About Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation
The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation concentrates sizable grants on education-related causes, with particular emphasis on supporting historically Black higher education through the United Negro College Fund and strengthening K–12 public/charter schools (including arts and STEM-focused programs). Their giving signals an interest in arts education as well as resource-building for public school systems rather than a broad philanthropic portfolio. Grants are few but large, directed to organizations that can deploy unrestricted or programmatic support at scale.
Focus Areas
Support for historically Black colleges and scholarship programs (United Negro College Fund/HBCU funding)Arts education initiatives (grants to arts education programs and curricula)K–12 public and charter school support in NYC (including STEM-focused schools)Capacity and program support for public school systems (e.g., Fund for Public Schools)
Who They Fund
arts agencies / arts organizationsarts educators and teaching artistslearners / students participating in arts education
About Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation
The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation Inc. makes its largest recent grants in education and arts education, including repeated seven-figure support for the United Negro College Fund and substantial backing for New York City public-school programming. Across the recent grant list, the foundation pairs unrestricted support with program-specific awards, and it concentrates those dollars on organizations that serve students, schools, and community arts institutions in New York City. The portfolio shows a clear preference for grantees that can work at scale: Fund for Public Schools received a $688,452 general-support grant in 2025, while The New Museum received $210,000 the same year. Other grants point to a sustained interest in arts learning and access, with support for groups such as Billie Holiday Theatre, People’s Theatre Project, and Young People’s Chorus. The foundation’s giving is not broad-based; it clusters around a small set of education and arts organizations, especially those connected to public-school settings and youth-serving cultural programs.
What Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation Funds
Arts education is the clearest throughline in the portfolio. In 2025, The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation Inc. gave $150,000 to Mind Builders Creative Arts Center for arts education, and $130,000 to Upbeat NYC for arts education in 2024, both in the Bronx. It also supported Young People’s Chorus with $100,000 for arts education in 2024. Beyond direct arts instruction, the foundation funds public-facing cultural institutions and production groups: The New Museum received $210,000 in 2025 for general support, and Metropolitan Opera received $100,000 in 2024 as an arts agency. The foundation also backs school-focused infrastructure, including a $688,452 grant to Fund for Public Schools for general support, reflecting interest in systems that bring arts and learning into public-school settings.
How Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation Gives
Recent grants cluster around the foundation’s stated typical size: the 25th percentile is $20,000, the median is $35,000, and the 75th percentile is $50,000. The recent list also shows a smaller number of much larger awards, including several six- and seven-figure grants. Recipients appear across multiple years, which suggests recurring support rather than one-off grants: City Lore, People’s Theatre Project, The Point Community Development Corp, Upbeat NYC, and United Negro College Fund each appear more than once. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. One active program allows unsolicited applications; the others are foundation-selected or competitive.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$6.6M
Total Assets
$198.1M
Total Revenue
$10.8M
Total Expenses
$10.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $20K and $50K, with a median of $35K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$35K
75th Percentile
$50K
Geographic Reach
Local9 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 324 | $17.2M | 99.1% |
| 2 | Cambodia |
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