Howard F. Ahmanson, Sr. (1906-1968), who created the Southern California-based savings-and-loan firm H.F. Ahmanson & Co., incorporated the Ahmanson Foundation (along with his wife, Dorothy) in 1952. For many years, Mr. Ahmanson entrusted other members of his family with the day-to-day administration of the Foundation, while he himself worked to increase its assets.

Then, in 1961, Mr. Ahmanson joined the Foundation’s board of trustees and became more personally involved in the distribution of funding. Targeting his philanthropy toward projects and organizations based in Southern California, Ahmanson was a major contributor to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Music Center, the Center for Biological Research at the University of Southern California, and the California Museum of Science and Industry. Upon Ahmanson’s death in 1968, the Foundation’s corpus was augmented by his widow, his nephews Robert and William Ahmanson, and the disposition of Howard Ahmanson’s estate.

The Ahmanson Foundation’s mission, as stated in its articles of incorporation, is “to administer funds for charitable, scientific, educational, literary, and religious purposes, all for the public welfare.” Its grant-making programs are divided into four categories: (a) Arts and Humanities; (b) Health and Medicine; (c) Education; and (d) Human Services. The types of funding support that are common to these areas include: construction and renovations; equipment and furnishings; transportation vehicles; technology and infrastructure; and software, books, and supplies.

The vast majority of the Ahmanson Foundation’s philanthropy is directed toward organizations and institutions that are based in and serving the greater Los Angeles community. Among the Foundation’s more noteworthy grantees are the Center for Community Change, the Greenlining Institute, Human Rights Watch, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Public Radio, Planned Parenthood, the Urban Institute, and World Vision International. To view a list of additional Ahmanson grantees, click here.

Further Reading: Ahmanson Foundation Website (“History”; “Mission”; “Grant Guidelines”).