The Steve Martin Charitable Foundation concentrates its giving on performing and visual arts institutions—especially theater and museum support—while also making selective gifts to community services, education in rural areas, cultural heritage preservation, and medical research. Grants are mid-sized and tend to support program operations, arts preservation, and specific cultural initiatives; a small number of arts organizations receive repeat support.
A $50,000 grant to The Public Theater for art preservation is the clearest recent signal of the Steve Martin Charitable Foundation’s priorities: it backs institutions that maintain, present, and protect performing and visual arts, while also making selective grants to community organizations and heritage projects. The foundation’s recent awards show a steady emphasis on New York arts institutions, with The Studio Museum in Harlem and Tate Americas Foundation each receiving support in 2025, and The New Victory Theater appearing in 2023. These grants are paired with support for cemetery preservation, rural youth services, and museum and theater programming, suggesting a giving profile that combines arts preservation with place-based community support. The foundation also reaches beyond the arts when a specific mission calls for it, including medical research and educational support. Across the recent list, grant sizes range from small awards to mid-sized operating or program grants, with repeated support going to a few arts organizations over multiple years. The result is a foundation profile defined less by broad thematic spread than by targeted, recurring support for organizations tied to creative practice, cultural stewardship, and select community needs.
In visual arts and museum work, the Steve Martin Charitable Foundation gave $50,000 to The Studio Museum in Harlem for support art and $25,000 to Tate Americas Foundation for support art. In theater and performance, it awarded $50,000 to The Public Theater for art preservation and $25,000 to The New Victory Theater for art preservation. The foundation also backs music and creative-practice programs: FreshGrass Banjo Prize received $22,500 for support, and New York Stage and Film received $2,500 for film & TV education. Community-oriented grants appear alongside the arts, including $25,000 to Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County for support & educational work and $25,000 to Wnc Communities for educational purposes. That mix shows a grantmaker that supports both cultural institutions and targeted local services.
Typical grant sizes cluster at $5,000 at both the 25th percentile and median, with the 75th percentile at $16,250. The recent record also includes several larger awards at $25,000 and $50,000, so the foundation uses a wide but disciplined range of grant sizes. Some recipients appear in multiple years, including The Studio Museum in Harlem, Elevator Repair Service Theater, Brevard Music Center, and Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County, indicating recurring support rather than purely one-time giving. The foundation is not an individual-giving vehicle and does not make program-related investments.
$265K
$577K
$275K
$265K
Most grants fall between $5K and $16K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$16K
About 12% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Moderately concentrated: a small portfolio (11 grants) of mid-size awards with a clear arts emphasis, occasional repeat funding to flagship arts grantees, and periodic one-off gifts to community nonprofits and medical institutions.
Notable grantees: The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Public Theater, Tate Americas Foundation, FreshGrass Banjo Prize, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Giving is regional and entirely U.S.-based in the recent grants list. New York receives the most grants, with multiple awards to organizations in New York, NY, including theaters, museums, and arts groups. North Carolina also appears repeatedly through Brevard and Asheville, while Los Angeles shows up through cemetery preservation and Jewish family services. Other recipient cities include Ojai, Lake Forest, Washington, DC, and Flushing, showing a spread that favors arts and community organizations in a few hubs rather than nationwide coverage.
The recent grants show a strong emphasis on performing and visual arts organizations, especially museums, theaters, and arts education groups. It also funds selected community services, rural youth and educational organizations, cultural heritage preservation, and occasional medical research and cancer care support.
The foundation’s grant-size profile centers on $5,000 gifts: the 25th percentile is $5,000 and the median is also $5,000. The 75th percentile is $16,250, with some grants reaching $25,000 and $50,000.
Yes. Several organizations appear more than once in the recent grants list, including The Studio Museum in Harlem, Elevator Repair Service Theater, Brevard Music Center, and Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County. That pattern points to recurring support for selected recipients.
The top state by grant count is New York. Recent grants also reach North Carolina, California, Illinois, Washington, DC, and Connecticut-area recipients, but New York appears most frequently in the grant list.
No. The foundation’s profile indicates that it does not fund individuals.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE PUBLIC THEATER | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | ART PRESERVATION |
| UNITY CEMETERY PRESERVATION FUND | LOS ANGELES, CA | $30,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY | BREVARD, NC | $25,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT & EDUCATIONAL |
| WNC COMMUNITIES | ASHEVILLE, NC | $25,000 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| TATE AMERICAS FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT ART |
| THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT ART |
| SHARING HOUSE | BREVARD, NC | $25,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER | NEW YORK, NY | $21,600 | 2025 | SUPPORT & EDUCATIONAL |
| AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE LA | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE THEATER | NEW YORK, NY | $7,700 | 2025 | SUPPORT ART |
| TURTLE CONSERVANCY | OJAI, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| NEW YORK STAGE AND FILM | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2025 | FILM & TV EDUCATION |
| BREVARD MUSIC CENTER | BREVARD, NC | $2,000 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2025 | ART PRESERVATION |
| WRITERS GUILD FOUNDATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $100,000 | 2024 | PERFORMING ARTS |
| NEVADA MUSEUM OF ART | RENO, NV | $25,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| FRESHGRASS BANJO PRIZE | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $22,500 | 2024 | support |
| MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CEN | New York, NY | $21,216 | 2024 | support & educational |
| UNITY CEMETERY PRESERVATION FUND | LOS ANGELES, CA | $21,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE THEATER | New York, NY | $13,750 | 2024 | Support art |
| CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | Support Art |
| Whitney Museum of American Art | New York, NY | $9,656 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| ENDURING HEARTS | MARIETTA, GA | $5,900 | 2024 | RESEARCH |
| DAVIDSON COLLEGE | DAVIDSON, NC | $5,000 | 2024 | Support & educational |
| BOYS GIRLS CLUB OF TRANSYLVANIA COU | BREVARD, NC | $2,500 | 2024 | support & educational |
| NEW YORK STAGE AND FILM | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2024 | FILM & TV EDUCATION |
| WNC COMMUNITIES | ASHEVILLE, NC | $1,500 | 2024 | Educational |
| The Studio Museum in Harlem | New York, NY | $50,000 | 2023 | Support Art |
| The New Victory Theater | New York, NY | $25,000 | 2023 | Art Preservation |
| FRESHGRASS BANJO PRIZE | Lake Forest, IL | $22,500 | 2023 | support |
| American Friends of National Galler | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | Support Art |
| ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE THEATER | New York, NY | $8,000 | 2023 | Support art |
| Brevard Music Center | Brevard, NC | $5,000 | 2023 | Educational |
| Hopewell Fund | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 2023 | educational |
| Foundation for Contemporary Arts | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | Educational |
| DAVIDSON COLLEGE | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | Support & educational |
| BOYS GIRLS CLUB OF TRANSYLVANIA COU | New York, NY | $2,500 | 2023 | educational |
| the New York Foundling | Flushing, NY | $2,500 | 2023 | Educational |
THE PUBLIC THEATER
$50,000ART PRESERVATION
UNITY CEMETERY PRESERVATION FUND
$30,000SUPPORT
SUPPORT ART
SHARING HOUSE
$25,000SUPPORT
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER
$21,600SUPPORT & EDUCATIONAL
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE LA
$10,000SUPPORT
ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE THEATER
$7,700SUPPORT ART
NEW YORK STAGE AND FILM
$2,500FILM & TV EDUCATION
FRESHGRASS BANJO PRIZE
$22,500support
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CEN
$21,216support & educational
UNITY CEMETERY PRESERVATION FUND
$21,000SUPPORT
ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE THEATER
$13,750Support art
Whitney Museum of American Art
$9,656EDUCATIONAL
DAVIDSON COLLEGE
$5,000Support & educational
BOYS GIRLS CLUB OF TRANSYLVANIA COU
$2,500support & educational
The New Victory Theater
$25,000Art Preservation
FRESHGRASS BANJO PRIZE
$22,500support
American Friends of National Galler
$10,000Support Art
ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE THEATER
$8,000Support art
DAVIDSON COLLEGE
$5,000Support & educational
BOYS GIRLS CLUB OF TRANSYLVANIA COU
$2,500educational
the New York Foundling
$2,500Educational