Cushman Foundation

The Cushman Foundation is a family foundation rooted in a singular, deeply personal San Diego identity. Its guiding philosophy — "The Foundation is giving back to the city that has supported its family for generations" — is not marketing language but a literal origin story. The Cushman family's business legacy in San Diego, anchored at 10200 Willow Creek Road (the address of KW Global / Knowledge Works Global), has produced a foundation that measures itself by local community impact, not national reach. The Cushman name on the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, one of the region's most prominent hunger relief organizations, underscores how deeply embedded this family is in the civic fabric of San Diego County.

First-time applicants must understand that access runs through the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego's Competitive Application Platform (CAP), not the Cushman Foundation directly. This intermediary relationship is structural: JCF administers applications, manages communications, and coordinates the finalist interview process. All proposals are submitted at cap.jcfsandiego.org, and process questions should go to Jessica Ludwig, JCF Grants Officer (jessica@jcfsandiego.org, 858-279-2740), not to the Cushman Foundation itself.

The foundation operates on a quarterly cycle, with the board reviewing and awarding grants following each of four annual board meetings. This cadence gives nonprofits multiple application windows per year. The current cycle closes May 19, 2026. A separate initiative, Phil Fest 2026, runs concurrently as a standalone competitive program and is worth pursuing independently.

The relationship progression follows a competitive-then-relational model. Organizations apply through CAP, the board reviews written submissions, and finalists are invited for an in-person interview — a critical step that separates this process from purely paper-based grantmakers. For first-time applicants, healthcare-adjacent organizations, social service nonprofits serving underserved San Diegans, and programs focused on veterans, seniors, or children have the highest historical alignment. Multi-year grantee relationships are the norm at the top of the portfolio: Sharp Healthcare Foundation received 10 grants; Seacrest Foundation, San Diego Symphony, and Grossmont Hospital Foundation each received 6-9 grants. The path to larger sustained funding runs through smaller initial awards paired with strong stewardship.

The Cushman Foundation has grown dramatically as a grantmaker over the past decade. In FY2012, total giving was $395,119; by FY2025, it reached $3,922,242 — nearly a 10x increase that reflects both sustained asset growth (from $8M in 2012 to $37.7M in FY2024) and deliberate expansion of philanthropic ambition. The compound annual growth rate on giving from 2012 to 2025 is approximately 19%, making this one of the more aggressively scaling mid-size private foundations in San Diego.

Across all 288 tracked grants totaling $9,486,268, the average grant is $32,938. However, the distribution is sharply skewed by a small number of large anchor relationships: Sharp Healthcare Foundation ($2,513,200 across 10 grants), Jewish Community Foundation ($2,210,000 across 3 grants), and San Diego Foundation ($1,050,000 across 2 grants) together represent roughly 60% of all tracked giving. The majority of the grantee portfolio clusters in the $25,000–$50,000 range for individual grants; FY2025 saw 86 awards at an average of approximately $45,600 per award. Typical entry-level grants for new grantees land in the $25,000–$40,000 range, per grantee data (Urban Street Angels: $77,466 across 4 grants; Support the Enlisted Project: $40,000 across 3 grants; Girls Rising: $35,000 across 3 grants).

By program area, healthcare dominates: Sharp Healthcare Foundation, Grossmont Hospital Foundation, San Diego Blood Bank, VIP Neurorehabilitation Center, and Crisis House together represent approximately 35% of all tracked giving. Human services and community infrastructure follow (Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, Community Housingworks, Urban Street Angels, Casa de Amparo, South Bay Community Services). Military and veterans, children and youth, education, and arts and culture each represent roughly 5-10% individually.

Year-over-year trends: FY2019 ($1,805,786), FY2020 ($2,261,031), FY2021 ($3,076,810), FY2022 ($3,505,928), FY2023 ($3,188,377), FY2025 ($3,922,242) — showing consistent growth with FY2025 as the current record. All officer compensation is $0, meaning the full grantmaking budget flows to community organizations.

The following foundations share approximately equal total assets (~$37.7M) and are classified under Philanthropy & Grantmaking (NTEE Major T). All are private independent foundations with volunteer leadership structures.

The Cushman Foundation stands out in this peer group in two critical ways. First, its giving ratio is exceptionally high — distributing approximately 10.4% of total assets annually in FY2025, well above the IRS-mandated 5% minimum for private foundations. This signals a leadership team that prioritizes active grantmaking over asset preservation. Second, it is the only foundation in this peer group with a formal, publicly accessible online application process administered through a neutral third-party platform (JCF CAP), making it meaningfully accessible to organizations without prior board relationships. The Nordblom Family Foundation, the only peer with a known public website, operates in New England with a likely invitation-only model — a contrast that highlights Cushman's comparative openness to new applicants.

The most significant recent development is the launch of Phil Fest 2026, a special Cushman Foundation grant initiative run through the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego's CAP platform. The program — its name a nod to philanthropy — offers competitive awards to San Diego organizations demonstrating significant, measurable impact through powerful programs. It represents the foundation's most formally structured competitive grant vehicle to date and suggests an appetite for high-impact, project-specific grantmaking beyond the standard quarterly cycle. This is an active opportunity with a current application window.

Fiscal year 2025 saw a record $3,922,242 distributed across 86 awards — up from $3,188,377 in FY2023 and $3,505,928 in FY2022. The May 2026 quarterly cycle is currently open with a deadline of May 19, 2026.

A leadership nuance worth noting: IRS Form 990 filings list Marjorie L. Cushman as President and Lori A. Moore as Vice President, but the foundation's own website lists Lori Moore as President with the operational contact email lmoore@cushnet.net. This likely reflects a recent internal transition within the family foundation structure, with Moore assuming day-to-day operational leadership while Marjorie Cushman may retain a governance or honorary role. Debra L. Parrish continues as Secretary/CFO. All positions carry $0 compensation, confirming fully volunteer leadership. No public announcements or press releases were found regarding leadership changes or new strategic plans beyond the Phil Fest initiative.

Use the correct front door. The Cushman Foundation does not accept applications directly. All submissions go through the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego's Competitive Application Platform at cap.jcfsandiego.org. Log into your CAP account and locate the 'Cushman Foundation Grant Application' link. Also check for the 'Phil Fest 2026' application as a separate, concurrent opportunity — both are active.

Program funding only — non-negotiable. The foundation explicitly excludes general operating costs, capital campaigns, endowments, and fundraising events. Your proposal must fund a specific program, initiative, or project. Budget your request to reflect discrete program expenses, not organizational overhead.

Speak the foundation's language. The phrase 'Making a Difference for San Diego' is the evaluative lens reviewers apply. Your impact narrative should explicitly address how your program creates measurable, sustainable difference for San Diego residents — using specific population counts, outcome metrics, and longitudinal data.

Align squarely with one of the eight funded areas. The foundation's stated priorities are: Aid to Seniors, Arts & Culture (educational only), Children, Education, Food Insecurity, Health & Well Being, Human Services, and Military & Veterans. Center your framing in one area rather than spreading across multiple categories. Note: non-educational arts, animal welfare, athletic events, religious institutions, and political activities are all explicitly excluded.

Prepare for the finalist interview. The review process includes an in-person interview for finalists. Treat your written application as a screening document and ensure your executive director or program lead can articulate the proposal's impact, budget logic, and theory of change in a direct conversation with board members.

Optimize timing. The board meets quarterly; the current cycle closes May 19, 2026. If you miss this window, plan for the next cycle. Contact jessica@jcfsandiego.org or cap@jcfsandiego.org to confirm upcoming deadlines and whether there is a specific application window per quarter.

Build multi-year relationships. The top of the grantee portfolio shows organizations with 3-10 consecutive grants. A first award of $25,000–$40,000 is a relationship investment. Demonstrate rigorous stewardship, timely reporting, and clear outcomes to position for larger subsequent awards. Sharp Healthcare Foundation's $2.5M cumulative relationship began with exactly this kind of incremental trust-building.