Nonprofits in San Luis Obispo, CA

501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations — IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File (2026-02)

Overview

Source: IRS Exempt Organizations BMF

Total Nonprofits

44

Total Assets

$813.9M

Orgs with >$1M Assets

8

Per 10K Residents

9.2

nonprofits

-81.4% vs 25K-50K avg

Nonprofits by Category

Source: IRS / NTEE Classification
Arts & Culture
9
Education
6
Religion
4
Environment
3
Health Care
2
Recreation & Sports
2
Philanthropy
2
Crime & Legal
1
Employment
1
Food & Agriculture
1
Youth Development
1
Human Services
1
Community Improvement
1

Nonprofits per 10K Residents vs Similar Cities

Source: IRS BMF + Census ACS

Compared to cities with population 25,000 - 50,000

Largest Nonprofits in San Luis Obispo

Source: IRS Exempt Organizations BMF
OrganizationCategoryAssetsIncomeEst.
CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONEducation$437.0M$87.8M2006
CAL POLY CORPORATIONEducation$352.7M$163.5M1942
ASSOCIATED STUDENTS INCEducation$12.1M$22.9M1947
CENTRAL COAST PERFORMING ARTS CENTER COMMISSIONArts & Culture$3.3M$3.2M1995
HOURGLASS PROJECTEmployment$2.0M$2.5M2019
THE BROWN FAMILY FOUNDATIONPhilanthropy$1.7M$1.6M1998
CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION$1.1M$169K1969
EAGLE CHARITABLE TRUSTReligion$1.0M$153K2002
POINT SAN LUIS LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERSArts & Culture$792K$345K1995
WESTERN FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS INC$565K$301K1972
PEOPLE KITCHEN$294K$34K1985
CIVIC BALLET OF SAN LUIS OBISPO INC$226K$279K1979
LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATIONEducation$211K$324K2021
YTT NORTHERN CHUMASH NONPROFITArts & Culture$202K$195K2011
SAN LUIS OBISPO SOCCER CLUBRecreation & Sports$177K$674K1998
SLOW MONEY SAN LUIS OBISPOFood & Agriculture$172K$846K2017
HILLEL THE FOUNDATION FOR JEWISH CAMPUS LIFEReligion$127K$225K1993
SLO CLIMATE COALITIONEnvironment$111K$427K2024
MOVEMENT ARTS COLLECTIVE INCArts & Culture$69K$99K2018
MUSTANG WRESTLING FOUNDATIONRecreation & Sports$52K$153K2019
KIWANIS CLUB OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FOUNDATIONYouth Development$29K$5K2017
HYDROFATHOM CORPORATIONEnvironment$0$02024
CHINESE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP ALUMNI FOUNDATIONReligion$0$02009
CENTAL COAST LEATHERNECK HONOR GUARDArts & Culture$0$02017
CENTRAL COAST CHINESE ASSOCIATIONArts & Culture$0$02016
NATIVE NUCLEAREducation$0$02024
CALIFORNIA PILOTS ASSOCIATION$0$01986
BOARDS OVER BORDERS INCPhilanthropy$0$02016
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS$0$01986
BLACK AND GOLD BOOSTER CLUBEducation$0$01989
GREEN CAR INSTITUTEEnvironment$0$01999
WONHEARTArts & Culture$0$02011
DREAM MAKERS SLOHealth Care$0$02016
SPACE SALOONArts & Culture$0$02018
SHARE THE LOVE FOUNDATIONCommunity Improvement$0$02019
NEXT FOUNDATION INCHuman Services$0$02022
FAMILY COURT AWARENESS MONTHCrime & Legal$0$02022
CENTRAL COAST COMEDY THEATERArts & Culture$0$02024

San Luis Obispo, CA has 44 registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with combined assets of $813.9M. The most common category is Arts, Culture & Humanities, with 9 organizations. 8 nonprofits have assets exceeding $1 million. That works out to 9.2 nonprofits per 10,000 residents. The oldest active nonprofit dates back to 1942.