The Deborah Rose Foundation makes a very small number of large, unrestricted charitable gifts, with a dominant emphasis on international humanitarian work (chiefly in Africa) alongside occasional support for major U.S. cultural and higher-education institutions. Its portfolio is highly concentrated: a single very large award to an Africa-focused charity accounts for the majority of giving, while the remainder funds established national institutions in the arts and education/health research.
Very concentrated giving: few grants overall, dominated by one very large gift to a single international charity; grants are large sums to established institutions rather than many small awards.
The Deborah Rose Foundation’s largest recent gift went to Helping Africa Foundation, a $2,914,401 grant in 2025 that set the tone for a portfolio built around a single major international humanitarian commitment. The foundation also made sizable gifts to established U.S. institutions, including $566,360 to The Kennedy Center and $510,000 to John Hopkins University, showing a pattern of support for large, mission-specific organizations rather than a broad spread of smaller awards. The recent record points to a highly concentrated private foundation that favors unrestricted institutional support. Its grants extend across Africa-focused charitable work, higher education, and cultural organizations, with several awards to New York-area, Washington-area, and university recipients. The presence of gifts to Temple Isaiah, Friends Community School, and other established nonprofits suggests a preference for organizations with existing capacity and defined programs. Across the year on file, the foundation’s giving is not dispersed across many sectors; instead, it centers on a few large grants and a limited set of trusted recipients.
International humanitarian work in Africa is the clearest theme in the recent grant record. A $2,914,401 grant to Helping Africa Foundation anchors that emphasis and accounts for the foundation’s largest single award. The foundation also supports higher education and research. It gave $510,000 to John Hopkins University and $200,000 to President Fellows Harvard College, indicating attention to major academic institutions rather than small scholarship pools. Cultural and civic institutions appear in the portfolio as well. The Kennedy Center received $566,360, while the National Bonsai Foundation and Web Du Bois Museum Foundation each received $50,000. In addition, smaller grants to The Online Journalism Project and Corporate Accountability show support for organizations tied to information, public discourse, and advocacy.
The Deborah Rose Foundation’s grants are large and unevenly sized. Among the recent awards, the median grant is $50,000, with the lower quartile at $25,000 and the upper quartile at $510,000. That spread reflects a portfolio led by one very large grant and a smaller number of mid-sized institutional gifts. The pattern is also highly concentrated: the same foundation type, a private foundation, makes a limited number of grants rather than many small awards. The recipient set is mostly one-time awards in the recent list, with no repeated grantees visible across the 2025 entries provided. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
$4.9M
$4.7M
$5.7M
$5M
About 25% of grants go to recipients in MA.
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Deborah Rose Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 37 | $15.7M | 94.9% |
| 2 | India |
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Notable grantees: Helping Africa Foundation, The Kennedy Center, Johns Hopkins University
Grantmaking is overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with 16 of 17 recent grants going to U.S. recipients and one grant to India. New York is the top state by grant count, and every recent grant in the list goes to a recipient in the foundation’s HQ state, including New York City, Great Neck, Bronx, and New York-based organizations such as Web Du Bois Museum Foundation and Helping Africa Foundation. Outside the U.S., the only named recipient country is India, through Sakshi Foundation in New Delhi.
The recent grants point to three main areas: international humanitarian and development work in Africa, major U.S. cultural institutions, and higher-education or research funding. The largest grant went to Helping Africa Foundation, while The Kennedy Center and John Hopkins University received major institutional gifts.
Very concentrated. One grant to Helping Africa Foundation was $2,914,401, far larger than the rest of the 2025 list. The next largest awards were $566,360 to The Kennedy Center and $510,000 to John Hopkins University, showing a small set of large gifts rather than broad dispersal.
It gives most often in New York. All of the recent grants listed went to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state, including New York City, Great Neck, and the Bronx. The only non-U.S. recipient listed is Sakshi Foundation in New Delhi.
No. The foundation is marked as not funding individuals and not making program-related investments. Its recent record instead shows charity grants to established organizations such as universities, cultural institutions, and nonprofits.
The recent grant list shows a median grant of $50,000, with a lower quartile of $25,000 and an upper quartile of $510,000. The distribution is skewed by one very large award, but most listed grants fall in the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
| 2 |
| $115K |
5.1% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HELPING AFRICA FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $2,914,401 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| THE KENNEDY CENTER | WASHINGTON, DC | $566,360 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY | BALTIMORE, MD | $510,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| PRESIDENT FELLOWS HARVARD COLLEGE | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $200,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| TEMPLE ISAIAH | GREAT NECK, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL | COLLEGE PARK, MD | $126,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| SAKSHI FOUNDATION | NEW DELHI | $80,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| WEB DU BOIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| THE ONLINE JOURNALISM PROJECT | NEW HAVEN, CT | $50,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY | BOSTON, MA | $30,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| THE CONCORD REVIEW | SUDBURY, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| DWIGHT HALL AT YALE | NEW HAVEN, CT | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| MORYS PRESERVATION INC | NEW HAVEN, CT | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| KIGALI READING CENTER INC | GROTON, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| THE CU FOUNDATION | DENVER, CO | $20,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| BRONX CHILDRENS MUSEUM | BRONX, NY | $15,000 | 2025 | CHARITY |
| HELPING AFRICA FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $3,179,074 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| HARVARD TH CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH | BOSTON, MA | $1,000,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY | BALTIMORE, MD | $500,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| TEMPLE ISAIAH | GREAT NECK, NY | $450,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL | COLLEGE PARK, MD | $126,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| THE KENNEDY CENTER | WASHINGTON, DC | $66,252 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| WEB DU BOIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| SAKSHI FOUNDATION | NEW DELHI | $35,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| MORYS PRESERVATION INC | NEW HAVEN, CT | $25,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| THE CONCORD REVIEW | SUDBURY, MA | $25,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| THE ONLINE JOURNALISM PROJECT | NEW HAVEN, CT | $25,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| BRONX CHILDRENS MUSEUM | BRONX, NY | $25,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| DWIGHT HALL AT YALE | NEW HAVEN, CT | $25,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| OU FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $11,324 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| THE CU FOUNDATION | DENVER, CO | $10,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| HELPING AFRICA FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $3,152,093 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| THE KENNEDY CENTER | WASHINGTON, DC | $1,133,580 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY | BALTIMORE, MD | $500,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| VITAL VOICES GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP | WASHINGTON, DC | $300,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL | COLLEGE PARK, MD | $126,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $125,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
HELPING AFRICA FOUNDATION
$2,914,401CHARITY
JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
$510,000CHARITY
TEMPLE ISAIAH
$150,000CHARITY
FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
$126,000CHARITY
SAKSHI FOUNDATION
$80,000CHARITY
NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION
$50,000CHARITY
WEB DU BOIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION
$50,000CHARITY
THE CONCORD REVIEW
$25,000CHARITY
DWIGHT HALL AT YALE
$25,000CHARITY
KIGALI READING CENTER INC
$25,000CHARITY
THE CU FOUNDATION
$20,000CHARITY
HELPING AFRICA FOUNDATION
$3,179,074CHARITY
JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
$500,000CHARITY
TEMPLE ISAIAH
$450,000CHARITY
FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
$126,000CHARITY
WEB DU BOIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION
$50,000CHARITY
NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION
$50,000CHARITY
SAKSHI FOUNDATION
$35,000CHARITY
THE CONCORD REVIEW
$25,000CHARITY
DWIGHT HALL AT YALE
$25,000CHARITY
OU FOUNDATION
$11,324CHARITY
THE CU FOUNDATION
$10,000CHARITY
HELPING AFRICA FOUNDATION
$3,152,093CHARITY
JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
$500,000CHARITY
FRIENDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
$126,000CHARITY
NATIONAL BONSAI FOUNDATION
$125,000CHARITY