About Starr Foundation
The Starr Foundation concentrates large, institutional gifts to elite universities, medical centers, and cultural/elder-care institutions, with an emphasis on biomedical research (notably cancer and stem cell initiatives), hospital capital campaigns, and select higher-education programs and scholarships. Grants are often multi‑million-dollar commitments to flagship institutions and capital projects, with occasional support for international humanitarian response and leadership scholarships.
Focus Areas
Biomedical research consortia and cancer research (e.g., Tri‑Institutional stem cell initiative, Starr Cancer Consortium)Major hospital capital campaigns and facility expansion (e.g., NewYork‑Presbyterian, Memorial Sloan Kettering, American Hospital of Paris)Elite higher‑education programs and scholarship funds tied to named chairs or schools (e.g., Greenberg risk science, Yale medical scholarships, Schwarzman Scholars)Geriatric/continuing care campus capital and endowment support (Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale)International humanitarian response and crisis relief (notably support for Ukraine via IRC)
Who They Fund
About Starr Foundation
The Starr Foundation’s largest recent gifts show a clear pattern of institutional backing for health, research, and higher education: $11.75 million to New York-Presbyterian Fund Inc for a capital campaign, $10 million to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for a capital campaign, and $10 million to the Broad Institute Inc through the Starr Cancer Consortium. Those commitments sit alongside major support for Weill Cornell Medicine, where the foundation gave $7 million in 2025 for the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative involving Weill Cornell, Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering, and $5 million in 2025 for a scholarship fund supporting debt-free medical education at Yale School of Medicine. The foundation also backs named institutions and programs that tend to be long-horizon investments, including endowed research, scholarship, and facility projects. Recent grants include support for the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science at Georgia State University, the Greenberg scholarship funds at Cornell and St. John’s, and capital support for the American Hospital of Paris. Its portfolio extends beyond academia and medicine into humanitarian response, public policy, and cultural or historic restoration, but the defining thread is large, institution-level grants tied to research, training, and capital needs.
What Starr Foundation Funds
Biomedical and clinical research is a central theme. The Starr Foundation gave $10 million to the Broad Institute Inc for the Starr Cancer Consortium, and $5 million to Rockefeller University for the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Center for the Study of Inflammation, Microbiome, and Metabolism. In education, it backed debt-free medical training with a $5 million grant to Yale University for the Maurice R. Greenberg Scholarship Fund in support of the Yale School of Medicine, and another $3 million to Cornell University (Weill Cornell Medicine) for the Maurice R. Greenberg Scholarship Fund. The foundation also supports risk management and insurance education: Georgia State University Foundation received $2 million for the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science. Beyond academia, it funded the International Rescue Committee Inc with $5 million for humanitarian crises and consequences resulting from the Russian attack on Ukraine.
How Starr Foundation Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$73.5M
Total Assets
$1.4B
Total Revenue
$233.3M
Total Expenses
$102.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $25K and $175K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$175K
Geographic Reach
Regional16 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
MS COURTNEY O'MALLEY
PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR
Accepts unsolicited proposals
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Starr Foundation Funds
Top 3 recipient countries by grant volume for Starr Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 321 | $234M | 98.2% |
| 2 | France | 5 |
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