Pinpoint Foundation

Pinpoint Foundation is an invitation-only private family foundation established in July 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, CA (1660 Bush Street, Suite 300). Led by Amanda Peiffer (President) and Chris Peiffer (Treasurer & Secretary) — both serving without compensation — the foundation is administered by Pacific Foundation Services, LLC, a grantmaking management firm that handles 16 foundations through a shared SmartSimple portal.

Pinpoint's giving philosophy centers on honoring the autonomy and dignity of people facing adversity through concrete, practical, and grassroots solutions. This translates directly into grantmaking behavior: the overwhelming majority of recorded grants carry the purpose "GENERAL SUPPORT," signaling that Pinpoint trusts grantees to deploy funds where organizational need is greatest. This trust-based, general-operating approach is the defining characteristic of Pinpoint's grantmaking culture and should anchor every application framing.

Critical first-time applicant fact: Pinpoint does not accept unsolicited letters of intent, applications, or proposals. The foundation makes grants exclusively by invitation or referral. Cultivating relationships — with Pacific Foundation Services staff, with existing Pinpoint grantees, and with peer funders in the Bay Area anti-violence ecosystem — is therefore the essential precondition for any funding conversation.

The grantee portfolio reveals clear organizational preferences. Pinpoint consistently funds direct-service nonprofits with deep community roots in California's Bay Area, particularly organizations serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Cruz counties. The foundation also funds national-scope organizations (RAINN, Women's Media Center, National Domestic Workers Alliance) and occasionally routes funds through intermediaries such as Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Tides Center for collaborative gender-equity initiatives.

Repeat grantees dominate the top portfolio: Community Solutions for Children Families and Individuals received $192,750 across 4 grants; Monarch Services, Tri-Valley Haven, and YWCA Silicon Valley each accumulated $130,000+ across multiple grant cycles. This multi-year pattern signals that Pinpoint prioritizes sustained partnerships over one-time transactions. First-time applicants should frame every interaction as the beginning of a long-term relationship, not a single grant request.

Pinpoint Foundation's annual grantmaking ranged from $1.60 million to $2.87 million over FY 2019–2023, averaging approximately $1.93 million per year. FY 2022 was the clear peak — $2.87 million in grants paid, up from $1.72 million in FY 2021 — likely reflecting a deliberate response to heightened national attention to gender-based violence and reproductive rights. Giving has since moderated: $1.63 million in FY 2023, and FY 2024 charitable disbursement data indicates approximately $1.22 million, the lowest in the six-year record. This trajectory correlates with a meaningful decline in total assets from $28.7 million (FY 2021) to $22.6 million (FY 2024), as the endowment — sustained entirely by investment income, with zero external contributions across all years — has faced market headwinds.

Typical grant size: Median $20,000 per award; average $21,916; range from $100 to $110,000 (based on 79 individual grant records). The single largest documented award is $110,000 to Tipping Point Community for general support. Grants exceeding $50,000 are uncommon and typically flow to organizations with multi-year funding relationships. The majority of awards fall in the $10,000–$35,000 range.

Grant volume and geography: The full database records 192 total grants totaling $4.49 million, averaging $23,375 per grant. California organizations receive 77.6% of grants (149 of 192). New York and Washington, D.C. each receive 4.7% (9 grants each), primarily from national grantees such as RAINN ($100,000), Women's Media Center ($100,000), and A Call To Men ($100,000 cumulative).

Program areas by estimated dollar share: Domestic violence and sexual assault services account for approximately 65% of documented grant dollars, covering DV shelters, rape crisis centers, hotlines, and survivor advocacy groups. Birth justice, reproductive equity, and maternal mental health represent roughly 15% (Groundswell Fund, Californians for the Advancement of Midwifery, Postpartum Support International, March for Moms). Systems-involved and foster youth with a gender lens account for ~10% (First Place for Youth, Beyond Emancipation, John Burton Advocates for Youth). Criminal justice reform with a gender lens makes up ~5% (The Bail Project, Community Justice Exchange via Tides Center). General operating support accounts for virtually all grant purposes across every program pillar.

The five peer foundations identified by asset size (all holding approximately $22.6 million in assets in their most recent reported fiscal years) provide scale context for Pinpoint within the private foundation universe. None share Pinpoint's specific programmatic focus on gender-based violence and reproductive justice; these are asset-size comparisons only, as no peer foundation publicly discloses program priorities or annual giving totals.

Pinpoint stands out within this asset-size cohort for its clearly defined, issue-specific programmatic identity — domestic violence, sexual assault, birth justice, and gender equity in California — while peer foundations operate as general-purpose philanthropic vehicles without publicly disclosed program priorities. Pinpoint's invitation-only model is consistent with similarly sized family foundations managed by family officers without dedicated program staff.

For fundraisers seeking comparative context: Pinpoint's median grant of $20,000 and unconditional preference for general operating support position it closer to relationship-based community foundations than to large institutional grantmakers. Organizations seeking grants in the $50,000–$100,000 range should expect to demonstrate at least 2 years of prior engagement with the foundation before a top-tier award.

No public announcements, press releases, or news coverage specific to Pinpoint Foundation were identified for 2025 or 2026. The foundation operates with the discretion typical of uncompensated family foundations of its size and does not maintain a public communications or social media presence.

The most recent publicly documented milestone was a 2022 statement — circulated through grantee communications and foundation database profiles — noting that Pinpoint had distributed over $10 million in flexible financial support since its July 2016 founding, reflecting approximately six years of sustained grantmaking averaging $1.67 million annually to that point.

FY 2022 marked a significant operational inflection: grants paid reached $2.87 million, nearly 70% above the FY 2020 baseline of $1.60 million, before contracting to $1.63 million in FY 2023. This peak period introduced several new grantees, including Mayday Medicines ($50,000), March for Moms Association ($75,000), and contributions of $50,000 to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for the Collaborative for Gender & Reproductive Equity, signaling an intentional expansion into reproductive rights and birth justice philanthropy.

The most recent administrative development is the June 1, 2026 introduction of mandatory multi-factor authentication on the Pacific Foundation Services SmartSimple portal (pfs.smartsimple.us/welcome/Pinpoint/), affecting all users who access the shared portal used for Pinpoint grant management. Foundation leadership — Amanda Peiffer as President and Chris Peiffer as Treasurer & Secretary — has remained unchanged across all six reported fiscal years.

Because Pinpoint operates exclusively by invitation, the standard application cycle does not apply. Accessing this funder requires a relationship-first approach, not an application-first one.

1. Cultivate the network before the ask. Identify 2–3 current Pinpoint grantees in your program area — organizations such as CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse), Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, Tri-Valley Haven for Women, Verity, or Asian Americans for Community Involvement of Santa Clara County — and build genuine peer relationships. A referral from an existing grantee carries far more weight than any direct inquiry.

2. Contact Pacific Foundation Services directly. The managing organization's publicly listed email — ejohansson@pfs-llc.net — is the appropriate first-contact channel. Send a brief inquiry (under 300 words) expressing mission alignment. Include: organization name, EIN, 2-sentence mission description, annual operating budget, geographic service area, and the specific issue area addressed. Do not attach a full proposal or 990 at this stage.

3. Use Pinpoint's exact language. The foundation uses 'birth justice' (not 'maternal health'), 'sexual assault' (not 'rape'), and frames its work around 'the autonomy and dignity of people facing adversity.' Proposals and introductions that use their vocabulary signal genuine alignment and careful preparation.

4. Lead with general operating needs, not program budgets. Pinpoint's entire documented grantmaking record reflects a preference for unrestricted general support. Present your organizational operating budget and let the funder determine where their contribution fits — do not limit the ask to a specific project.

5. Calibrate your initial ask appropriately. For first-time relationships, a request in the $15,000–$25,000 range aligns with the foundation's $20,000 median and is more likely to generate a yes than an outsized first-year ask. Awards above $50,000 are primarily reserved for established multi-year grantees.

6. Plan for a multi-year arc. The top-funded organizations received 3–4 grants over 4–5 years, collectively accumulating $100,000–$192,750. Frame every report and communication as building toward a long-term partnership — not completing a transaction.