Northern California Grantmakers

What Northern California Grantmakers does

Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) is a San Francisco-based, 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation that convenes, mobilizes, and transforms philanthropy across Northern California. Originally formed as the "Lunch Bunch" in the 1960s and formally incorporated in the 1980s, NCG serves a membership of more than 220 institutional grantmakers — including family, community, independent, and corporate foundations — alongside 4,000 individual members and government grantmaking agencies. Its members collectively direct approximately $12 billion in annual funding, and NCG positions racial equity as the organizing "North Star" for both internal operations and external programming across issue areas including climate and disaster resilience, housing justice, immigrant justice, multiracial democracy, criminal justice, and nonprofit sustainability.

NCG's product surface is a portfolio of convening and capacity-building programs rather than a unified technology platform. Core offerings include signature annual events (Annual Conference, Corporate Philanthropy Institute, New Grantmakers Institute, Philanthropy Holiday Party), cohort-based Communities of Practice (Foundations of Racial Equity, Rising Leaders, Communications Institute, etc.), a Member Directory of 190+ organizations, a free Philanthropy Job Board for members, and resource hubs (e.g., the Democracy Hub, 5 Shifts framework). Specialized fiscal-sponsored programs include the Arts Loan Fund (over $23 million in loans to nonprofit arts organizations since 1986), Bay Area Funders Together to End Homelessness, the California Criminal Justice Funders Group, the Climate & Disaster Resilience Funders Group, and the Corporate Philanthropy Network. NCG is not a technology company; "platform" here refers to a community-and-events infrastructure supported by content, data partnerships (notably with Candid for Foundation Maps), and collaborative funding vehicles.

The business model is a recurring membership dues model with a $25,000 annual minimum for institutional Grantmaker-tier members, supplemented by tiered event sponsorships ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, grants from a long list of sustaining foundations (Hewlett, Packard, Moore, SVCF, Kapor, and others), and administrative revenue from fiscal-sponsored programs. The organization is led by President & CEO Dwayne S. Marsh (joined September 2020) and a team of approximately 17–19 core staff plus two consulting advisors/fellows. NCG co-leads the statewide Philanthropy California alliance with SoCal Grantmakers and Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, extending its reach across 600+ California funders.

Name

Northern California Grantmakers

Legal name

Northern California Grantmakers

Website

https://ncg.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Northern California Grantmakers is a San Francisco-based nonprofit membership organization convening 220+ institutional grantmakers and 4,000 individuals representing $12 billion in annual philanthropy through events, training cohorts, funder networks, and statewide advocacy across California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy Membership Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)

Keywords

• Philanthropy membership association
• Grantmaker networking services
• Funder convening programs
• Nonprofit collective action
• Philanthropy training events

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: NCG operates primarily through membership fees from institutional grantmakers (minimum $25,000 annually), government agencies, and partner organizations. Membership provides access to events, peer networks, member directory, and programming.
2. Sponsorships: Annual sponsorships for signature events including the Annual Conference, Corporate Philanthropy Institute, and End-of-Year Gathering. Sponsorship tiers range from $5,000 to $25,000.
3. Arts Loan Fund administration: NCG houses the Arts Loan Fund which has provided over $23 million in loans to nonprofit arts organizations. While this is a program rather than revenue, it demonstrates NCG's role as a fiscal sponsor.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) is a philanthropy-serving membership organization that convenes, mobilizes, and transforms philanthropy in Northern California. It provides tiered membership access, signature annual events (Annual Conference, Corporate Philanthropy Institute, New Grantmakers Institute), cohort-based Communities of Practice training, funder networks and collaboratives, fiscal sponsorship for initiatives such as the Arts Loan Fund and Bay Area Funders Together to End Homelessness, and resources such as the 5 Shifts framework and Democracy Hub.

Product overview

Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) is a philanthropy-serving membership organization, not a unified technology product. NCG operates as a platform connecting grantmakers through events, training programs, funder networks, and resource hubs. The core offerings include signature annual events (Annual Conference, Corporate Philanthropy Institute, New Grantmakers Institute), Communities of Practice providing cohort-based training, a Member Directory for networking, and the Philanthropy Job Board. NCG also administers specialized programs including the Arts Loan Fund (loan program for arts organizations), Bay Area Funders Together to End Homelessness (BAFTEH), California Criminal Justice Funders Group, and Climate & Disaster Resilience Funders Group. Through the Democracy Hub and 5 Shifts framework, NCG provides resources for transforming philanthropy. The organization partners with Candid on a Demographics data initiative and leads the Philanthropy California alliance. Membership includes over 190 organizational members and 4,000 individuals representing foundations, corporate funders, government agencies, and philanthropy-serving organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Conference

Quantifiable outcome

• NCG's membership accounts for $12 billion in funding annually (2023 Candid Maps)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key partner and minor.

• Philanthropy CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance of Northern California Grantmakers, SoCal Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties representing more than 600 funders investing billions annually across California. Coordinates statewide philanthropy engagement on issues including wildfire response, housing, COVID-19 recovery, and policy advocacy.
• Center for Disaster Philanthropykey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCG sustainer that mobilizes philanthropy to strengthen communities' ability to withstand disasters and recover equitably. Partner on climate and disaster resilience work.
• Kapor Centerkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCG sustainer and thought partner working at the intersection of racial justice and technology for an inclusive technology sector
• Open ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-creator with David and Lucile Packard Foundation of the '5 Shifts Philanthropy Must Make Toward an Equitable Region' report. Partner in research and donor impact expertise.
• Philanthropy California alliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCG works with peer organizations including SoCal Grantmakers, Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, California Policy Forum, United Philanthropy Forum, and Council on Foundations for policy advocacy
• CandidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Candid to examine grantmaking practices, demographic data, and philanthropy impact in the region. Provides Foundation Maps access to members who share grants data.
• Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)key partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Immigration Justice to move funders to invest where it's most helpful and implement learnings into grantmaking practices. Partner on California Immigrant Justice Infrastructure Fund.
• Funders Together to End HomelessnesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Bay Area Funders Together to End Homelessness, drawing on NCG's regional expertise and Funders Together's work to mobilize philanthropy to end homelessness
• Grantmakers for Effective Organizationskey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in effective governance work and co-developer of the Upleveling Governance cohort program for foundation trustees and CEOs
• Trust-Based Philanthropy Projectkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCG has partnered with TBPP since its 2019 inception to bring trust-based philanthropy framework to members
• National Center for Family Philanthropykey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership giving NCG members free access to NCFP's monthly webinars and Knowledge Center resources for philanthropic families
• One4Democracykey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal partnership to increase direct investment in the democracy ecosystem with focus on both individual and institutional giving to movement groups
• California Rapid Response NetworksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional rapid response networks providing Know Your Rights information, immediate support during immigration enforcement, and connecting individuals to legal services

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Philanthropy Northwest: Regional association serving funders across the Pacific Northwest (WA, OR, ID, MT, AK). Operates the same regional-membership model as NCG with issue-based funder networks and equity-focused programming.
• SoCal Grantmakers: Regional membership association serving Southern California grantmakers, co-partner in the Philanthropy California alliance. Operates the same membership/fiscal sponsorship model as NCG in an adjacent territory.
• United Philanthropy Forum: National membership network of regional and national philanthropic-serving organizations. Coordinates peer associations like NCG, offers shared learning and policy advocacy at the federal level.
• Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties: San Diego and Imperial Counties regional association of grantmakers, the third partner in the Philanthropy California alliance with NCG. Runs comparable convening, training, and collective-action programming for funders.

Others

• Candid (formerly Foundation Center + GuideStar): Data and research infrastructure provider for the philanthropic sector. Strategic data partner to NCG through Foundation Maps, but operates as the upstream data/analytics layer rather than a peer convener.

Emerging players

• Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR): National funder collaborative focused on immigration issues with whom NCG partners. Provides issue-specific programming and grantmaker education that intersects with NCG's immigrant justice work.
• Funders Together to End Homelessness: National membership network of funders addressing homelessness. Co-runs the BAFTEH program with NCG as fiscal sponsor, providing issue-specific convening that complements NCG's regional convening role.

Broad incumbents

• Independent Sector: National membership coalition of nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs. Addresses policy, research, and public trust, overlapping NCG's policy advocacy and sector research functions at a national scale.
• Council on Foundations: National membership organization for grantmaking institutions offering policy advocacy, conferences, and research. Overlaps NCG on funder convening and learning but operates at national scale across all foundation types.

Regional players

• Minnesota Council on Foundations: Regional association of Minnesota grantmakers offering similar membership, convening, and Funder Collaborative models. Operates as a regional peer to NCG outside California and offers comparable programming.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-california-grantmakers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 Northern California Grantmakers