About Maher Charitable Foundation
The Maher Charitable Foundation focuses most of its giving on urban community-strengthening and educational advancement in New Jersey, particularly supporting neighborhood-level human services and higher-education programs. Grants are directed toward direct service organizations that serve vulnerable city residents (street outreach, community action) and toward university-based education initiatives and fellowships that build capacity and leadership. The foundation tends to make a small number of sizable grants, often repeating support to the same organizations.
Focus Areas
Neighborhood-based community action and social services in urban NJ (e.g., Clinton Hill Community Action)University-affiliated education programs and research—early childhood and graduate education (Rutgers NIEER & GSE)Street outreach and youth/peer engagement programs for vulnerable populations (Newark Street Team)Fellowships and leadership development for scholars and civic leaders (Institute for Citizens and Scholars)
Who They Fund
Newark residents / Newark-focused organizationsyouth and young adults (including summer workers)
About Maher Charitable Foundation
A defining thread in Maher Charitable Foundation’s grantmaking is its sustained support for Newark neighborhood organizations, especially Clinton Hill Community Action, which received $975,000 in 2025 after earlier awards of $477,500 in 2023 and $475,000 in 2024. That pattern points to a funder that backs place-based work over time rather than making isolated awards. The foundation’s giving also extends to university-linked education and civic-leadership efforts, including Rutgers University Foundation and the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. Across the recent grants list, the foundation appears to fund a mix of community development, early childhood infrastructure, youth engagement, advocacy, and fellowship-based capacity building. Its grants include both direct program support and investments tied to specific initiatives, such as Newark-based community action, early learning, and civic engagement. The overall picture is of a New Jersey-focused funder using comparatively large grants to support neighborhood organizations, education partners, and statewide intermediaries that connect resources to local needs. The recurring support to the same organizations suggests long-running relationships with grantees working in Newark and across the state.
What Maher Charitable Foundation Funds
In neighborhood-based community action, Maher Charitable Foundation backed Clinton Hill Community Action with a $475,000 grant in 2024 for program support, alongside support for other Newark community-serving organizations. It also funded Newark Street Team with $250,000 in 2024 for program support, and earlier gave Newark Community Street Team $150,000 in 2023 for the Newark Stays Eviction Prevention Program. Early childhood education is another clear line of work: Rutgers University Foundation received $180,000 in 2023 for NIEER & GSE, linking the foundation to education research and graduate-level capacity. The foundation also supported advocacy for pre-K expansion through Advocates For Children of NJ, which received $100,000 in 2024 and again in 2025. Civic learning and fellowships show up through Institute for Citizens and Scholars, which received $250,000 in 2025 and $215,000 in 2024 for program support.
How Maher Charitable Foundation Gives
Maher Charitable Foundation’s recent grants cluster around a median size of $65,000, with a lower quartile of $10,000 and an upper quartile of $131,050. The pattern includes several larger, repeated awards rather than many small ones. Recipients often appear across multiple years, including Newark-area nonprofits and university-linked partners, which signals ongoing relationships. The foundation is a regular funder, not an individual-giving vehicle, and it also makes program-related investments. The recent record shows no solicitation-based pattern in the active programs listed, and several of those programs are marked as not accepting unsolicited requests.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2M
Total Assets
$17M
Total Revenue
$2.6M
Total Expenses
$2.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $131K, with a median of $65K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$65K
75th Percentile
$131K
Geographic Reach
Local4 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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