About Jerome Levy Foundation
The Jerome Levy Foundation concentrates large, targeted grants to higher education and research institutions in New York, with recurring multi-year support for both private (Barnard College) and public (City College) campus initiatives. Its portfolio also includes strategic grants to policy/innovation intermediaries and Jewish communal life, showing a mix of project, operating and endowment funding rather than many small gifts. The foundation favors significant, mission-focused investments that sustain institutions and specific programs rather than broad, grassroots giving.
Focus Areas
Undergraduate women's liberal arts education (Barnard College)Public urban higher education initiatives (The Foundation for City College/CUNY)Scientific research capacity-building (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)Philanthropic intermediaries and policy/innovation funding (New Venture Fund)Jewish congregational endowment and communal support (Congregation Shir Shalom)
Giving Approach
Concentrated, high-dollar grants to a small set of repeat grantees (multiple multi-grant commitments per organization), mixing project and operating support alongside occasional endowment gifts; few total recipients but large per-grant amounts.
Funding Style
About Jerome Levy Foundation
A defining feature of Jerome Levy Foundation’s recent grantmaking is the repeated seven-figure support for Barnard College and The Foundation for City College, showing a sustained commitment to New York higher education rather than one-off gifts. Those awards sit alongside additional funding for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which points to a parallel interest in research capacity. The foundation also backs Jewish communal and cultural life through grants to Congregation Shir Shalom and The Bridge Fund of New York, and it has made larger support available to policy and advocacy intermediaries such as New Venture Fund and Academic Engagement Network. Across these grants, the foundation uses project support, operating support, and endowment support, with some awards described broadly as furthering the donee’s exempt purpose. Recent individual grants also appear in the record, including an educational grant to Kristin Johnson and the Moynihan Center Public Service Fellows program in New York City. Taken together, the pattern is one of targeted, institution-focused funding for higher education, research, and selected cultural or civic organizations.
What Jerome Levy Foundation Funds
In undergraduate education, Jerome Levy Foundation backed Barnard College with $1,006,280 in 2025 and $916,000 in 2024, both tied to the college’s exempt purpose or project support. Public higher education also appears prominently: The Foundation for City College received $880,062 in 2025 and $840,435 in 2024, again through project support or exempt-purpose grants. Scientific research shows up through a $500,000 grant to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 2023. The foundation also funds civic and policy work, including $150,000 to Academic Engagement Network in 2025 for operating support. In Jewish communal life, Congregation Shir Shalom received $250,000 in 2025 as endowment support, reflecting a long-term financial-stability orientation in that area.
How Jerome Levy Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster in a wide band, with a 25th percentile of $12,500, a median of $30,000, and a 75th percentile of $250,000. The distribution shows a few very large institutional awards alongside many smaller grants. Several recipients recur across multiple years, including Barnard College, The Foundation for City College, New Venture Fund, Congregation Shir Shalom, The Jed Foundation, United Way of Westchester & Putnam, The Bridge Fund of New York Inc, Westchester Land Trust Inc, and Westport Country Playhouse. Jerome Levy Foundation is an operating, project, and endowment funder, and it funds individuals as well as organizations. The active grants information says grantmaking is invitation-only and that unsolicited proposals or letters of inquiry are not accepted.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.6M
Total Assets
$43.6M
Total Revenue
$1.2M
Total Expenses
$3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $13K and $250K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$13K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$250K
Geographic Reach
Regional4 states funded
About 68% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Jerome Levy Foundation Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Jerome Levy Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 33 | $7.7M | 97.1% |
| 2 | Bahamas | 1 | $54K |
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