Moca Foundation

The Moca Foundation is a private, invitation-only grantmaking foundation based in Gilroy, California, incorporated in October 2000 and now managing approximately $25.9 million in assets. It operates as a values-driven family foundation — not an institutionalized grant program — with no public application process, no published deadlines, and no external-facing website. Unsolicited proposals are not accepted and are unlikely to yield results.

Understanding the foundation requires reading its 990-PF grantee history as a map of trustee relationships. The board is led by President Mary L Bianco (compensated at $40,000/year) alongside seven trustees: Alexandra Morgan, Carol Duffield (Treasurer), Claudia Looney, James Brescia, Rob Fletcher (joined FY2025), and Marc Vogl. Vogl is notable for his Bay Area arts philanthropy background — he previously directed Grants for the Arts in San Francisco — making him a natural connection point for performing arts and music education organizations seeking board introductions.

The foundation's giving philosophy centers on depth over breadth. Multi-year grantees dominate: Family House Inc. has received six grants totaling $235,000; Girls Incorporated of Orange County has received four grants totaling $107,500; Cancer Carepoint has received three grants totaling $110,600; and San Luis Obispo County Office of Education has received three grants totaling $370,000. These are not pilot relationships — they represent years of earned trust, and new entrants should expect a long cultivation timeline before receiving a first award.

The foundation funds four consistent areas: arts and music education (Juilliard School, SF Conservatory of Music, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Community Music Center); human services and food security (Family House, At The Crossroads, SF Food Bank); youth development (Girls Inc., summer camp programs); and pediatric health (Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, Children's Hospital LA, Cancer Carepoint). Geographic focus is tight — 68 of 74 documented grants are California-based, with the Bay Area and San Luis Obispo County representing distinct clusters.

For first-time applicants, the only viable entry is a warm introduction through a trustee, current grantee, or shared philanthropic colleague. Frame any early conversations around mission alignment and long-term partnership potential — not immediate funding need. The foundation rewards relationship continuity and demonstrated community impact over polished proposals.

The Moca Foundation's grantmaking has evolved through three distinct phases. From 2011-2012, it operated as a small family foundation with assets under $1 million and annual grants of $345,000-$574,000. A transformative $10.2 million contribution in FY2012 expanded assets to $10.9 million, launching a growth phase that reached $25.3 million by FY2019. The pandemic era (FY2020-FY2021) drove peak giving: $1.80 million and $2.15 million respectively, as the board deployed COVID challenge grants and organizational pivot support. FY2025 shows a pullback to $1.09 million across 9 grants — the lowest total since pre-pandemic years.

Grant sizing follows a tiered structure. At the smallest end, summer camp sponsorships cluster at $2,500-$7,000 (Okizu Foundation at $7,000, Camp Kesem at $5,000, Rise SLO at $4,000, Celiac Community Foundation at $2,500). Standard project grants run $20,000-$50,000 and represent the most common size bracket — covering specific costs like a therapist position ($25,000 to Hospice of SLO County), Spanish-language services ($50,000 to KARA), or emergency housing ($30,000 to Nova Ukraine). Significant multi-year partners receive $75,000-$110,600 (SF Conservatory $75,000, Cancer Carepoint $110,600, Girls Inc. $107,500). The largest cumulative direct nonprofit grant on record is $370,000 to San Luis Obispo County Office of Education across three awards.

A critical anomaly in the grant data: the largest single recipient, Schwab Charitable Fund (DAFgiving360), received $3.27 million across five grants labeled 'Discretionary Grants.' This represents the foundation routing funds through its own donor-advised fund account for flexible re-deployment — not external grantmaking to Schwab. In FY2025, $911,657 of the total $1.09 million flowed this way, meaning only an estimated $150,000-$180,000 reached direct nonprofit grantees.

By program area (estimated from documented grant purposes): human services and food security account for approximately 30% of direct grants; arts and performing arts education for 25%; youth development and education for 25%; and pediatric and community health for 20%. Revenue is almost entirely investment-derived — dividends and asset sales generated $737,003 in FY2025, with no external contributions received since 2012. The foundation consistently allocates over 90% of expenses to charitable disbursements, reflecting strong mission alignment with minimal administrative overhead.

All five peer foundations identified by comparable asset size share structural characteristics with Moca Foundation: private independent foundations with no public application processes, minimal web presence, and broad NTEE T (Philanthropy & Grantmaking) classifications. None discloses detailed grantee lists or program priorities publicly, making Moca Foundation unusual in this peer group for having a legible programmatic identity visible through its 990-PF filings.

Moca Foundation's payout ratio ranges from approximately 4% (FY2025) to 9% (FY2021) of assets — exceeding the IRS-mandated 5% minimum in most years, with pandemic-era generosity reflected in the 2020-2021 peak. Its investment income dependency (75%+ of revenue from dividends and asset sales) and zero-external-contribution model align with the endowed family foundation model typical of this peer group. Among California-based peers, Jayasinhala Foundation (also CA) represents the closest geographic match, though its giving priorities are unknown. Moca Foundation's documentation of specific program grantees — arts organizations, food banks, summer camps — gives grant seekers more strategic footing than most private foundations of comparable size.

The most current activity data derives from the FY2025 Form 990-PF, filed April 14, 2026. The foundation distributed $1,091,657 across 9 grants, sharply reduced from FY2023's $2,043,378 across an estimated 15 grants. Of the FY2025 total, $911,657 flowed to DAFgiving360 (Schwab Charitable Fund) in two tranches ($511,657 and $400,000) for Discretionary Grants in December 2025. The remaining confirmed grant was $30,000 to Human Investment Project for its Home Sharing Program, also dated December 2025 — suggesting the foundation makes all or most distributions in Q4.

Leadership changed in FY2025: Rob Fletcher joined the board as a new trustee, and Mary L Bianco is now recorded as Trustee/President receiving $40,000 in annual compensation — a shift from prior filings where May Van Scherrenburg (Secretary) was the primary compensated officer. Total assets grew to $25,866,239 in FY2025 (from $22,563,360 in FY2023), reflecting strong investment performance even as charitable disbursements fell.

No press releases, program announcements, or foundation-specific news were identified for 2025 or 2026. The foundation maintains no public website — the URL listed in some databases (moca.org) belongs to the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. Prior grantee relationships with Family House Inc., Cancer Carepoint, and Girls Incorporated of Orange County have not been publicly confirmed as active in FY2025 given the heavy DAF routing that year.

Because the Moca Foundation operates exclusively through trustee relationships, every tip below is specific to navigating a relationship-based, invitation-only funder rather than a competitive grant program.

Map the board before anything else. Research all seven trustees — Mary L Bianco, Alexandra Morgan, Carol Duffield, Claudia Looney, James Brescia, Rob Fletcher, and Marc Vogl — through LinkedIn, nonprofit board directories, and community event records. Identify any overlap with your own board, advisory council, or major donors. A single shared connection is worth more than any proposal.

Prioritize the Marc Vogl pathway for arts organizations. Vogl's background in Bay Area arts philanthropy (including prior leadership at Grants for the Arts in San Francisco) makes him the most approachable trustee for performing arts, music education, and community arts nonprofits. Engage him through Bay Area arts funding convenings, not cold outreach.

Use current grantees as introduction intermediaries. Organizations like Family House Inc. (6 grants, $235,000), East Bay Center for the Performing Arts (3 grants, $93,000), and San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2 grants, $75,000) have established trust with the board. A mutual introduction from one of these grantees carries significant weight.

Mirror the specificity of past grant purposes. The 990 record shows grants for precisely defined needs: 'Uninsured Diabetic Pediatric Patients Fund,' 'Wellness Center Counselor,' 'Silver Diamine Treatments and New Dental Chair,' 'New Staff Position.' Frame any ask around a specific, tangible program cost — not general operating support — unless you have a multi-year relationship that warrants that ask.

Align with California geography. With 92% of grants going to California organizations and notable clusters in the Bay Area and San Luis Obispo County, out-of-state applicants face long odds. New York organizations received 6 of 74 grants, likely through direct trustee connections.

Time any approach for Q1-Q2. With December appearing to be the primary disbursement month, relationship cultivation should begin 12-18 months before a hoped-for grant year. Spring outreach gives time for a summer introduction meeting and fall cultivation before annual review cycles.

COVID responsiveness as a model. Between 2020 and 2022, the foundation issued multiple challenge grants and organizational pivot support awards to existing grantees. If your sector faces a comparable systemic disruption, frame any emergency ask around institutional resilience and the foundation's precedent of crisis responsiveness.