Potential Grantmakers and Funding Channels for Balboa Park’s Sustainability and Revitalization

The Sage Project and the Spring 2023 class of RWS 507 Professional Writing for Nonprofit Organizations were commissioned by a private citizen to research and identify potential funding sources for renovations and improvements to Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The purpose of this report is to organize and consolidate our findings into a comprehensive summary that addresses this initial request to identify targeted funding opportunities. Grantmakers were identified using nonprofit databases with advanced search capabilities. Boolean type search parameters were used to narrow results based on keywords, geographic locations, and grant type. Results were then cross-checked to ensure compatibility with Balboa Park initiatives, as outlined in the 1989 Balboa Park Master Plan and the Burnham Center for Community Advancement’s “Preparing for Balboa Park’s Next 100 Years” (Burnham Center for Community Advancement), and application requirement constraints. Potential grantmakers have been identified and organized by the following funding focus areas: Community, Cultural Preservation, Infrastructure and Transportation, and Environmental. We found five Community-Focused opportunities with a potential $1,685,000 in funding, four Cultural Preservation-Focused opportunities with a potential total of $760,000 in funding, six Infrastructure and Transportation-Focused opportunities with a potential total of $955,000 in funding, and four Environmental Preservation-Focused opportunities with a potential total of $9,500,000 in funding.