Name

The Rose Hills Foundation

Legal name

The Rose Hills Foundation

Website

https://rosehillsfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Rose Hills Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation established in 1996 that disburses grants to LA County nonprofits across education, at-risk youth and families, arts and culture, and human services. Funded by a $550 million endowment, it has granted more than $500 million since inception.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Nonprofit foundation grants
• Community philanthropy
• Responsive grantmaking
• Foundation scholarship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Disbursements: The Rose Hills Foundation operates as a private philanthropic foundation that disburses grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations. The Foundation receives its funding from the endowment established from proceeds of The Rose Hills Memorial Park sale. Revenue is not generated from commercial activities but rather from investment returns on the Foundation's endowment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Rose Hills Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that provides grant funding to qualifying nonprofit organizations serving Los Angeles County. The Foundation operates as a responsive grantmaker with no deadlines, disbursing grants ranging from $10,000 to million-dollar commitments across four focus areas: Education, At-Risk Youth & Families, Arts/Culture/Community, and Human Services. Its funding derives from the returns on a $550 million endowment originally funded by the proceeds from the sale of The Rose Hills Memorial Park.

Product overview

The Rose Hills Foundation is a nonprofit grantmaking organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer products or services in the traditional sense. The Foundation's offerings consist of grant programs to nonprofit organizations serving Los Angeles County, including general operating support grants, program/project support grants, and multi-year funding for returning grantees. The Foundation operates four focus areas: Education, At-Risk Youth & Families, Arts Culture & Community, and Human Services. Notable initiatives include the Science and Engineering Initiative (SEI) for scholarships and faculty seed grants, the Independent and Parochial High School Scholarship Initiative, and rapid response wildfire relief grants. The Foundation uses an online grantee portal for application processing and grant reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Operating and Program Support Grants Year-round grant funding for nonprofits serving Los Angeles County in the focus areas of Education, At-Risk Youth & Families, Arts/Culture/Community, and Human Services. Grants range from $10,000 to million-dollar commitments for general operations, programs, and capital projects.
• Science and Engineering Initiative (SEI) Scholarships and fellowships for high-achieving students with financial need from Southern California, plus innovative seed grants to promising junior faculty to launch their research. Total grants to date have reached $85 million and leveraged millions of additional funds.
• Independent and Parochial High School Scholarship Initiative Expendable scholarships for low-income, high academic merit students at 18 participating private and parochial high schools in L.A. County. The initiative has committed $15,455,000 in scholarship funding to more than 750 students since inception.
• Wildfire Relief and Rebuilding Grants Rapid-response grant funding for community-based organizations affected by or serving those affected by the L.A. Wildfires. To date, the Foundation has awarded $4,255,000 in fire relief grants and $3,500,000 in grants supporting rebuilding efforts in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.

Quantifiable outcome

• 387 grants awarded in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• U.S. Olympic and Paralympic FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024In December 2024, The Rose Hills Foundation approved giving $4 million over two years to provide needs-based financial support to certified L.A.-based athletes in training for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Rose Hills Foundation Athletes will receive 100% of the funds.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Conrad N. Hilton Foundation: Los Angeles-area foundation funding human services, youth development, education, and disaster recovery — overlapping focus areas with Rose Hills, including disaster response work, and comparable geographic base.
• The James Irvine Foundation: California-focused foundation with deep emphasis on education, workforce, and inclusive economy initiatives — overlapping education and youth focus areas with Rose Hills, but operates at statewide scale with broader thematic reach.
• The California Endowment: California statewide health-focused foundation supporting community health, education, and equity — overlaps with Rose Hills' Human Services and Education focus areas, but with much larger corpus and statewide footprint.
• The Ballmer Group: Los Angeles-based philanthropic organization funding economic mobility, education, and human services at scale — overlapping programmatic focus with Rose Hills, but with significantly larger capital base and broader national portfolio.
• Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation: Los Angeles-based foundation supporting education and scientific/medical research — directly comparable in LA geographic focus and overlap with Rose Hills' Science and Engineering Initiative, though with larger endowment and national scope.
• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation: Large California-based foundation with programs in education, conservation, and children's health — comparable in grantmaking scale and education/STEM focus overlapping with Rose Hills' SEI, but operates at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Weingart Foundation: Los Angeles-based private foundation providing multi-year general operating and program support to nonprofits serving low-income communities in Southern California — directly comparable in focus areas, geography, and responsive grantmaking approach.
• California Community Foundation: Los Angeles-based community foundation administering donor-advised and discretionary funds across L.A. County, with a comparable focus on health, education, and human services — direct geographic and mission overlap with Rose Hills.
• The Annenberg Foundation: Los Angeles-based private foundation supporting nonprofit organizations across education, arts, and human services — directly comparable in mission and LA footprint, though with substantially larger assets and broader geographic reach.
• The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation: Los Angeles-based private foundation funding education, social services, health, and civic/arts organizations in L.A. County — directly comparable in focus areas, geographic scope, and grantmaking model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-rose-hills-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Rose Hills Foundation