What KARISMA FOUNDATION does

Karisma Foundation is a private, family-owned 501(c)(3) grant-making foundation established in 2004 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The foundation does not engage in direct charitable service delivery; instead, it provides financial grants to charitable nonprofit organizations with an emphasis on impacting youth. Its funding is concentrated in two geographic priorities: (1) institutions and programs in Southern California serving disadvantaged children at risk of not reaching their full potential due to substandard economic or social conditions, and (2) organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Armenia.

Grant-making operates through two standardized tiers — Level 1 grants of $25,000 per year and Level 2 grants of $50,000 per year, each with terms of one to three years — plus unrestricted, restricted, capital or operating, and challenge grants, with priority given to grants that leverage matching funds from strategic partnerships. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, and selection is driven by family-defined strategic priorities with flexibility to respond to unique challenges. Over twenty years, the foundation has distributed more than $9.8M to 15+ nonprofit organizations spanning education, social services, and healthcare.

The foundation operates with a small team of approximately seven employees and a single office location in the Beverly Glen Circle area of Los Angeles. The current active portfolio (as of December 2025) includes eight organizations with cumulative commitments ranging from $250,000 to $1,050,000, reflecting diversified deployment across program areas. Technology infrastructure is minimal — primarily a WordPress-based website at karisma-foundation.org — with no proprietary platform, API, or digital product offering. The foundation is independently operated with no parent company, subsidiaries, institutional investors, or PE involvement indicated.

Name

KARISMA FOUNDATION

Legal name

Karisma Foundation

Website

https://karisma-foundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Karisma Foundation is a family-owned 501(c)(3) grant-making foundation established in 2004 in Los Angeles. It funds nonprofits serving disadvantaged youth in Southern California and disadvantaged populations in Armenia, deploying over $9.8M across 20+ years via standardized $25,000-$50,000 annual multi-year grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Grant-making foundation
• Charitable philanthropy
• Nonprofit grant funding
• Youth impact grants
• Family foundation giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Karisma Foundation is a private family enterprise that does not engage in direct charitable activities but instead provides grants to charitable nonprofit organizations and projects, with emphasis on impacting youth. The foundation operates two funding priorities: institutions or programs in Southern California serving disadvantaged children at risk of not reaching their full potential, and organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Armenia.

Product overview

Karisma Foundation is a family enterprise that does not engage in direct charitable activities but instead provides grants to various charitable, non-profit organizations and projects with emphasis on impacting youth. The foundation operates two funding priority areas: (1) institutions or programs in Southern California serving disadvantaged children at risk, and (2) organizations working to improve lives of disadvantaged people in Armenia. Grant levels are structured as Level 1 ($25,000 per year for 1-3 years) and Level 2 ($50,000 per year for 1-3 years), with giving types including unrestricted grants, restricted grants, capital or operating grants, and challenge grants for matching fund campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Level 1 Grant Program Annual grants of $25,000 per year awarded to selected nonprofit organizations for 1–3 year terms, focused on the foundation's two funding priorities: Southern California programs serving disadvantaged children and organizations improving lives in Armenia.
• Level 2 Grant Program Annual grants of $50,000 per year awarded to selected nonprofit organizations for 1–3 year terms, supporting the foundation's two funding priorities of Southern California disadvantaged youth programs and organizations improving lives in Armenia.
• Challenge / Matching-Fund Grants Grants designed to incentivize and leverage matching funds from strategic partnerships, with priority consideration given to applicants who can secure matching contributions from partner funders.
• Unrestricted Grants Grants provided to nonprofit organizations with no donor-imposed restrictions on the use of funds, allowing grantees to direct resources to operational or programmatic needs at their discretion.
• Restricted Grants Grants awarded to nonprofit organizations with donor-imposed restrictions on the use of funds, earmarked for specified programs or activities.
• Capital and Operating Grants Grants designated for capital expenditures or general operating support of nonprofit organizations, enabling infrastructure investment or general overhead coverage.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $9.8M distributed to charitable organizations over 20 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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.

• Strategic Partnership Matching Fund CollaboratorscoreOthersPriority is given to grants with matching funds from strategic partnerships. Organizations that can leverage strategic partnerships to match foundation grants are given preferential consideration in the grantmaking process.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The David Geffen Foundation: LA-based family foundation supporting education, health, and the arts — comparable in scale and family-office operating model, though with broader geographic and thematic reach.
• The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation: Los Angeles-based family foundation funding education, social services, and health nonprofits — closely aligned with Karisma's portfolio mix and Southern California geographic focus.
• The Annenberg Foundation: LA-based family foundation with a long-running focus on education and youth development, including support for 826LA — a Karisma grantee — making it directly comparable in cause area and geography.
• Weingart Foundation: Los Angeles-based private family foundation of similar scale focused on human services and youth-serving nonprofits in Southern California — directly comparable in mission, geography, and grant size.
• The John W. Anderson Foundation: Smaller California-based family foundation funding youth, education, and community programs — comparable in scale, operating model, and grant size to Karisma.
• The Flora Family Foundation: California-based family foundation supporting disadvantaged children, youth, and families — closely comparable in mission, structure, and small-team grantmaking approach.

Broad incumbents

• The California Endowment: California-focused health foundation — overlaps with Karisma's Perkins School for the Blind and The Painted Turtle grantmaking areas, though at substantially larger scale.
• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: California-based family foundation with significant education and youth-development funding; far larger than Karisma but operates with similar family-enterprise grantmaking philosophy.
• California Community Foundation: Los Angeles-based grantmaking institution focused on Southern California communities; significantly larger than Karisma but operates in the same regional philanthropic ecosystem with overlapping grantees.
• The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation: Los Angeles-based family foundation supporting education and youth — comparable cause area but substantially larger endowment and grant capacity than Karisma.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/karisma-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about KARISMA FOUNDATION