The Macaulay Family Foundation concentrates philanthropic support on major cultural and scientific institutions, with particularly large gifts to natural history and wildlife research as well as sustained support for art-history education and museum programming. Their giving also includes health/research service organizations, and they favor a small number of significant, sometimes repeat, grants to national institutions rather than many small awards. Grants indicate an interest in public-facing research and education that combines scholarship with broad audience engagement.
Concentrated, high-dollar grants to a few national institutions; mix of one-time major gifts and repeat support to select organizations rather than many small grants.
The Macaulay Family Foundation C/o Anne R Macaulay made a $1,000,000 general support grant in 2025 to Cornell University the Laboratory of Ornithology, signaling a clear commitment to avian science and conservation research. That grant sits alongside sizable support for other national institutions, including $800,000 to The American Museum of Natural History in 2023 and $125,000 grants to The Rogosin Institute Inc in both 2024 and 2025. The pattern points to a foundation that backs established organizations rather than short-term projects, with flexible funding used to strengthen research, education, and public programming. Its portfolio connects natural history, museum-based learning, and specialized research institutions. The foundation also supported Smarthistory in 2024 and 2025, reflecting interest in digital art-history education and online humanities resources, and it has given to the National Asian Art Musuem and Macaulay Honors College. Across these awards, the common thread is institutional support for scholarship that reaches broad audiences. The grants are mostly general or general support awards, and several recipients appear more than once, showing continuity in funding relationships.
In avian science and conservation research, the foundation gave $1,000,000 to Cornell University the Laboratory of Ornithology for general support in 2025. In natural history and public science education, it awarded $800,000 to The American Museum of Natural History in 2023 for general support. The family foundation also backs specialized health services and research: The Rogosin Institute Inc received $125,000 in 2024 and another $125,000 in 2025, both for general support. In digital humanities, Smarthistory received $45,000 in both 2024 and 2025 for general support, showing repeated support for online art-history education. The National Asian Art Musuem received a $25,000 general grant in 2024.
Grant sizes cluster around larger institutional awards, with a p25 of $25,000, a median of $45,000, and a p75 of $125,000. The foundation’s recent grants also include one very large outlier at $1,000,000. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including The Rogosin Institute Inc and Smarthistory, which suggests recurring support rather than one-time awards. The portfolio is built around general support and general operating-style funding, with flexible grants used across research, museum, and education institutions. The foundation is a private family foundation and does not fund individuals.
$1.2M
$5M
-$3.4M
$1.2M
Most grants fall between $25K and $125K, with a median of $45K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$45K
75th Percentile
$125K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Notable grantees: Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell University), American Museum of Natural History, The Rogosin Institute, Smarthistory, San Francisco National Asian Art Museum
All recent grants in the data went to U.S. recipients. The strongest concentration by city is New York, with awards to New York, NY; Ithaca, NY; and Pleasantville, NY. Washington, DC also appears through The National Asian Art Musuem. Outside the HQ state of California, the grants are spread across the Northeast and the District of Columbia, matching the foundation’s regional giving scope and its top state by grant count being DC rather than California.
The recent grants point to support for avian science and conservation research, natural history museums and public science education, digital art-history education, specialized health services and research, and Asian art museum programming. The foundation’s awards are framed as general support in the listed grants.
Yes. The Rogosin Institute Inc received $125,000 in 2024 and $125,000 in 2025, and Smarthistory received $45,000 in both 2024 and 2025. That pattern indicates repeated support for some organizations.
The listed grant-size distribution is $25,000 at the 25th percentile, $45,000 at the median, and $125,000 at the 75th percentile. Recent grants also include a $1,000,000 award, showing that the foundation makes both mid-sized and very large institutional gifts.
By grant count, the top state is DC. The recent-grants list also shows awards to New York recipients and to Ithaca, NY, while no recent grants in the data went to California recipients.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORNELL UNIVERSITY THE LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY | ITHACA, NY | $1,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE ROGOSIN INSTITUTE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $125,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SMARTHISTORY | PLEASANTVILLE, NY | $45,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE ROGOSIN INSTITUTE INC | NEW YORK, NY | $125,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SMARTHISTORY | PLEASANTVILLE, NY | $45,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE NATIONAL ASIAN ART MUSUEM | WASHINGTON, DC | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY | NEW YORK, NY | $800,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| MACAULAY HONORS COLLEGE | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
SMARTHISTORY
$45,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SMARTHISTORY
$45,000GENERAL SUPPORT
THE NATIONAL ASIAN ART MUSUEM
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
MACAULAY HONORS COLLEGE
$10,000GENERAL