Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation focuses its grantmaking on Los Angeles County, where it practices responsive grantmaking in human services, civic and cultural engagement, education and health.
IP TAKE: Grantees give the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation high marks for being “culturally sensitive,” “responsive,” “insightful” and “open-minded.” This funder cares deeply about the nonprofit infrastructure of Los Angeles County and has taken the lead in collaborative work for leadership development and organizational sustainability. Parsons also makes hundreds of grants each year and accepts letters of inquiry on an ongoing basis. This is a great funder to know if your organization responds to community needs in greater Los Angeles.
PROFILE: A longtime Los Angeles funder, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation has a broad impact throughout the region. It seeks to improve “the well-being of the residents of Los Angeles County through responsive grantmaking in human services, civic and cultural, education, and health.” Ralph Parsons, who founded a company that specialized in engineering and construction, established his philanthropy in 1961. During his lifetime, Ralph M. Parsons was involved in the building of industrial structures ranging from oil facilities to shipyards, power plants, irrigation projects, airports, subways and NASA facilities in more than 30 countries.
The Parsons Foundation describes its grantmaking as “responsive” and operates from the belief “that nonprofits know what is best for the people and communities they serve.” While a majority of its grants provide general operating support, Parsons also makes programmatic and capital grants. The foundation’s stated funding priorities are Civic and Cultural causes, Education, Health and Human Services. In addition to giving in these areas, the foundation often names Special Projects to support timely interests and Los Angeles County’s philanthropic infrastructure. Grantmaking is mainly limited to Los Angeles County.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness, Food Systems and Community Development
Parsons’ Human Services grantmaking comprises its largest area of giving. Grantmaking focuses on Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable populations, including but not limited to low-income children and families, foster youth, seniors and people experiencing homelessness. The foundation does not name specific strategies for this giving but appears to prioritize basic needs and housing.
Grantees include the Children’s Bureau of Southern California, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Union Station Homeless Services, People Assisting the Homeless and Project Angel Food.
Grants for Arts and Culture
A significant portion of Parsons’ giving supports local arts and culture initiatives, although these grants tend to be smaller than the foundation’s human services grants. Stemming from the foundation’s Civic and Cultural giving area, grants focus on “enriching cultural experiences” that “contribute to Los Angeles’ cultural and civic vibrancy.” Funding supports a range for performing arts, visual arts and other cultural organizations with broad appeal.
Among the foundation’s arts grantees are the Skirball Cultural Center, the Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Everybody Dance L.A.
The Parsons Foundation also participated in the L.A. Arts Recovery Fund, which was established in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This collaborative effort provided “multi-year general operating support grants and capacity building resources to assist with long-term recovery” to “small to mid-sized arts organizations that span visual arts, dance, music, theater, storytelling, and more.”
Grants for Civic Engagement and Democracy
Parsons Civic and Cultural giving area also promotes “active civic engagement” in Los Angeles County, although this is a smaller area of giving. The foundation does not name specific strategies for this work, although tax filings suggest a strong interest in initiatives that support youth involvement in civic life.
Grants have gone to organizations including Unite L.A., the Connie Rice Institute for Urban Peace, Imagine Los Angeles and Social Justice Partners of Los Angeles.
Grants for Education, Work and Opportunity
The foundation’s Education grantmaking “underscores the importance of access to quality learning opportunities for all, with a special focus on underserved populations.” Grantmaking supports “the full continuum of learning” from early childhood through higher and vocational education. Tax filings reveal interest in early childhood education access, charters schools, out-of-school learning, enrichments for K-12 students, STEM programs and career-related postsecondary programs.
Grantees include the Los Angeles Education Partnership, Equitas Academy Charter School, STEM Preparatory Schools, Communities in Schools of Los Angeles and the Alder Graduate School of Education, among others.
Grants for Public Health and Mental Health
The Parsons Foundation’s focus area for Health aims to improve “access to essential health services that offer a greater quality of life.” Giving prioritizes vulnerable people and emphasizes “community clinics, mental health providers, prevention services, emergency and trauma centers, and improvements to health care facilities.”
Health grantees include the Emanate Health Foundation, the Orthopaedic Institute for Children, St. John’s Community Health and the Northeast Valley Health Corporation. And mental health grants have gone to the VIP Community Mental Health Center, the Maple Counseling Center and the Guidance Center of Long Beach.
Grants for Philanthropy
Parsons supports local nonprofits via its Special Projects for Leadership and Professional Development and Nonprofit Sustainability.
The Leadership and Professional Development program represents Parsons’ investment in “a range of activities designed to connect leaders with professional development opportunities and underwrite their participation.” Programming focuses on “organizations led by and serving communities of color.”
The Parsons Fellow Program “invites a small cohort of local leaders annually to participate in leadership development programs,” including the Stanford Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders.
Bridgespan Programs, which include Leading for Impact and the Leadership Accelerator, are run collaboratively by Parsons, the Bridgespan Group, the Ballmer Foundation and the Rose Hills Foundation to “provide professional development opportunities” for nonprofit professionals. Both programs serve cohorts of nonprofit executives with “project-based training, consulting, and coaching.” These programs do not accept applications; participants are “identified by the initiative’s local funding partners.”
The foundation’s Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative was established in 2008 in response to that year’s recession. The initiative is a collaboration “that helps LA nonprofits pursue strategic alliances to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency” and pursues “partnerships [that] typically culminate in formal agreements that combine some or all aspects of business, ranging from jointly managed programs or back-office consolidations, to shared ventures or traditional mergers.” In addition to the Parsons Foundation, the program is managed by the “Ahmanson, California Community, and UniHealth foundations” and other California funders. Grants ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 are awarded for consulting services related to “negotiation” and “one-time costs associated with implementation and integration.” A program summary and profiles of grantees are linked to this program’s page.
Important Grant Details:
Parson’s Foundation grants range from $3,000 to $1 million, although most grants stay below $500,000.
This funder makes hundreds of grants each year to organizations of all sizes, working mainly in Los Angeles County.
Parsons describes its grantmaking as “responsive,” and while it names areas of interest, it focuses its giving on current community needs.
The Parsons Foundation participates in collaborative work to develop and sustain the nonprofit sector in Los Angeles County.
This funder accepts letters of inquiry at any time via its application portal. The foundation generally responds to these letters within six weeks of receipt. Proposals are accepted by invitation only.
For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s grants database or news pages.
For general inquiries, use the foundation’s contact page.
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