The Max and Selma Kupferberg Family Foundation concentrates large, targeted gifts to cultural, medical-support, and community institutions—primarily in Queens/NYC—favoring arts programming, capital projects, and operational/endowment support. They make multi-year, repeat grants to a small set of organizations that advance performing arts at Queens College, expand public horticulture and education at the Queens Botanical Garden, and provide patient air-transport services for medical needs.
The Max and Selma Kupferberg Family Foundation repeatedly backs Queens institutions with multi-year gifts that support arts programming, public gardens, and patient air-transport services. A defining example is its ongoing support for Queens College Foundation Inc, which received $175,000 in 2023 for the Kupferberg Center for the Arts and curriculum development tied to in-school artist residencies, another $175,000 in 2024 for schooltime performances and free tickets for low-income Queens public schools, and $175,000 in 2025 for performance series, endowment support, programming, and general operations. The foundation also gives sustained support to Patient Airlift Services in Farmingdale, including unrestricted grants of $80,000 in 2023 and $75,000 in both 2024 and 2025, plus additional event and capital support. Queens Botanical Garden Society Inc is another recurring recipient, with annual support for its Education Center Project and related giving over multiple years. Across the recent grants, the foundation favors named institutions over broad open calls and often combines program support with unrestricted, capital, and endowment funding.
In arts education, the foundation gave $175,000 in 2024 to Queens College Foundation Inc for the Revelations Schooltime Performance Series, including free tickets for low-income Queens public schools and students in grades PreK-12. In 2023, it gave the same recipient $175,000 for the Kupferberg Center for the Arts and the adaptation and development of The Mosaic Project curriculum for in-school artist residencies in Middle School 210. For community arts presentation, it supported the Louis Armstrong House Museum with $10,000 in 2023 for a charitable event and $10,000 in 2024 and 2025 for general support. The foundation also funds health-related and community-service work. Patient Airlift Services received unrestricted support in multiple years, along with a 2024 capital campaign grant. In a youth and family-services context, Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services Inc received $10,000 in 2023, and Ramapo for Children Inc received scholarship support for developmentally disabled campers in 2023 and 2024.
Typical grants are small in the lower end of the portfolio, with a p25 of $1,375, a median of $3,000, and a p75 of $5,000. The distribution coexists with a separate set of larger, repeated institutional awards, especially to a few Queens-based organizations. The grant list shows recurring support across 2023, 2024, and 2025 rather than one-off gifts. The foundation is a family foundation, and it funds individuals as well as institutions. The recent grants do not indicate an open application process.
$450K
$7.5M
$655K
$536K
Most grants fall between $1K and $5K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$5K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Concentrated, high-dollar giving to a small set of repeat grantees; multiple multi-year grants per organization focusing on program support, capital/endowment, and general operating funding rather than many small awards.
Notable grantees: Queens College Foundation Inc. (Kupferberg Center for the Arts), Patient Airlift Services, Queens Botanical Garden Society Inc.
Giving is national by scope, but the grant list is overwhelmingly New York-centered. Queens recipients appear often, including Flushing, Farmingdale, Corona, Jamaica, and New York City. Outside New York, Boston appears more than once through awards to institutions there, while Rhinebeck also appears in the recent grants. The recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, with 93 grants and 100.0% in the United States.
Recent grants favor Queens and New York cultural institutions, patient transport services, and community organizations. Recipients include Queens College Foundation Inc for arts education and performances, Patient Airlift Services for unrestricted and capital support, and Queens Botanical Garden Society Inc for its Education Center Project and related support.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years. Queens College Foundation Inc received major grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Patient Airlift Services was funded in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Queens Botanical Garden Society Inc appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025 as well.
The typical grant size is small: p25 is $1,375, median is $3,000, and p75 is $5,000. At the same time, the foundation also makes larger institutional grants, including $175,000 awards to Queens College Foundation Inc.
No. The foundation’s headquarters are in Wilmington, DE, but its giving is national and concentrated in New York. The recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, and New York is the top state by grant count.
Arts education and performance, public horticulture education, patient air transport, and community arts programming are all visible in the recent grants. Examples include schooltime performances and artist residencies at Queens College Foundation Inc, the Education Center Project at Queens Botanical Garden Society Inc, and unrestricted support for Patient Airlift Services.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QUEENS COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC | FLUSHING, NY | $225,000 | 2026 | School Time Performance Series Fund, Max and Selma Kupferberg Program Endowment Fund, Programming support, General Operating support, Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series Fund, and Queens Rising Fund |
| PATIENT AIRLIFT SERVICES | FARMINGDALE, NY | $85,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC | FLUSHING, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | Education Center Project |
| HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY | BOSTON, MA | $30,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM | CORONA, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| CALVARY HOSPITAL INC | BRONX, NY | $8,500 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| RAMAPO FOR CHILDREN INC | RHINEBECK, NY | $6,000 | 2026 | Scholarship Fund for developmentally disabled campers |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC | BROOKLYN, NY | $6,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS INC | BOSTON, MA | $6,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $5,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| FOOTSTEPS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $3,500 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR RARE DISORDERS INC | WOBURN, MA | $3,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SERVICE COMMITTEE INC | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $2,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| CENTER FOR BOOKS ARTS INCORPORATED 1974 | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE | MONTGOMERY, AL | $1,500 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC | MONTGOMERY, AL | $1,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC | NEWTON, MA | $1,000 | 2026 | WUMB Radio at the University of Massachusetts, Boston |
| HIAS INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $1,000 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| THE NATIONAL ADRENAL DISEASES FOUNDATION INC | NEWTON, MA | $750 | 2026 | General & Unrestricted |
| QUEENS COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC | FLUSHING, NY | $175,000 | 2025 | The Kupferberg Center for the Arts: Schooltime Performance Series, Max and Selma Kupferberg Program Endowment, Programming Support, General Operating Support, Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series, and for Queens Rising |
| PATIENT AIRLIFT SERVICES | FARMINGDALE, NY | $75,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC | FLUSHING, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | Education Center Project |
| HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY | BOSTON, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM | CORONA, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| CALVARY HOSPITAL INC | BRONX, NY | $8,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC | FLUSHING, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | Charitable Event |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| PATIENT AIRLIFT SERVICES | FARMINGDALE, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | Capital Campaign |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS INC | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| RAMAPO FOR CHILDREN INC | RHINEBECK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | Scholarship Fund for developmentally disabled campers |
| PATIENT AIRLIFT SERVICES | FARMINGDALE, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | Charitable Event |
| QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC | FLUSHING, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $3,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| FOOTSTEPS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $3,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR RARE DISORDERS INC | WOBURN, MA | $3,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SERVICE COMMITTEE INC | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $2,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| THE NATIONAL ADRENAL DISEASES FOUNDATION INC | NEWTON, MA | $2,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| CENTER FOR BOOKS ARTS INCORPORATED 1974 | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION | BOSTON, MA | $1,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE | MONTGOMERY, AL | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC | MONTGOMERY, AL | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION INC | NEWTON, MA | $1,000 | 2025 | WUMB Radio Fund |
| HIAS INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $750 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| MUSEUM OF SCIENCE | BOSTON, MA | $750 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION INC | MADISON, WI | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| BELMONT CHILD CARE ASSOCIATION INC | ELMONT, NY | $500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
School Time Performance Series Fund, Max and Selma Kupferberg Program Endowment Fund, Programming support, General Operating support, Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series Fund, and Queens Rising Fund
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY
$30,000General & Unrestricted
General & Unrestricted
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC
$6,000General & Unrestricted
CENTER FOR BOOKS ARTS INCORPORATED 1974
$2,000General & Unrestricted
WUMB Radio at the University of Massachusetts, Boston
THE NATIONAL ADRENAL DISEASES FOUNDATION INC
$750General & Unrestricted
The Kupferberg Center for the Arts: Schooltime Performance Series, Max and Selma Kupferberg Program Endowment, Programming Support, General Operating Support, Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series, and for Queens Rising
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY
$25,000General & Unrestricted
CALVARY HOSPITAL INC
$8,500General & Unrestricted
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK INC
$5,000General & Unrestricted
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA INC
$3,500General & Unrestricted
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR RARE DISORDERS INC
$3,000General & Unrestricted
THE NATIONAL ADRENAL DISEASES FOUNDATION INC
$2,000General & Unrestricted
CENTER FOR BOOKS ARTS INCORPORATED 1974
$2,000General & Unrestricted