In less than one year, the Foundation has strengthened 235 Orange County nonprofits by investing $32 million in often unseen and underfunded community needs

The Samueli Foundation today announced its 2026 class of Breakaway and Build OC Fund grants, awarding $15 million to 89 Orange County-serving nonprofit organizations. While the grants reach into every corner of the County and cover a wide range of requests – some wildly creative, some seemingly mundane – they share a common purpose: investing in the behind-the-scenes people, systems and spaces that allow nonprofits to do well by doing more and from a position of organizational strength. 

The year’s grants showcase ideas that bring assistance directly into neighborhoods; transportation that helps seniors, children and adults with disabilities stay connected to care, school and community; technology and robotics education that expands learning opportunities; leadership development and organizational improvements that prevent pervasive talent burnout and brain drain; and housing and community facilities that provide safety, stability and opportunity for Orange County’s most vulnerable residents. A sampling of these includes: 

• Access to specialized accounting or technology consultants to improve organizational excellence 
• Mobile maker labs that bring hands-on STEM learning to children and mobile dental clinics that match 100% volunteer dental expertise with harder-to-reach patients in need
• Cameras that capture farmhouse animals in action and stream that footage to children enduring long hospital stays – delivering much-needed joy and distraction 
• Additional cognitive screening devices enabling early detection, risk stratification, and timely intervention for seniors across our community
• Outrigger canoes to provide therapeutic, on-water experiences for veterans with PTSD
• Building of ADU units for survivors of domestic violence 
• Roof repairs that will safeguard kitchens used to prepare meals for homebound seniors

Since announcing the Breakaway and Build OC inaugural grants in Fall 2025, the Samueli Foundation has awarded $32 million to 235 nonprofit organizations in just nine months – a record-setting pace for the main philanthropic vehicle founded by Henry and Susan Samueli. The Foundation completed this work in addition to its other core grantmaking, which exceeded $130 million in 2025 and is on pace to reach over $180 million in 2026.

“A beautiful home will crumble without proper investments in its plumbing and infrastructure; the same is true in the nonprofit sector,” said Lindsey Spindle, president of the Samueli Family Philanthropies. “Our nonprofits show up for Orange County’s most vulnerable, even when their own operations suffer from underinvestment. And so, our community funds are designed to show up for the nonprofits in hopes of addressing critical needs that many funders can’t, won’t, or haven’t yet funded. Behind every successful nonprofit program are the people, technology, vehicles, facilities, and operational support that make the work possible. Our open call funds exist to cover these necessities.”

Investing in What Makes Impact Possible

Many philanthropic grants are restricted to program delivery. The Samueli Foundation established the Breakaway and Build OC Funds in May 2025 following insights gleaned from research they commissioned earlier that year. The research showed significant gaps in investments that often receive the least attention, but that make everything else possible – including less sexy capital projects such as renovations and repairs, or upgrades to technology that enable smoother response to community need. 

Breakaway Fund grants (one-time unrestricted payments between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000) strengthen nonprofit capacity by paying for “systems and stuff,” “leadership development,” and “outside expertise.” Larger dollar Build OC Fund grants invest in the physical places where communities receive care and support. Laced together, the two funds recognize that stronger nonprofits require more than program funding—they also need the operational and capital investments that allow their missions to grow and endure.

 The 2026 Grant Cycle

The breadth of applications – 1,108 applications received requesting more than $263 million – underscores the scale of community need and the importance of flexible funding. In 2026, the Samueli Foundation:

• REVIEWED 1,108 applications in less than eight weeks
• AWARDED $15 million 
  • $5 million through the Breakaway Fund
  • $10 million through the Build OC Fund
• FUNDED 89 nonprofit organizations
  • 67 Breakaway Fund grants
  • 22 Build OC Fund grants
  • 63% of recipients are first-time Samueli Foundation grantees

The 2026 open call cycle opened March 1, and all grants will be paid by the beginning of August – essentially a five-month timeline. “We commit to a simple application, dignified reviews and, most importantly, speedy payments,” said Spindle. “Our trust-based system allows us to move at the speed of demand. Good intentions don’t pay for urgent needs or time-sensitive repairs, but our Community Fund grants do.” 

 2025-2026 Cumulative Grantmaking

• Breakaway Fund: 205 recipients receiving $16.06 million
• Build OC Fund: 30 recipients receiving $16 million
• Total: 235 projects over $32 million

In Service of Good Citizenship and Extended Impact 

The Samueli Foundation immediately saw overwhelming need, expressed by the volume of excellent proposals and broader philanthropic interest in being a part of the local solution, but apprehension about how best to plug in. Starting last year, the Foundation piloted the development of an AI-powered platform called The Community Funds Connector Tool to address the pool of high-quality, unfunded proposals and other funders’ requests for help. The Connector Tool allows funders of all means to quickly search through a vault of vetted proposals and choose ones that align with their personal interests, such as a particular topic or Orange County city. 

The Irvine-based Sun Family Foundation chose to immediately leverage the Connector Tool, investing an additional $1.5 million alongside the Samueli Foundation in organizations that applied through this year’s Breakaway and Build Funds. In 2025, the Sun Family Foundation and Orange County Community Foundation both utilized the Connector Tool to select applications and collectively invest more than $2.6 million in nonprofit needs.

“Why duplicate efforts or be proprietary with our work when we can share in service of encouraging more generosity?” said Spindle. “These partnerships show how philanthropists can efficiently draft off each other, accelerating local giving and directing more resources to Orange County nonprofits. We are deeply grateful to partners like the Sun Family Foundation who put their trust in our process and welcome any other funders to try out our Connector Tool if they are looking for shovel-ready, fast ways to give locally.” 

Later this year, the Samueli Foundation will announce the results of its inaugural OC+ Fund, a separate open-call fund designed to make nonprofit collaboration easier and more sustainable. Strong demand in the fund’s first year underscored nonprofits’ eagerness to deepen existing partnerships and pursue new opportunities to work together.“

The Foundation will continue to provide updates on future funding opportunities at Samueli.org/for-grantseekers. To learn more about the Breakaway and Build OC Funds, visit Samueli.org/for-grantseekers/.

About Samueli Foundation

The Samueli Foundation’s mission is to make Orange County, California, a vibrant mosaic of community well-being. We support and unite catalytic forces whose innovations yield a high quality of life for everyone. The Foundation works closely with the constellation of Samueli Family-backed for-profit and nonprofit organizations to ensure that giving back to the community is central to everything they do. These include the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, the San Diego Gulls Foundation, the Irvine Ice Foundation, The Rinks Foundation, and OC Sports & Entertainment, which oversees the family’s sports and entertainment assets, including the Anaheim Ducks, the San Diego Gulls and the Honda Center.

Over the last 25 years, the Samueli Family, through its various entities, has contributed more than $1 billion in charitable grants.