This foundation concentrates its giving into a very small number of large grants split between civil rights legal advocacy and Jewish/Israel cultural-educational work. One half of funding went to a major Southern civil-rights legal services organization, while the other half supported American–Israel cultural and educational activities, indicating dual interests in social justice/legal defense and Jewish/Israel-related education/culture.
A $500,000 grant to the Southern Poverty Law Center anchors Sam Spiegel Foundation Inc % David N Bottoms Jr’s recent giving and shows how concentrated the foundation’s grantmaking is. The foundation split most of its larger support between civil-rights legal advocacy and Jewish/Israel cultural-educational work, with a substantial grant to American Israel Cultural and additional support for organizations tied to education, charitable services, and religious life. Its portfolio includes both major gifts and smaller awards, ranging from six-figure grants down to $1,000 awards. The legal-aid side of the portfolio reaches beyond one organization. The foundation also gave to The Innocence Project and, at a larger scale, to the Southern Poverty Law Center for legal services. On the Jewish/Israel-related side, recipients include Joint Distribution Committee, Abraham Initiatives, Givat Haviva Educational Foundation, The Abraham Fund, and Friends of Givat Haviva Inc. The grants also extend into community-facing work such as the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, The Doe Fund, Citymeals-on-Wheels, and City Harvest, indicating that the foundation’s support is not limited to one program type even though the overall pattern is highly focused.
Civil rights legal defense is one of the clearest threads in the foundation’s recent grants. It gave $500,000 to the Southern Poverty Law Center for legal services and $10,000 to The Innocence Project for legal services, pairing a major institutional grant with smaller support for wrongful-conviction work. Jewish and Israel-related education is the other major area. The foundation awarded $300,000 to American Israel Cultural for education, then added $80,000 to Givat Haviva Educational Foundation and $80,000 to The Abraham Fund, both also coded as education. It further supported Friends of Givat Haviva Inc with $1,500 for education. The portfolio also reaches into direct community support. Grants include $50,000 to The Doe Fund for social work, $2,500 to Citymeals-on-Wheels for social work, and $1,500 to City Harvest for social work. Smaller awards to Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Wmht - Fm, and New York Youth Symphony show additional interest in local education and cultural programming.
$147K
$19.1M
$1.9M
$224K
Most grants fall between $1K and $50K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$50K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Highly concentrated: very few (two) large grants accounting for total giving, split between two distinct issue areas; appears to favor one-off or single-cycle large contributions rather than many small grants.
Notable grantees: Southern Poverty Law Center, American Israel Cultural
Grant sizes are polarized. The typical grant size is $1,000 at the 25th percentile, $3,000 at the median, and $50,000 at the 75th percentile, which reflects a mix of many small awards and a few very large ones. The recent record shows repeated support to some recipients across years: American Israel Cultural, Joint Distribution Committee, Mati - USA, and Givat Haviva-related organizations each appear more than once. Sam Spiegel Foundation Inc % David N Bottoms Jr is a regular funder, not a DAF, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments.
The foundation gives nationally, and every recorded recent grant in the dataset went to a U.S. recipient. New York, NY appears most often among recipient locations, including grants to American Israel Cultural, Joint Distribution Committee, Abraham Initiatives, The Doe Fund, and several smaller awards. Other recurring places include Montgomery, AL; West Palm Beach, FL; and Hillsdale, NY. Although the foundation is headquartered in Columbus, GA, none of the recorded grants went to Georgia recipients.
The recent record is centered on two themes: civil-rights legal advocacy and Jewish/Israel cultural-educational work. Large grants went to the Southern Poverty Law Center for legal services and to American Israel Cultural for education, with additional support to groups such as The Innocence Project, Givat Haviva Educational Foundation, The Abraham Fund, and Joint Distribution Committee.
The distribution is wide but skewed toward small awards. The 25th percentile is $1,000, the median is $3,000, and the 75th percentile is $50,000. That pattern sits alongside a few very large grants, including a $500,000 award and a $300,000 award.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including American Israel Cultural, Joint Distribution Committee, Mati - USA, and Givat Haviva-related organizations. That suggests at least some ongoing relationships rather than only one-time gifts.
No. It is headquartered in Columbus, GA, but its giving is national, and the recorded grants in the dataset all went to U.S. recipients outside Georgia. New York, NY is the most frequent recipient location, while other grants went to places such as Montgomery, AL; West Palm Beach, FL; and Portland, OR.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $75,000 | 2026 | IMPROVE ISRAEL |
| RENA'S PROMISE FOUNDATION | REHOBOTH BEACH, DE | $15,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| CSU FOUNDATION | FORT COLLINS, CO | $15,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY | NEW YORK, NY | $6,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | RELIGIOUS |
| CITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD | WEST PALM BEACH, FL | $2,000 | 2026 | MEDICAL |
| ANCRAM OPERA HOUSE | ANCRAM, NY | $2,000 | 2026 | ARTS |
| WATERORG | KANSAS CITY, MO | $2,000 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000 | 2026 | LEGAL SERVICES |
| INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE | ALBERT LEA, MN | $2,000 | 2026 | HEALTH COMMUNITY |
| CITY HARVEST | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY | PITTSFIELD, MA | $2,000 | 2026 | ARTS |
| PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | MUSIC/EDUCATION |
| ANTI DEFAMATION LEAGUE | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| ROELIFF JANSEN COMMUNITY LIBRARY | HILLSDALE, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES |
| WMHT - FM | TROY, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | RADIO |
| MILLERTON COMMUNITY CINEMA INC | MILLERTON, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | FILM/EDUCATION |
| SOUTHERN LAW POVERTY CENTER | MONTGOMERY, AL | $1,000 | 2026 | LEGAL SERVICES |
| THE DOE FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | LEGAL SERVICES |
| THE INNOCENCE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | LEGAL SERVICES |
| WORKFORCE PROFESSIONALS TRAINING INSTITUTE | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | EDUCATION |
| NEW YORK YOUTH SYMPHONY | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | MUSIC/EDUCATION |
| COLUMBIA MEMORIAL HEALTH | HUDSON, NY | $500 | 2026 | MEDICAL |
| WQXR CO WNYC RADIO | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2026 | RADIO |
| ARTS IGNITE | NEW YORK, NY | $500 | 2026 | SOCIAL WORK |
| AMERICAN ISRAEL CULTURAL | NEW YORK, NY | $1,275,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| HAND IN HAND CENTER | PORTLAND, OR | $75,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| RENA'S PROMISE FOUNDATION | REHOBOTH BEACH, DE | $50,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| CSU FOUNDATION | FORT COLLINS, CO | $26,400 | 2025 | EDUCATION |
| ISRAEL GUIDE DOG CENTER FOR THE BLIND | WARRINGTON, PA | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| SOUTHERN LAW POVERTY CENTER | MONTGOMERY, AL | $500,000 | 2024 | LEGAL SERVICES |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD | WEST PALM BEACH, FL | $120,000 | 2024 | MEDICAL |
| THE ABRAHAM FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $80,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| ROELIFF JANSEN COMMUNITY LIBRARY | HILLSDALE, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| THE DOE FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | SOCIAL WORK |
| WATERORG | KANSAS CITY, MO | $25,000 | 2024 | SOCIAL WORK |
| WORKFORCE PROFESSIONALS TRAINING INSTITUTE | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| THE INNOCENCE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | LEGAL SERVICES |
| WMHT - FM | TROY, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | RADIO |
| CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM | NEW YORK, NY | $3,000 | 2024 | RELIGIOUS |
| CITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2024 | SOCIAL WORK |
| CITY HARVEST | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2024 | SOCIAL WORK |
| FRIENDS OF GIVAT HAVIVA INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| MATI - USA | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2024 | RELIGIOUS |
| AMERICAN ISRAEL CULTURAL | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| MADLYN & LEONARD ABRAMSON CENTER | NORTH WALES, PA | $1,000 | 2024 | MEDICAL |
ISRAEL ENDOWMENT FUND
$75,000IMPROVE ISRAEL
RENA'S PROMISE FOUNDATION
$15,000EDUCATION
CSU FOUNDATION
$15,000EDUCATION
THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY
$6,000EDUCATION
CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM
$5,000RELIGIOUS
SOCIAL WORK
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
$2,000MEDICAL
ANCRAM OPERA HOUSE
$2,000ARTS
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES
$2,000LEGAL SERVICES
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE
$2,000HEALTH COMMUNITY
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN
$1,000MUSIC/EDUCATION
ROELIFF JANSEN COMMUNITY LIBRARY
$1,000EDUCATION
WMHT - FM
$1,000RADIO
MILLERTON COMMUNITY CINEMA INC
$1,000FILM/EDUCATION
SOUTHERN LAW POVERTY CENTER
$1,000LEGAL SERVICES
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE
$1,000LEGAL SERVICES
COLUMBIA MEMORIAL HEALTH
$500MEDICAL
WQXR CO WNYC RADIO
$500RADIO
ARTS IGNITE
$500SOCIAL WORK
AMERICAN ISRAEL CULTURAL
$1,275,000EDUCATION
HAND IN HAND CENTER
$75,000EDUCATION
RENA'S PROMISE FOUNDATION
$50,000EDUCATION
CSU FOUNDATION
$26,400EDUCATION
SOUTHERN LAW POVERTY CENTER
$500,000LEGAL SERVICES
ROELIFF JANSEN COMMUNITY LIBRARY
$50,000EDUCATION
WMHT - FM
$10,000RADIO
CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM
$3,000RELIGIOUS
MATI - USA
$1,500RELIGIOUS
AMERICAN ISRAEL CULTURAL
$1,000EDUCATION
MADLYN & LEONARD ABRAMSON CENTER
$1,000MEDICAL