Auen Foundation

The Auen Foundation operates as a tightly governed, single-trustee private foundation with a mission focused on enriching the quality of life for aging adults and fostering intergenerational connections — almost exclusively in California's Coachella Valley and surrounding Southern California communities. Trustee and Program Director Sherrie S. Auen personally shapes every grant decision, supported by Senior Program Officer Catharine N. Reed, who brings nearly 30 years of nonprofit and gerontology expertise. This concentrated governance means organizational alignment and demonstrated relationship history matter far more than polished proposal craft.

Founded in 1992 and strategically refocused in 1995, the Foundation has awarded more than 1,000 grants to date. An explicit geographic rule governs all grantmaking: 80% of funding goes to Southern California organizations; the remaining 20% is reserved exclusively for organizations solicited by Foundation trustees. Cold outreach from outside the region has essentially no pathway in.

The Foundation's grantee history reveals a strong preference for long-term partnerships over one-time awards. Coronado Hospital Foundation received 4 grants totaling $325,000 across multiple years; AIDS Assistance Program, Joslyn Senior Center, Well in the Desert, and My Jump Inc. each maintain 4-grant histories. This continuity signals that the Foundation treats repeat grantees as strategic partners — and that first-time applicants should invest in relationship-building before expecting significant dollar commitments. First grants to new organizations typically fall in the $10,000–$25,000 range.

The application pipeline is deliberately gated: no formal application is reviewed without prior LOI approval from trustees. Even after LOI approval, first-time applicants face a financial records review and potential site visit before receiving login credentials for the online application portal. This multi-step process rewards organizations that are transparent, mission-aligned, and operationally prepared.

A notable strategic signal emerged in July 2025 when the Foundation committed $250,000 to the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre restoration — explicitly framed by Sherrie Auen as aligning with the aging mission as a multigenerational gathering space. This represents an expansion of the Foundation's cultural programming footprint alongside its longstanding healthcare and social services orientation. Arts and culture organizations with explicit senior or intergenerational programming should take note.

The Foundation also explicitly encourages matching and challenge grant structures, favoring organizations that can leverage Auen support to attract additional funding — a valuable framing for applicants with active co-funding strategies or capital campaigns.

Based on IRS 990 filings from fiscal years 2012–2024 and 191 tracked grant awards, the Auen Foundation maintains a disciplined, mid-size grantmaking operation anchored by repeat institutional partnerships in a narrow geographic corridor.

Annual grant disbursements (grants paid): - FY2023: $828,700 (approx. 47 awards) - FY2022: $836,025 - FY2021: $836,500 - FY2020: $1,189,840 (COVID-19 emergency response spike) - FY2019: $1,057,500 - FY2015: $1,234,000

Disbursements have stabilized near $836,000/year since FY2021, representing a deliberate step-down from the FY2019–2020 period. Total giving including program expenses runs higher: $1.51M (FY2023), $1.86M (FY2022), $1.82M (FY2021), reflecting staff-administered program costs beyond direct grants. Net investment income drives the operation — $1.41M in FY2023 and $2.06M in FY2021 — on a stable $33–35M asset base.

Grant size profile (43 recent tracked awards): - Minimum: $1,000 - Maximum: $125,000 per single award - Median: $15,000 - Average: $19,453

Cumulative totals for top grantees reach $325,000 (Coronado Hospital Foundation, 4 grants) over multiple years, but individual first-time awards rarely exceed $25,000–$30,000. The $25,000 threshold is operationally significant: grants at or below $25,000 receive decisions within approximately one month; grants exceeding $25,000 require approximately three months.

Program area breakdown by cumulative grantee history: - Healthcare and medical research (~40%): hospitals, disease research, aging science — Coronado Hospital Foundation ($325K), Eisenhower Medical Center ($148K), USC Davis School of Gerontology ($110K), Desert AIDS Project ($100K) - Senior social services, food, and shelter (~25%): AIDS Assistance Program ($135K), Well in the Desert ($100K), Ranch Recovery Centers ($100K), Elderhelp ($65K) - Intergenerational and cultural programming (~15%): Palm Springs International Film Society ($100K), Rancho Mirage Writer's Festival ($60K), Desert Symphony ($60K), Coronado Promenade Concerts ($40K) - Education and scholarships (~10%): USC Dramatic Arts ($100K), CSUSB ($80K), College of the Desert ($50K) - Specialized and animal-assisted programming (~10%): My Jump Inc. ($60K bucket wishes for seniors), Guide Dogs of the Desert ($55K), Braille Institute ($45K)

Geography: 180 of 191 tracked grants went to California organizations. San Diego County (Coronado area) and the Coachella Valley account for the dominant share. The 11 out-of-state grants — including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee ($143K across 4 grants) — are trustee-solicited exceptions, not open-competition wins.

The Auen Foundation occupies a distinctive niche as a small, hyper-focused aging and intergenerational funder in California's Coachella Valley. Compared to regional and thematic peers, it stands out for its narrow geographic concentration, personal governance, and relationship-driven grantmaking model.

*Peer figures are approximate estimates from public sources; Auen Foundation figures are from IRS 990 filings.*

The Auen Foundation gives significantly less per year than all four peers, but its Coachella Valley concentration makes it one of the most important regional funders for senior-focused nonprofits in the desert communities. Archstone Foundation and Gary & Mary West Foundation reach broader Southern California geographies with larger check sizes, making them complementary rather than competitive funders for Auen grantees. The Desert Healthcare District Foundation offers the most similar geographic footprint but operates as a public agency with open RFP cycles — a meaningful contrast to Auen's invitation-only model. Organizations with Auen relationships should pursue Archstone and Desert Healthcare District in parallel, as both explicitly value organizations already attracting private foundation support.

The most significant recent activity is the July 2025 $250,000 naming gift to the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation, securing the "Auen Mezzanine" designation as part of the capital restoration campaign for the historic 1936 theatre. Trustee Sherrie Auen personally framed the gift around the Foundation's aging mission: *"enriching quality of life — especially for our aging population — this transformative project will bring people of all ages together."* This is the largest single disclosed grant in recent Foundation history and represents a meaningful expansion into cultural capital infrastructure.

In April 2024, the Foundation attended the graduation ceremony for the Sanford J. Reed Nursery at Guide Dogs of the Desert — a Palm Desert organization it has supported for over a decade. The nursery was formally dedicated in September 2023 through a prior Foundation gift, named after Catharine N. Reed's husband Sanford — a rare naming recognition that underscores the depth of institutional relationships driving Foundation grantmaking.

In November 2023, Coachella Valley Repertory received grant funding to expand its Youth Outreach Program connecting senior volunteers with youth through theatrical productions — a textbook intergenerational model and an example of the arts-sector expansion the Foundation has pursued alongside its core healthcare and social services funding.

FY2023 990 data (the most recent complete filing available) shows $828,700 in grants paid, with officer compensation at $265,441 and net investment income of $1.41M on $33.73M in total assets. No leadership transitions have been announced. Sherrie S. Auen remains sole Trustee and Program Director; Catharine N. Reed continues as Senior Program Officer. The Foundation holds $32.99M in total assets as of FY2024.

The LOI is the true gatekeeper — not the grant application. The Foundation's FAQ states explicitly that "the only grants the Foundation will consider are those requested by Foundation Trustees or staff," meaning the LOI process is how trustees screen for mission fit before any formal consideration begins. Keep your LOI to exactly two pages. State your organization's legal name and Tax ID, describe your senior-serving or intergenerational program in one clear paragraph, name the specific dollar amount requested, and attach your 501(c)(3) certificate, current board member list, and current funders list. Do not exceed two pages.

Time your submission to the quarterly review calendar. Deadlines are January 10, April 10, August 10, and November 10. For grants at or below $25,000, decisions arrive in approximately one month — making the August 10 or November 10 cycles ideal for programs launching in fall or winter. Grants above $25,000 take approximately three months, so the April 10 cycle best serves programs beginning in the fall semester or fiscal year.

Anchor every paragraph to the four pillars. The Foundation's stated priorities are: intergenerational involvement, healthy aging, quality end-of-life care, and caregiving. Review of 191 grant purpose statements shows that virtually every funded award explicitly references at least one of these. Broad social service language without an aging anchor — "vulnerable individuals," "underserved communities" — underperforms. Name the senior population served, their specific challenge, and which pillar your program addresses.

Quantify senior beneficiaries precisely. Successful purpose statements consistently use specific numbers: "175 food vouchers for low-income seniors," "450 seniors per month," "screening for seniors." Vague impact language is a red flag. Lead your program description with the number of seniors served, the specific geography (Coachella Valley, San Diego County), and a measurable outcome.

Intergenerational framing unlocks eligibility beyond senior-only organizations. Arts, education, and youth-serving organizations have consistently won grants — CVREP, Tools for Tomorrow, Coronado Promenade Concerts, Palm Springs Air Museum — by explicitly framing programs as connecting older adults and younger generations. If your program bridges age groups, lead with that connection in the very first sentence of your LOI.

Prepare for site visits before they are requested. For grants over $25,000, the Grant Committee may schedule a site visit. Have your executive director and senior program staff available, prepare a brief site tour, and be ready to discuss financial sustainability and board governance. The Foundation's FAQ emphasizes strong board leadership as a key evaluation criterion.

One-year waiting period is absolute. Never reapply within 12 months of any prior decision. Track this date precisely from submission (for declined grants) or award date (for funded grants). A premature reapplication signals poor institutional attention to detail.