The Michele & David Mittelman Family Foundation concentrates its philanthropic dollars on a very small number of high-impact gifts, with the vast majority directed to higher education general support and a secondary interest in cancer fundraising. Its giving is regionally tied to New England institutions (large gift to Middlebury College) and to prominent local fundraising efforts for medical research (Pan-Mass Challenge).
Highly concentrated giving: very few grants per year with one very large, unrestricted gift to a single educational institution and occasional smaller, program/event-specific grants to prominent regional nonprofits.
A $3,000,000 general-support grant to Americans for Oxford Inc. is the largest recent gift from the Michele & David Mittelman Family Foundation, and it captures the foundation’s pattern of making very large, unrestricted awards to a small set of institutions. The foundation’s recent grants are concentrated in higher education and related institutional support, with Columbia University receiving another seven-figure-scale award in the same period and Middlebury College receiving a major general-education gift in an earlier year. That mix points to a funder that favors core operating support over project-specific awards. The foundation also funds medical fundraising tied to cancer research through Pan-Mass Challenge, alongside grants to education-linked organizations such as the University of Oxford North American Office and the Maria Mitchell Association. Its giving is regionally focused and tied to institutions in the Northeast, with Boston-area and New York recipients appearing repeatedly in the recent record. Across the grants listed here, the foundation’s role is that of a significant institutional supporter rather than a broad, open-call grantmaker.
Education is the clearest theme in the foundation’s grant record. It gave $2,000,000 to Middlebury College for general support in 2024, and a separate $709,290 general-support grant to Columbia University in 2026. A third Columbia award, $68,783 to the Department of Astronomy, shows support that can reach both university-wide and department-level purposes. The foundation also backs organizations connected to Oxford. It granted $3,000,000 to Americans for Oxford Inc. for general support and $120,000 to the University of Oxford North American Office for general support. Beyond higher education, the foundation made a $250,000 general-support grant to Pan-Mass Challenge in Brookline, Massachusetts, reflecting a second line of giving tied to cancer fundraising. The Maria Mitchell Association received $25,000 for general support in Nantucket.
Typical grant size sits at $68,783 at the 25th percentile, $120,000 at the median, and $206,605 at the 75th percentile, with a few much larger awards pushing the top end. The record points to a small-number, high-dollar approach: several of the listed grantees receive general support rather than restricted project funding. The foundation appears to fund the same institutions across multiple years, including Pan-Mass Challenge in both 2023 and 2026 and Columbia University in two separate 2023 and 2026 grants. The organization does not fund individuals and makes no program-related investments.
$4M
$8.8M
$573K
$4M
Most grants fall between $69K and $207K, with a median of $120K.
25th Percentile
$69K
Median
$120K
75th Percentile
$207K
About 38% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Notable grantees: Middlebury College, Pan-Mass Challenge
Grantmaking is regional and overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with 100% of the listed grants going to U.S. recipients. New York is the top state by grant count, and Massachusetts also receives repeated support, including Brookline and Nantucket. New York City appears several times through grants to Americans for Oxford Inc., Columbia University, and the University of Oxford North American Office. Vermont appears through Middlebury College in Middlebury, while Massachusetts recipients include Pan-Mass Challenge in Brookline and the Maria Mitchell Association in Nantucket.
Its recent grants are centered on higher education and education-related institutions, with general support to organizations such as Americans for Oxford Inc., Columbia University, Middlebury College, and the University of Oxford North American Office. It also funds cancer fundraising through Pan-Mass Challenge and has supported the Maria Mitchell Association.
The grant-size distribution is relatively high: the 25th percentile is $68,783, the median is $120,000, and the 75th percentile is $206,605. The recent record also includes larger outliers, including a $3,000,000 grant and a $2,000,000 grant.
Yes. Pan-Mass Challenge appears in both 2023 and 2026, and Columbia University also appears more than once across the recent grant record. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards only.
New York is the top state by grant count, while Massachusetts also receives a substantial share of grants. The listed recipient cities include New York, Brookline, Nantucket, and Middlebury, showing a regional pattern rather than a single-city focus.
The listed grants are mostly general support. Recent examples include general support for Americans for Oxford Inc., Columbia University, Middlebury College, Pan-Mass Challenge, the University of Oxford North American Office, Columbia University’s Department of Astronomy, and the Maria Mitchell Association.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC | NEW YORK, NY | $3,000,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $709,290 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PAN-MASS CHALLENGE | BROOKLINE, MA | $250,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE | MIDDLEBURY, VT | $1,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT - EDUCATION |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $364,276 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PAN-MASS CHALLENGE | BROOKLINE, MA | $250,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE | MIDDLEBURY, VT | $2,000,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT - EDUCATION |
| PAN-MASS CHALLENGE | BROOKLINE, MA | $206,605 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD NORTH AMERICAN OFFICE | NEW YORK, NY | $120,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY | NEW YORK, NY | $68,783 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION | NANTUCKET, MA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
$709,290GENERAL SUPPORT
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
$364,276GENERAL SUPPORT
GENERAL SUPPORT
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD NORTH AMERICAN OFFICE
$120,000GENERAL SUPPORT
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY
$68,783GENERAL SUPPORT