Arts Council for Monterey County
Monterey, CA · EIN 94-2805076. Reported 111 grants totalling $882,588 to 71 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Arts Council for Monterey County, the IRS classifies it under arts & culture rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE A260) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 71 distinct organizations, with 5% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 37% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $7,150. Half of what it reported fell between $6,500 and $9,500; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $18,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey Jazz Festival | Monterey, CA | $44,400 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Action Council of Monterey County Inc | Salinas, CA | $43,953 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| New Canon Theatre Co | Seaside, CA | $38,525 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Palenke Arts | Seaside, CA | $34,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Alisal Center for the Fine Arts Inc | Salinas, CA | $32,650 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Sol Treasures | King City, CA | $27,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| First Night Monterey Inc | Monterey, CA | $24,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Musikiwest Inc | Sand City, CA | $23,650 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Carl Cherry Foundation | Carmel By the, CA | $23,300 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Hijos Del Sol Arts Productions | Salinas, CA | $21,750 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Monterey Museum of Art | Monterey, CA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Carmel Dance Festival | Carmel, CA | $19,950 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Monterey County Dance Foundation | King City, CA | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Spectordance | Carmel, CA | $15,350 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Monterey County Symphony Assn | Carmel By the, CA | $14,600 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Fractured Atlas Inc | New York, NY | $14,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Big Sur Fiddle Camp | Big Sur, CA | $14,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations | Salinas, CA | $14,350 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Eclectic Collective | Hartsdale, NY | $13,150 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Palenke Arts | Seaside, CA | $12,630 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Way of Monterey County | Salinas, CA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Youth Arts Collective Inc | Monterey, CA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Arts Habitat | Carmel, CA | $12,150 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Chamber Music Monterey Bay | Carmel, CA | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Youth Music Monterey | Monterey, CA | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Carmel Bach Festival Inc | Carmel, CA | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Monterey County Pops Inc | Monterey, CA | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Monterey Peninsula College Foundation | Monterey, CA | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Natividad Medical Foundation Inc | Salinas, CA | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Museum Foundation of Pacific Grove Inc | Pacific Grove, CA | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Carl Cherry Center for Arts | Carmel, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| I Cantori Di Carmel | Monterey, CA | $9,900 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mo Co Ag & Rural Life Museum | King City, CA | $9,800 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Aria Womens Choir | Pebble Beach, CA | $9,550 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Arts Habitat Inc | Monterey, CA | $9,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Festa Italia Foundation | Monterey, CA | $9,250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wonder Wood Ranch | Salinas, CA | $9,200 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pacific Repertory Theatre | Carmel, CA | $9,100 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Big Sur Fiddle Camp | Big Sur, CA | $9,050 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Franklin Legacy Fund | Carmel, CA | $9,050 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Prunedale Senior Center Inc | Prunedale, CA | $8,800 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tonatiuh-Danzantes Del Quinto Sol | Salinas, CA | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Congregation Beth Israel | Berkeley, CA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Monterey County Youth Museum | Monterey, CA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Weston Collective | Carmel, CA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Enchantrix | Marina, CA | $7,100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| First Night Monterey | Monterey, CA | $7,050 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Artistic-Civic League United | Los Angeles, CA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County | Seaside, CA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Partnership for Youth | Seaside, CA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hartnell College Foundation | Salinas, CA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lyceum of Monterey County | Monterey, CA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sunset Cultural Center | Carmel, CA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Institute for Education Research & Scholarships | Los Angeles, CA | $6,650 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Urban Arts Collaborative | Salinas, CA | $6,650 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Aromas Hills Artisans | Aromas, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Art Abilities | Pacific Grove, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Educational Resources of Monterey County | Salinas, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Milpa | Salinas, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Native California Research Institute | Sacramento, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Salinas Area Reading for Fun Program | Salinas, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Social Good Fund Inc | Richmond, CA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| El Sistema USA Salinas Inc | Salinas, CA | $5,980 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Classic Guitar Society of Carmel | Carmel, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Filipino Community of Salinas Valley Foundation | Salinas, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Good Vibez Presents | Monterey, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley Inc | Salinas, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Monterey Bay Power Over Parkinsons Inc | Monterey, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pacific Grove High School Breakers Club | Pacific Grove, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Henry Miller Memorial Library | Big Sur, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The York School | Monterey, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
27 of 71 (38%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Action Council of Monterey County
TO SUPPORT THE ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE - Action Council of Monterey Co
POETRY/ARTS & CULTURAL IMPACT - Monterey Jazz Festival
MJF 2021 SPONSORSHIP; ARTS/CULTURAL - Alisal Center for Fine Arts
ART PROGRAM SUPPORT/MURAL PROJECT
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 53 of 71 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 9 | $87,430 | $9,550 |
| 2021 | 17 | $154,353 | $9,200 |
| 2022 | 13 | $116,605 | $9,050 |
| 2023 | 35 | $233,200 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 37 | $291,000 | $7,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
97% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $7,150 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Arts Council for Monterey County's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 37 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 24600 Silver Cloud Court 202, Monterey, CA, 93940.
EIN 94-2805076 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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