About Stewart J Rahr Foundation
The Stewart J Rahr Foundation concentrates its philanthropy into a small number of large grants that support health, emergency medical services, child welfare, and economic mobility initiatives—often in the New York area and with a notable tilt toward Jewish-affiliated causes. They fund established institutions (hospitals, large national nonprofits, policy centers) and have provided repeat and multi-hundred-thousand to multi-million dollar gifts rather than many small awards.
Focus Areas
Children’s wish-granting and pediatric support (Make‑A‑Wish Metro New York)Emergency medical response and volunteer Jewish EMS (Friends of United Hatzalah)Hospital and medical research/support in New York (NYU Langone Health)Economic mobility and public‑policy/education initiatives focused on the American Dream (Milken Center)Support for Jewish-affiliated charitable organizations and services
Who They Fund
tax-exempt organizations (IRC 170(c)(2) donees)
Giving Approach
Concentrated, high-dollar philanthropy: few grants overall, several large awards (often six‑figure to million‑plus), occasional repeat funding to core grantees; emphasis on established institutions rather than broad small-grant portfolios.
About Stewart J Rahr Foundation
A defining feature of The Stewart J Rahr Foundation is its willingness to make million-dollar gifts to a small set of established nonprofits. In the recent grants list, Make a Wish Metro New York received $1,000,000 in 2023 and again in 2025, while The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream also received a $1,000,000 grant in 2023. That pattern points to a funder that concentrates resources rather than spreading them thinly across many small awards. The foundation’s giving connects health, emergency response, youth support, and community services, with repeated support for organizations such as Friends of United Hatzalah and NYU Langone Health. Jewish-affiliated causes appear frequently, including groups tied to emergency medical response, education, and charitable services. The foundation also backs research and public-service institutions, from cancer research organizations to universities and national nonprofits. Across the recent grant record, the foundation’s role is not limited to one issue area; instead, it uses large grants to support exempt-purpose work for organizations with established operations and broad reach.
What Stewart J Rahr Foundation Funds
Health and medical research are a clear part of the foundation’s portfolio. In 2025, it gave $950,000 to Friends of United Hatzalah Inc for exempt-purpose work, and it also awarded $666,667 to NYU Langone Health the same year. Cancer research shows up as well: the foundation granted $500,000 to Melanoma Research Alliance in 2025 and $420,000 to Prostate Cancer Foundation in 2025. Youth-related support appears in a 2023 grant of $200,000 to The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation. The foundation also backed child-focused services with $237,000 to Toys for Hospitalized Children in 2023, showing a mix of medical, youth, and family-facing grantmaking.
How Stewart J Rahr Foundation Gives
Typical grant size ranges from $16,500 at the 25th percentile to $50,000 at the median and $200,000 at the 75th percentile, with recent awards extending well beyond that upper quartile. The recent record also shows repeated support for several organizations across multiple years, including Make a Wish Metro New York, Friends of United Hatzalah, NYU Langone Health, Melanoma Research Alliance, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Columbia University, and Nephcure Kidney International. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Its active grant programs accept unsolicited applications from eligible 501(c)(3) organizations, while noting that most funding is proactively identified by staff.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$4.9M
Total Assets
$96.5M
Total Revenue
$5.2M
Total Expenses
$5.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $17K and $200K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$17K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$200K
Geographic Reach
Regional15 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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