The Kronhill Pletka Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on Jewish history, culture and language preservation, with a particular emphasis on Yiddish heritage and storytelling projects. It funds museums, research institutes, and organizations that document and present Jewish experiences—both in the U.S. and in Eastern Europe—often supporting public programs, exhibitions, and archival work. The foundation’s giving signals a clear interest in sustaining cultural memory and community institutions rather than broad social services.
The Kronhill Pletka Foundation’s grantmaking is anchored in preserving Yiddish language and secular Jewish culture, with recurring support for institutions that document Jewish history, sustain cultural memory, and present Jewish arts. Recent awards show that pattern clearly: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research received $87,516 in 2025 for Jewish culture, Yiddish history, and events, while Jewish Story Partners received $100,000 in 2023 and another $50,000 in 2025 for Jewish history and culture projects. The foundation also backs organizations that work at the level of archives, exhibitions, and public storytelling, including the American Friends of Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the Center for Jewish History. Its portfolio includes both operating-style general support and project-specific grants, suggesting a practical approach to keeping cultural institutions active while funding discrete programs. The mix of recipients points to a funder interested in Jewish historical continuity across scholarship, language, performance, and documentary work, rather than a single channel of cultural preservation.
Jewish history and memory are central to the foundation’s portfolio. It gave $47,000 in 2024, $40,000 in 2023, and $40,000 in 2025 to the American Friends of Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews for Jewish history, Yiddish culture, language, and arts. In archival and research work, the foundation awarded $35,000 in 2024 to Centropa - Central Europe Center for Research & Documentation for preservation of Jewish culture, and $15,000 in 2024 to Columbia University for preservation of the Yiddish language. It also supports cultural programming through $11,000 in 2024 to the Center for Traditional Music and Dance for preservation of distinctive performing arts traditions. That mix shows attention to scholarship, exhibition work, language preservation, and performance-based cultural transmission.
Typical grants cluster around a mid-five-figure range: the 25th percentile is $10,000, median grant size is $25,000, and the 75th percentile is $48,500. The recent record includes both one-time awards and repeated support to the same organizations across multiple years, including American Jewish Jdc, Jewish Story Partners, and Friends of the Forum. The foundation operates a general grantmaking structure, with quarterly review and solicitation of both solicited and unsolicited applications. Its programs include project grants and general operating support, and the stated scope extends to nonprofit organizations, fiscal sponsors, and time-sensitive projects.
$485K
$3.8M
$625K
$582K
Most grants fall between $10K and $49K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$49K
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Concentrated, mid-to-large grants focused on a small set of repeat grantees and heritage institutions. Multiple multi-year or repeat gifts to the same organizations indicate sustained partnerships rather than one-off, diversified grantmaking.
Notable grantees: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Jewish Story Partners, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, American Friends of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, FJC Foundation of Philanthropic Funds
Grant recipients are concentrated in New York, which accounts for 74% of grants, even though the foundation’s headquarters is also in New York, NY. Recent awards also reached Los Angeles through Jewish Story Partners, Hartsdale through Friends of the Forum, Silver Spring through Centropa - Central Europe Center for Research & Documentation, Washington, DC through the International Rescue Committee, and Suffern through Friends of Jcc Krakow. All recipient-country data shown is in the US.
It funds nonprofit organizations working on Yiddish language preservation, secular Jewish culture, education, and the arts. Recent grants also show support for Jewish history museums, research institutes, documentary storytelling, performing arts, and Holocaust survivor-related projects.
Yes. Its general grant programs are described as reviewing both solicited and unsolicited applications, with quarterly review in the active grant program descriptions.
The stated grant-size distribution is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $25,000 at the median, and $48,500 at the 75th percentile.
Yiddish preservation, Jewish history, secular Jewish culture, and arts-related projects appear repeatedly across the active programs and recent grants, along with time-sensitive support for Holocaust survivors and access to Jewish historical archives.
Yes. New York is the top state by grant count, and 74% of grants go to recipients in New York. Recent recipients also include organizations in California, Maryland, Washington, DC, and New Jersey.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Kronhill Pletka Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Applicants must provide an IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter or, if not a 501(c)(3), identify a fiscal agent or fiscal sponsor. Proposals should provide direct benefit to the populations served. Capital projects are unlikely to be funded.
Deadline: First Friday of February, May, August, and November.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN JEWISH JDC | NEW YORK, NY | $130,000 | 2025 | JEWISH CULTURE AND COMMUNITY. |
| YIVO INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH RESEARCH | NEW YORK, NY | $87,516 | 2025 | JEWISH CULTURE/YIDDISH HISTORY/EVENTS |
| JEWISH STORY PARTNERS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF POLIN MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2025 | JEWISH HISTORY, YIDDISH CULTURE, LANGUAGE & ARTS. |
| FRIENDS OF THE FORUM | HARTSDALE, NY | $35,000 | 2025 | JEWISH HISTORY |
| MYRIAD USA | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | JEWISH CULTURE |
| FORWARD ASSOCIATION | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | JEWISH CULTURE |
| CENTROPA - CENTRAL EUROPE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION | SILVER SPRING, MD | $27,500 | 2025 | PRESERVATION OF JEWISH CULTURE |
| JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | JEWISH HISTORY |
| METROPOLITAN OPERA | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | BRING OPERA AND THE ARTS TO A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE |
| JEWISH FUNDERS NETWORK | NEW YORK, NY | $9,519 | 2025 | CONNECT FUNDERS TOGETHER, EMPOWER INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE, AND CATALYZE COLLECTIVE ACTION. |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $7,500 | 2025 | PRESERVATION OF YIDDISH LANGUAGE |
| THE CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORY | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | PRESERVATION & PROMOTION OF JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| HAND IN HAND | PORTLAND, OR | $2,500 | 2025 | PROMOTE PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS IN ISRAEL |
| AMERICAN JEWISH JDC | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2024 | JEWISH CULTURE AND COMMUNITY. |
| FRIENDS OF THE FORUM | HARTSDALE, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | JEWISH HISTORY |
| JEWISH STORY PARTNERS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $50,000 | 2024 | JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF POLIN MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS | NEW YORK, NY | $47,000 | 2024 | JEWISH HISTORY, YIDDISH CULTURE, LANGUAGE & ARTS. |
| CENTROPA - CENTRAL EUROPE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION | SILVER SPRING, MD | $35,000 | 2024 | PRESERVATION OF JEWISH CULTURE |
| KING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $35,000 | 2024 | JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2024 | PRESERVATION OF YIDDISH LANGUAGE |
| CONGRESS FOR JEWISH CULTURE | NEW YORK, NY | $14,433 | 2024 | YIDDISH CULTURE |
| CENTER FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC AND DANCE | NEW YORK, NY | $11,000 | 2024 | PRESERVATION OF DISTINCTIVE PERFORMING ARTS TRADITIONS |
| THE CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORY | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | PRESERVATION & PROMOTION OF JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| YIVO INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH RESEARCH | NEW YORK, NY | $8,292 | 2024 | JEWISH CULTURE/YIDDISH HISTORY/EVENTS |
| JEWISH STORY PARTNERS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $100,000 | 2023 | JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| AMERICAN JEWISH JDC | NEW YORK, NY | $85,000 | 2023 | JEWISH CULTURE AND COMMUNITY. |
| FJC FOUNDATION OF PHILANTHROPIC FUNDS | NEW YORK, NY | $70,500 | 2023 | JEWISH HISTORY & YIDDISH LANGUAGE |
| AMERICAN FRIENDS OF POLIN MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2023 | JEWISH HISTORY, YIDDISH CULTURE, LANGUAGE & ARTS. |
| KING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2023 | JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE |
| INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE | WASHINGTON, DC | $25,000 | 2023 | UKRANIAN RELIEF |
| CONGRESS FOR JEWISH CULTURE | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2023 | YIDDISH CULTURE |
| FRIENDS OF JCC KRAKOW | SUFFERN, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | UKRANIAN RELIEF |
| JEWISH FUNDERS NETWORK | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | CONNECT FUNDERS TOGETHER, EMPOWER INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE, AND CATALYZE COLLECTIVE ACTION. |
| CENTROPA - CENTRAL EUROPE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION | SILVER SPRING, MD | $5,000 | 2023 | PRESERVATION OF JEWISH CULTURE |
| FORWARD ASSOCIATION | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | JEWISH CULTURE |
| HAND IN HAND | PORTLAND, OR | $1,039 | 2023 | PROMOTE PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS IN ISRAEL |
AMERICAN JEWISH JDC
$130,000JEWISH CULTURE AND COMMUNITY.
JEWISH HISTORY, YIDDISH CULTURE, LANGUAGE & ARTS.
FRIENDS OF THE FORUM
$35,000JEWISH HISTORY
JEWISH CULTURE
FORWARD ASSOCIATION
$30,000JEWISH CULTURE
CENTROPA - CENTRAL EUROPE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION
$27,500PRESERVATION OF JEWISH CULTURE
JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
$20,000JEWISH HISTORY
METROPOLITAN OPERA
$10,000BRING OPERA AND THE ARTS TO A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE
CONNECT FUNDERS TOGETHER, EMPOWER INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE, AND CATALYZE COLLECTIVE ACTION.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
$7,500PRESERVATION OF YIDDISH LANGUAGE
PRESERVATION & PROMOTION OF JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE
AMERICAN JEWISH JDC
$100,000JEWISH CULTURE AND COMMUNITY.
FRIENDS OF THE FORUM
$50,000JEWISH HISTORY
JEWISH HISTORY, YIDDISH CULTURE, LANGUAGE & ARTS.
CENTROPA - CENTRAL EUROPE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION
$35,000PRESERVATION OF JEWISH CULTURE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
$15,000PRESERVATION OF YIDDISH LANGUAGE
CONGRESS FOR JEWISH CULTURE
$14,433YIDDISH CULTURE
PRESERVATION OF DISTINCTIVE PERFORMING ARTS TRADITIONS
PRESERVATION & PROMOTION OF JEWISH HISTORY & CULTURE
AMERICAN JEWISH JDC
$85,000JEWISH CULTURE AND COMMUNITY.
JEWISH HISTORY, YIDDISH CULTURE, LANGUAGE & ARTS.
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE
$25,000UKRANIAN RELIEF
CONGRESS FOR JEWISH CULTURE
$15,000YIDDISH CULTURE
CONNECT FUNDERS TOGETHER, EMPOWER INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE, AND CATALYZE COLLECTIVE ACTION.
CENTROPA - CENTRAL EUROPE CENTER FOR RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION
$5,000PRESERVATION OF JEWISH CULTURE
FORWARD ASSOCIATION
$5,000JEWISH CULTURE