The Lawrence M Gelb Foundation concentrates its giving on direct public assistance delivered through a single, NYC-based youth services organization. Its funding pattern shows sizable, repeated investments in community-based youth development and support programs, indicating a focused, local philanthropy rather than broad national grantmaking.
Highly concentrated support: a small number of relatively large, repeat grants directed to a single local grantee (Madison Square Boys & Girls Club).
Lawrence M Gelb Foundation Inc C/o Sharron Norman gave $295,000 in 2024 to Madison Square Boys & Girls Club for public assistance, the largest recent grant on file and the clearest signal of its priorities. Across the latest grants, the foundation’s support is concentrated in youth services, especially community-based programs in New York, alongside a smaller set of gifts to arts, education, religion, environmental, and civic institutions. The pattern points to a local grantmaker that uses mostly modest awards, but makes at least one very large annual commitment to a single youth-serving organization. The recent record also shows a repeat grant to Madison Square Boys & Girls Club in 2023, suggesting ongoing support rather than one-time funding. Other grants in the file include contributions to the Diplomacy Center Foundation in Washington, DC and several New York institutions, which places the foundation’s giving within a narrow regional frame rather than a broad national portfolio. Its overall grant volume for the year on file is $364,500, with most recipient organizations located in New York.
Youth development is the foundation’s clearest funding area. It supported Madison Square Boys & Girls Club with $295,000 in 2024 and another $50,000 in 2023, both coded as public assistance. The recent grants also include $1,000 to New York Youth Symophony, which shows support for youth-oriented programming beyond direct social services. The foundation also makes smaller gifts across civic and cultural categories. It gave $10,000 to Diplomacy Center Foundation for a general contribution, $2,800 to Metropolitan Opera for arts, and $1,000 to Cosmopolitian Club for educational work. Additional support went to Church of the Heavenly Rest and Music Mountain, showing that the foundation’s giving reaches beyond one organization while staying within a limited set of institutions and purposes.
Typical grants are small: the p25 grant size is $850, the median is $1,750, and the p75 is $8,200. The recent file, however, includes one very large outlier tied to youth services, which is consistent with a pattern of concentrated support alongside many modest awards. Madison Square Boys & Girls Club appears in both 2023 and 2024, indicating recurring support rather than a single-year gift. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. The grant record is structured as general contribution, public assistance, educational, arts, religious, and environmental support rather than a formal open-application process.
$40K
$849K
$75K
$65K
Most grants fall between $850 and $8K, with a median of $2K.
25th Percentile
$850
Median
$2K
75th Percentile
$8K
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Notable grantees: Madison Square Boys & Girls Club
The foundation gives regionally, with 70% of grants going to recipients in New York. New York, NY is the most common city in the recent grants list, including Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Metropolitan Opera, Church of the Heavenly Rest, Cosmopolitian Club, New York Youth Symophony, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Washington, DC appears through the Diplomacy Center Foundation, while smaller awards also reached Falls Village, CT and Sheffield, MA. All recent grants in the file went to US recipients.
The recent grants point to youth development and direct public assistance as the strongest emphasis, led by repeated support for Madison Square Boys & Girls Club. Smaller grants also show activity in arts, education, religion, environmental giving, and civic or general contribution support.
Yes. Madison Square Boys & Girls Club received $50,000 in 2023 and $295,000 in 2024. That two-year pattern shows recurring support rather than a one-time award.
The foundation’s grant-size distribution is small relative to its largest award: p25 is $850, the median is $1,750, and p75 is $8,200. Most recent grants fall in the low-thousands, with one major exception for youth services.
Recipients in New York account for 70% of grants. The recent record is especially concentrated in New York, NY, with additional grants in Washington, DC, Falls Village, CT, and Sheffield, MA.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MADISON SQUARE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE |
| MADISON SQUARE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE |
| MADISON SQUARE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $60,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE |
| TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION | STATEN ISLAND, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL CONTRIBUTION |
| METROPOLITAN OPERA | NEW YORK, NY | $2,800 | 2025 | ARTS |
| CHURCH OF THE HEAVENLY REST | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2025 | RELIGIOUS |
| STRATTON FOUNDATION | STRATTON MOUNTAIN, VT | $1,500 | 2025 | GENERAL CONTRIBUTION |
| SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST | SHEFFIELD, MA | $1,000 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| MUSIC MOUNTAIN | FALLS VILLAGE, CT | $1,000 | 2025 | ARTS |
| NEW YORK YOUTH SYMOPHONY | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2025 | ARTS |
| 122 EAST 66TH STREET FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2025 | GENERAL CONTRIBUTION |
| METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART | NEW YORK, NY | $600 | 2025 | ARTS |
| MADISON SQUARE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $295,000 | 2024 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE |
| METROPOLITAN OPERA | NEW YORK, NY | $2,800 | 2024 | ARTS |
| CHURCH OF THE HEAVENLY REST | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2024 | RELIGIOUS |
| COSMOPOLITIAN CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| NEW YORK YOUTH SYMOPHONY | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2024 | ARTS |
| SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST | SHEFFIELD, MA | $800 | 2024 | ENVIRONMENTAL |
| MUSIC MOUNTAIN | FALLS VILLAGE, CT | $800 | 2024 | ARTS |
| METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART | NEW YORK, NY | $600 | 2024 | ARTS |
| MADISON SQUARE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2023 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE |
| DIPLOMACY CENTER FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL CONTRIBUTION |
METROPOLITAN OPERA
$2,800ARTS
CHURCH OF THE HEAVENLY REST
$1,500RELIGIOUS
STRATTON FOUNDATION
$1,500GENERAL CONTRIBUTION
SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST
$1,000ENVIRONMENTAL
MUSIC MOUNTAIN
$1,000ARTS
122 EAST 66TH STREET FOUNDATION
$1,000GENERAL CONTRIBUTION
METROPOLITAN OPERA
$2,800ARTS
CHURCH OF THE HEAVENLY REST
$2,500RELIGIOUS
COSMOPOLITIAN CLUB
$1,000EDUCATIONAL
SHEFFIELD LAND TRUST
$800ENVIRONMENTAL
MUSIC MOUNTAIN
$800ARTS
DIPLOMACY CENTER FOUNDATION
$10,000GENERAL CONTRIBUTION