The BH Breslauer Foundation gives large, targeted gifts to major bibliographic and cultural institutions focused on collecting and preserving rare books and manuscripts. Their grants fund acquisitions and endowment support for special collections, favoring established libraries, museums, and bibliophile organizations in New York and internationally. The foundation is distinctive for concentrated, high-dollar support of material-culture preservation rather than broad programmatic funding.
Few, high-value grants concentrated on acquisition and collection-building; funding is relationship-driven to prominent bibliographic institutions rather than many small or grassroots grants.
Bh Breslauer Foundation Inc C/o Ivan Rosenblum concentrates its giving on rare books, manuscripts, and the institutions that acquire and preserve them. The largest recent gift was $250,000 to the Morgan Library and Museum in New York for purchase rare books, a signal of how the foundation favors material acquisitions over broad program support. Its other sizable awards show a similar pattern: $100,000 to The Grolier Club for rare books and endowment, and $100,000 to Biblioteque Nationals De France for purchase rare books. Those grants place established libraries and bibliophile organizations at the center of its grantmaking. The foundation’s recent awards also include support for university and research-library collections, including a $38,000 grant to the University of California, Davis for purchase rare books and a $9,000 grant to the Library Company of Philadelphia for the same purpose. The overall picture is a funder that directs large, selective gifts toward collection development, special collections, and the preservation of rare printed material. Its giving aligns with institutions that hold, expand, and steward bibliographic assets rather than organizations seeking general operating support.
A clear theme in the foundation’s giving is acquisition support for rare-book collections. In 2023, it gave $250,000 to the Morgan Library and Museum for purchase rare books, and $38,000 to the University of California, Davis for the same purpose. That emphasis points to a preference for expanding existing collections rather than funding general library activity. It also backs special collections and bibliophile institutions. A $100,000 grant to The Grolier Club was designated for rare books and endowment, combining collection growth with long-term support. Outside the United States, the foundation made a $100,000 award to Biblioteque Nationals De France for purchase rare books, extending its collection-focused giving to an international cultural institution.
Typical grant size is concentrated at the high end: the p25 is $38,000, the median is $100,000, and the p75 is also $100,000. That distribution shows a cluster around six-figure awards, with smaller gifts appearing less often. The 2023 record includes grants ranging from $9,000 to $250,000. The foundation appears to make targeted, restricted awards for acquisitions and endowment support rather than broad operating grants. In the available 2023 data, each recipient appears once, so the pattern reads as selective project-based giving rather than repeated multi-year support to the same grantee.
$497K
$0
-$3K
$792K
Most grants fall between $38K and $100K, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$38K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$100K
About 50% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Bh Breslauer Foundation Inc C/O Ivan Rosenblum.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 4 | $397K | 80.0% |
| 2 | France | 1 | $100K |
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Notable grantees: Morgan Library and Museum, Bibliothèque nationale de France, The Grolier Club
Grantmaking is regional, with 50% of grants going to recipients in New York, the foundation’s top state by grant count. New York City appears repeatedly through awards to the Morgan Library and Museum and The Grolier Club. Outside New York, grants reached Davis, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one award went to Paris, France. The recipient-country split is mostly U.S.-based: 4 grants in the United States and 1 in France.
It funds libraries, museums, bibliophile organizations, and university collections tied to rare books and manuscripts. Recent awards went to the Morgan Library and Museum, The Grolier Club, Biblioteque Nationals De France, the University of California, Davis, and the Library Company of Philadelphia.
The grant-size distribution is concentrated around six-figure awards. The p25 is $38,000, the median is $100,000, and the p75 is $100,000. In the recent grants listed, awards ranged from $9,000 to $250,000.
Its giving centers on rare book and manuscript acquisitions, support for special collections and rare-book libraries, endowment support for bibliophile organizations and clubs, and museum or library purchases tied to collection development.
Most grants go to recipients in New York, which is the top state by grant count. In the recent data, 50% of grants were to recipients in New York, with additional grants in California, Pennsylvania, and France.
In the 2023 grants listed, each recipient appears once. The pattern suggests selective project-based giving rather than repeated multi-year support to the same organization in the available data.
2023
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2023.
20.0% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MORGAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM | NEW YORK, NY | $250,000 | 2023 | PURCHASE RARE BOOKS |
| THE GROLIER CLUB | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | 2023 | RARE BOOKS, ENDOWMENT |
| BIBLIOTEQUE NATIONALS DE FRANCE | PARIS | $100,000 | 2023 | PURCHASE RARE BOOKS |
| UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA | DAVIS, CA | $38,000 | 2023 | PURCHASE RARE BOOKS |
| LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $9,000 | 2023 | PURCHASE RARE BOOKS |
MORGAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
$250,000PURCHASE RARE BOOKS
THE GROLIER CLUB
$100,000RARE BOOKS, ENDOWMENT
BIBLIOTEQUE NATIONALS DE FRANCE
$100,000PURCHASE RARE BOOKS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
$38,000PURCHASE RARE BOOKS
LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA
$9,000PURCHASE RARE BOOKS