Herbert Bearman Foundation

About Herbert Bearman Foundation

The Herbert Bearman Foundation’s largest recent grants center on Baltimore Jewish communal infrastructure: a $255,120 award to The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore for a centennial endowment and annual campaign, followed by another $218,000 grant for the same purpose in 2024. That pattern points to a funder that favors institution-building over short-term project funding. The foundation also backs synagogue and community institutions directly, including a $155,056 grant to Beth El Congregation for synagogue endowment support and a $103,610 grant to Chizuk Amuno Congregation for general purpose use. Its grantmaking extends beyond core Jewish institutions, but usually in ways that support community stability or well-being. Recent awards include support for Jewish Community Services, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, Living Classrooms Foundation, Bridges Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University. The mix shows a preference for organizations that can sustain ongoing services, strengthen community capacity, or anchor long-term communal life. Across the recent grants list, the foundation appears to emphasize enduring operating strength, endowment growth, and unrestricted support rather than narrowly targeted, one-time project grants.

What Herbert Bearman Foundation Funds

A major theme is Jewish communal sustainability in Baltimore. The foundation gave $255,120 to The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore for a centennial endowment and annual campaign, and $155,056 to Beth El Congregation for synagogue endowment support. Those awards align with a broader pattern of funding Jewish institutions that can carry services and operations over time. It also supports community health and clinical work. Johns Hopkins University received $110,000 for community health, while Johns Hopkins Hospital received $100,000 for a Histosonics Edison device and neurology Feldman Lab. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Maryland also received multiple grants for community health. Food security and human services appear as well. American Friends of Leket Israel received $50,000 for hunger relief, and Palm Beach County Food Bank received $45,000 for community health. Beyond that, the foundation has funded education and youth-serving organizations such as Living Classrooms Foundation and Teens With Trauma.

How Herbert Bearman Foundation Gives