Elster Forbes Foundation

About Elster Forbes Foundation

The Elster Forbes Foundation has made repeated $50,000 grants to a small set of national nonprofits, including Mental Health America, Recovery Institute of MGH, and Cure Alzheimer Fund. That pattern points to a funder that backs established organizations working in mental health, addiction recovery, and brain research, rather than broad one-off community giving. The foundation also uses large gifts for humanitarian and food-security work, with UNICEF and Feeding America appearing among its recent recipients. Its stated grant programs focus on mental health services, brain research, advocacy for people with mental illness, and charitable community needs such as disaster aid, homelessness, hunger relief, child welfare, and animal welfare. Recent awards also show support for neurodegenerative disease research through Michael J Fox Foundation and Cure Alzheimer Fund, alongside direct support for crisis response and basic needs. The grant sizes in the recent record suggest a preference for substantial awards, often at the $50,000 level, with some larger gifts reaching $82,000 and $100,000. The recent grant record is concentrated among organizations with national reach and mission-specific programs, rather than a wide mix of local small grants. That makes the foundation’s giving pattern easier to read: it consistently funds a limited set of health and human-services priorities through established charities.

What Elster Forbes Foundation Funds

Mental health is one of the foundation’s clearest priorities. It gave $50,000 to Mental Health America in 2026 to advance the organization’s charitable purposes, and it also supported that group in 2023, 2024, and 2025, including a grant described as curing mental illness. Addiction recovery and clinical research are another thread. Recovery Institute of MGH received $50,000 grants in 2024, 2025, and 2026, with purposes ranging from helping fulfill its charitable missions to advancing organizational purposes. That repeated support points to sustained interest in treatment and recovery work. The foundation also funds brain and neurodegenerative disease research. Cure Alzheimer Fund received $50,000 grants in 2024, 2025, and 2026, with one earlier award described as promoting medical research. Michael J Fox Foundation also appears in the recent record, receiving $82,000 in 2026 and $50,000 in 2025.

How Elster Forbes Foundation Gives