Brittingham Family Foundation

The Brittingham Family Foundation operates as a deeply personal, family-driven private foundation anchored in Santa Barbara, California. Scott Brittingham serves as President at $150,000 annually; his spouse Ella Brittingham serves as CFO and Secretary at $100,000; Foundation Administrator Kristalyn Frohling rounds out the three-person staff. This intimacy shapes every aspect of the grantmaking — grant descriptions frequently reference tributes "In Honor of" personal friends and family members, and named scholarship funds (the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at USC, the Scott and Ella Brittingham Viking Fund at the University of Wisconsin) bear the family name directly.

The foundation's stated mission is to be "an enlightened community partner" across six focus areas: Education, Arts and Culture, Social Services, Youth, Health, and the Environment. In practice, the portfolio skews heavily toward Santa Barbara County organizations (approximately 74% of cumulative giving) with a secondary concentration in Aspen and Colorado mountain communities, reflecting the Brittinghams' personal ties to both regions.

First-time applicants should understand that this is not a foundation with open, competitive grant cycles in the traditional sense. The foundation evaluates grant requests quarterly, and applicants are warned that a response may take up to four months. Applications are accepted exclusively through the online portal at www.brittinghamfamilyfoundation.org/grants-partnerships, which routes through the grantinterface.com platform. There is no published LOI (Letter of Inquiry) step — the process moves directly to a full online application.

The grantee roster reveals strong multi-year relationships. Organizations such as Fractured Atlas Productions, Heal the Ocean, Coastal Ranches Conservancy, Lobero Theatre Foundation, Planned Parenthood Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics appear year after year, suggesting that once you establish a relationship, renewals are achievable. For new organizations, geographic alignment with Santa Barbara County and genuine fit with the six focus areas is essential.

Capital campaigns and endowment drives attract larger checks — the $150,000 to Elings Park Foundation for the EPIC! Capital Campaign in 2024 exemplifies this pattern. General operating support grants typically fall in the $2,500–$15,000 range. Organizations seeking six-figure commitments should frame requests around capital needs, endowment building, or transformative one-time investments rather than ongoing operations alone.

The Brittingham Family Foundation distributes $1.4–$1.9 million annually through 54–70 grants, a significant contraction from its peak of $4.5 million in total giving (FY2014) and $3.6 million in grants paid (FY2014). Total assets have grown from $33.8 million (FY2015) to $53.9 million (FY2024) — a 60% increase — even as annual distributions have dropped by roughly two-thirds over the same period, reflecting a deliberate accumulation strategy or shift in payout priorities.

Grant size skews small. Of 250 recorded grants in available data, 233 (93%) are under $50,000. The median grant is approximately $5,000, with an average closer to $15,000–$20,000 depending on the year. The full range in recent years spans $1,000 (token tribute gifts) to $150,000 (major capital commitments). No grant on record exceeds $250,000.

Breaking down recent giving by program area based on the full grantee record:

• Education: The single largest cumulative grantee relationship is with Thacher School ($429,000 across 7 grants), followed by USC ($281,000 across 7 grants, including named scholarships), and Crane Country Day School ($170,000 across 5 grants). The University of Wisconsin Foundation received $221,000 (2 grants) for the named Viking Fund.
• Arts and Culture: Fractured Atlas Productions has received $206,000 across 8 grants. The Santa Barbara Center for Performing Arts received $82,000 across 5 grants (plus $100,000 loan forgiveness in 2024). Lobero Theatre Foundation has received $22,500 in recurring GOS plus $100,000 in 2024 capital support.
• Environment: Heal the Ocean ($40,000 cumulative), Aspen Center for Environmental Studies ($50,000 cumulative), Rocky Mountain Institute ($13,500), Coastal Ranches Conservancy ($15,000), and Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability ($15,000) represent this area.
• Health: Cedars-Sinai ($50,000 nephrology GOS), Mayo Clinic ($49,000 for the Nephrology Collaborative Group), Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics ($25,000 cumulative).
• Social Services: Santa Barbara organizations dominate — Immigrant Hope SB ($12,500), SB County Immigrant Legal Defense Center ($20,000), Unity Shoppe ($17,500), Hospice of Santa Barbara ($7,500).

Geographically, California captures approximately 74% of total giving, New York 12% (largely Fractured Atlas), and Colorado 7% (Aspen-area organizations). The foundation's $612,000 in grants paid in FY2023 represents the lowest recorded total; FY2024 rebounded with 70 grants at approximately $1.4 million.

The five peer foundations identified share similar asset levels near $53.9 million and are all categorized under Philanthropy & Grantmaking, but differ markedly in geography, transparency, and application accessibility.

Among foundations of comparable asset size, the Brittingham Family Foundation is notably accessible. It maintains a functioning public website with an active online application portal — a genuine rarity among family foundations in this asset tier, where most require an invitation or pre-existing relationship to apply. Its peer foundations either have no public web presence, no published application guidelines, or are invitation-only.

The foundation's combined officer compensation of $253,601 (Scott $150,000 + Ella $100,000) is relatively high as a share of annual distributions, reflecting active hands-on family management rather than delegated staff grantmaking. This structure reinforces the personal, relationship-driven nature of its grantmaking and suggests that alignment with the family's values — rather than bureaucratic process compliance — is the decisive factor in funding decisions. For Santa Barbara County nonprofits in particular, the open online portal represents a genuine competitive opportunity that peer-level family foundations typically do not offer.

No formal press releases, blog posts, or public announcements from 2025 or 2026 were located. The foundation does not maintain active social media accounts or issue public communications about grants. The primary source of current activity is the FY2024 IRS Form 990-PF, filed November 17, 2025 and processed in public databases by April 2026.

FY2024 was a rebound year: 70 grants awarded (up from 54 in FY2023, a 29.6% increase), with total qualifying distributions of $1.4–1.9 million. Total assets grew 8.6% to $53.9 million, and investment income increased 31.4% year-over-year ($738,792 in FY2024 vs. $562,056 in FY2023), indicating improving portfolio performance.

Notable FY2024 grants include: - Elings Park Foundation: $150,000 (EPIC! Capital Campaign - Godric Grove) — largest single grant in 2024 - Lobero Theatre Foundation: $110,000 total ($100,000 capital campaign/building maintenance endowment + $10,000 GOS) - Santa Barbara Center for Performing Arts: $101,000 ($100,000 loan forgiveness + $1,000 GOS) - Community Initiatives: $100,000 (House of Victory Foundation) — new grantee - Four Winds Inc. (Dear Harbor, WA): $55,000 ($50,000 Sky and Sea Campaign + $5,000 GOS) — a major step up from prior $10,000 GOS grants - Rex Foundation: $50,000 (event sponsorship) — new grantee in 2024

Leadership remains stable: Scott Brittingham has served as President and Ella Brittingham as CFO/Secretary for at least four consecutive recorded 990-PF cycles. No leadership transitions or board changes were publicly announced.

The single most critical fact for applicants: the Brittingham Family Foundation accepts applications exclusively through the online portal at www.brittinghamfamilyfoundation.org/grants-partnerships, which operates on the grantinterface.com platform. Do not mail proposals, call the office at (805) 969-5415 as an initial approach, or email info@brittinghamfamilyfoundation.org to pitch a grant — the foundation's published instructions are unambiguous on this point.

Timing requires advance planning. Grant requests are reviewed quarterly, and the foundation explicitly warns that responses may take up to four months. If you need funds by a specific date, submit at least five to six months in advance. No specific quarterly deadline dates are published, so applications appear to enter a rolling queue reviewed at each quarter's close.

Geographic alignment is non-negotiable. The foundation restricts grants to "certain counties in the United States" — in practice, Santa Barbara County (California) is the primary geography, with meaningful secondary support for Aspen/Pitkin County (Colorado). If your organization is headquartered outside these areas, ensure you can clearly articulate direct service delivery to Santa Barbara County residents.

Frame your proposal squarely within one or more of the six explicit focus areas. The grantee record shows arts-sector organizations and educational institutions (especially those with personal family connections) command the largest and most consistent grants. Health grants have focused on specific medical specialties (nephrology) and local community clinics serving underserved populations. Environmental grants go to land conservation and ocean-focused groups. Use the foundation's own language: "enlightened community partner," "serving children and youth," "low-income individuals and the working poor."

Size your ask strategically. Capital campaigns and endowment pledges attract $50,000–$150,000 grants. General operating support requests cluster in the $2,500–$15,000 range for first-time and recurring grantees. If this is your first approach to the foundation, a $5,000–$10,000 GOS request with a compelling community impact narrative is the right entry point. Demonstrate multi-year staying power — organizations receiving repeated grants emphasize sustained community delivery, not one-time projects.

For capital campaign requests, show a complete campaign plan with named co-funders and a timeline. The foundation's $150,000 to Elings Park in 2024 built on a $50,000 gift in 2023 — suggesting they test relationships before committing at the highest level.