The Rock Foundation
The Rock Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. Its 2025 filing reports 47 grants totaling $3,654,000 to charitable organizations.
The Rock Foundation at a glance
In short: The Rock Foundation gave $3.7M across 47 grants in 2025 (avg $78K), mostly in California. 17% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $3,654,000
- +32.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 47
- -31.9% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $77,745
- +95.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $20,000
- Total assets
- $50,639,384
- -0.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 17% first-time grantees (8 of 47, 2025)
- Primary geography
- California (71% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Rock Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 415 Mission Street Ste 5700, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 981-3921
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Rock Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund ($1.0M). Together the top 10 received $2.9M.
Grant Size Distribution
457 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 360 grants of 457 (79%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 71% of grant dollars went to recipients in California and 24% to recipients in New York. Recipients in Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Washington state each received 2%, 1%, and 1%, respectively.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 47 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Rock Foundation open to new grantees?
17%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 47 grantees (17%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $201K; repeat grants $53K. How we count
Medians: $63K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 79% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 54% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 149% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.5M (2020) to $3.7M (2025). In 2025 it made 47 grants totaling $3.7M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $1,000,000 |
| Syracuse University Syracuse, NY | Charitable | $500,000 |
| Meals on Wheels of San Francisco San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $400,000 |
| Human Rights First New York, NY | Charitable | $300,000 |
| Kqed San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $130,000 |
| Commonwealth Club of CA San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $125,000 |
| Go Public Schools Sacramento, CA | Charitable | $100,000 |
| Jewish Vocational & Career Counseling San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $100,000 |
| TNDC - (Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation) San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $100,000 |
| United Way Bay Area San Francisco, CA | Charitable | $100,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Rock Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $50,639,384 | $3,625,256 | $3,823,652 | $3,654,000 | 47 | $3,717,188 | $3,568,393 | $2,495,673 |
| 2024 | $50,837,780 | $7,707,084 | $2,988,278 | $2,750,000 | 69 | $2,833,910 | $7,637,506 | $2,831,520 |
| 2023 | $46,143,371 | $5,956,593 | $2,205,383 | $2,000,000 | 74 | $2,041,892 | $5,886,602 | $2,536,075 |
| 2022 | $42,392,161 | $6,348,307 | $2,574,351 | $2,375,000 | 123 | $2,414,545 | $6,278,501 | $2,327,119 |
| 2021 | $38,618,205 | $1,871,744 | $2,880,410 | $2,800,000 | 144 | $2,835,475 | $1,867,363 | $2,850,757 |
| 2020 | $39,626,872 | $1,285,281 | $1,568,696 | $1,500,025 | 132 | — | $1,492,646 | $2,272,085 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Rock Foundation reported a distributable amount of $2.5M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose stated work spans different areas. For example, the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund says it distributes funds for critical family needs, housing assistance, and food programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Meals on Wheels of San Francisco says it provides homebound seniors with nutritious meals, daily human contact, and supportive services. Human Rights First describes its work as advancing free and equal societies and protecting people from injustice.
Other examples include KQED, which says it serves Northern California through community-supported media, and GO Public Schools, which says it supports local coalitions working to expand access to quality education in underserved California communities. These are descriptions of the grantees’ work, not stated focus areas of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 47 grants totaling $3,654,000. Grant amounts ranged from $500 to $1,000,000, with a median of $20,000.
Among its largest reported grants were $1,000,000 to the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund, $500,000 to Syracuse University, $400,000 to Meals on Wheels of San Francisco, $300,000 to Human Rights First, and $130,000 to KQED. Other reported grants included $100,000 each to GO Public Schools and Jewish Vocational & Career Counseling.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Arthur Rock as president and director, and Julie A. Divola as CFO, secretary, and director.
The Rock Foundation is led by Arthur Rock, President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Arthur Rock
President & Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Julie A. Divola
CFO, Secretary & Director
CFO & Secretary → CFO, Secretary & Director, 2024
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about The Rock Foundation
How much does The Rock Foundation give each year?
The Rock Foundation gave $3.7M across 47 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $2.8M across 69 grants.
What is The Rock Foundation's typical grant size?
The Rock Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $20,000, and its average grant was $77,745, across 47 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Rock Foundation that year got $201K on average.
Where does The Rock Foundation give grants?
The Rock Foundation gives mostly in California: 71% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (24%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Francisco, CA (26 grants), New York, NY (5 grants), Oakland, CA (2 grants) and Washington, DC (2 grants).
Does The Rock Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 47 grants with a stated purpose on The Rock Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (42 grants) and "Educational" (4 grants).
Who are The Rock Foundation's largest grantees?
The Rock Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund ($1,000,000), Syracuse University ($500,000) and Meals on Wheels of San Francisco ($400,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 52% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Rock Foundation?
The Rock Foundation reported $50.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $3.7M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.5M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Rock Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose stated work spans different areas. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Rock Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Rock Foundation's EIN?
The Rock Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 94-1671318. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does The Rock Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 18, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Rock Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Rock Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-rock-foundation-morg_bd3fe7cb13d54820949c1f9b7c2c53b2
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_941671318_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Rock Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-rock-foundation-morg_bd3fe7cb13d54820949c1f9b7c2c53b2},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from The Rock Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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