BNY Mellon Foundation makes a small number of large, general‑operating gifts to national and urban institutional partners across research, workforce integration, civic life and global humanitarian causes. Their portfolio blends support for higher‑education research entities and civic/arts institutions with funding for immigrant workforce programs, financial inclusion, and international health/relief organizations. Grants tend to be unrestricted and aimed at organizations with broad reach or institutional capacity rather than small grassroots groups.
BNY Mellon Foundation’s recent giving is defined by large general-operating grants to institutional partners, led by a $2,000,000 award to the Research Foundation of the City of New York for general operating support. That pattern continues with a $1,000,000 grant to Upwardly Global and a $900,000 grant to the Wtc Performing Arts Center, showing support for research, immigrant workforce integration, and major civic or arts institutions. The foundation also backed the Research Foundation of CUNY with $550,000 and Kiva with $300,000, both as general operating grants, which points to a preference for organizations with broad reach and established infrastructure rather than project-only funding. Across the recent grants list, the same operating-support label appears repeatedly, and the recipient mix includes urban higher-education research entities, workforce mobility groups, cultural institutions, and humanitarian organizations. Its portfolio also reaches civic initiatives tied to America 250 and global relief organizations, indicating an interest in institutions serving public, community, and international needs through flexible support.
In higher-education research, the foundation gave $550,000 to the Research Foundation of CUNY for general operating support, building on a $2,000,000 grant to the Research Foundation of the City of New York in the prior year. For immigrant workforce reentry, it awarded $1,000,000 to Upwardly Global, also as general operating support. Cultural and civic institutions appear in the funding mix as well: the Wtc Performing Arts Center received $900,000, and the America 250 Foundation received $166,000. Global financial inclusion is another theme, reflected in a $300,000 grant to Kiva. Humanitarian support also shows up through grants to International Medical Corps, Catholic Relief Services, United Nations Foundation Inc, and Save the Children Humanitarian Aid.
Typical grants are large: p25 is $150,000, median is $158,000, and p75 is $475,000. The recent record shows repeated support for some organizations across years, including the Research Foundation of the City of New York and America 250, which received grants in more than one year. The foundation is a regular funder and the grants listed are all general operating support, indicating flexible institutional funding rather than project-specific awards. No individual grant application process is described in the provided data.
$7.4M
$40M
$2.3M
$3.8M
Most grants fall between $150K and $475K, with a median of $158K.
25th Percentile
$150K
Median
$158K
75th Percentile
$475K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Concentrated, large general‑operating grants to established national or urban institutions with occasional employee matching; a few high-dollar gifts dominate total giving rather than many small grants.
Notable grantees: Research Foundation of the City of New York, Upwardly Global, WTC Performing Arts Center, Kiva, International Medical Corps
The recipient base is entirely U.S.-based in the recent grants list. New York City is the clearest hub, with grants to organizations in New York, NY and a top state by grant count of New York. Other recipient cities include Santa Monica, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Alexandria, VA, Fairfield, CT, and Pittsburgh, PA. The foundation’s headquarters is Pittsburgh, but none of the recent grants listed are to Pennsylvania recipients apart from an employee-donations matching program in Pittsburgh.
The recent grants list points to institutional partners across research, workforce integration, civic life, arts, financial inclusion, and humanitarian aid. Examples include university research foundations, Upwardly Global, Wtc Performing Arts Center, Kiva, and international relief organizations, with all listed awards labeled general operating support.
The listed awards are consistently general operating grants. That includes the $2,000,000 award to the Research Foundation of the City of New York, the $1,000,000 grant to Upwardly Global, and the $300,000 grant to Kiva, suggesting flexible support for organizational capacity rather than project-only funding.
Typical grants are large. The provided distribution shows a p25 of $150,000, a median of $158,000, and a p75 of $475,000. The recent list also includes several seven-figure or near-seven-figure awards.
Yes. The recent grants show repeat support for some recipients across years, including the Research Foundation of the City of New York and America 250. That indicates at least some continuing relationships rather than one-time awards.
New York is the top state by grant count in the recent data. The recipient list is entirely U.S.-based, with many awards going to organizations in New York, NY, alongside grants in cities such as Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER | NEW YORK, NY | $900,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MILKEN INSTITUTE | SANTA MONICA, CA | $800,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MATCHING GRANTS FOR EMPLOYEE DONATIONS | PITTSBURGH, PA | $700,056 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF CUNY | NEW YORK, NY | $550,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| KIVA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $300,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| AMERICA 250 FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $166,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| GIRLS INC OF NYC | NEW YORK, NY | $300,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| AMERICA 250 | ALEXANDRIA, VA | $166,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK | NEW YORK, NY | $2,000,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UPWARDLY GLOBAL | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC | WASHINGTON DC, DC | $150,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES | BALTIMORE, MD | $150,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $150,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| SAVE THE CHILDREN HUMANITARIAN AID | FAIRFIELD, CT | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING |
WTC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
$900,000GENERAL OPERATING
MILKEN INSTITUTE
$800,000GENERAL OPERATING
MATCHING GRANTS FOR EMPLOYEE DONATIONS
$700,056GENERAL OPERATING
RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF CUNY
$550,000GENERAL OPERATING
KIVA
$300,000GENERAL OPERATING
AMERICA 250 FOUNDATION
$166,000GENERAL OPERATING
GIRLS INC OF NYC
$300,000GENERAL OPERATING
AMERICA 250
$166,000GENERAL OPERATING
RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
$2,000,000GENERAL OPERATING
UPWARDLY GLOBAL
$1,000,000GENERAL OPERATING
UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC
$150,000GENERAL OPERATING
CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
$150,000GENERAL OPERATING
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS
$150,000GENERAL OPERATING
SAVE THE CHILDREN HUMANITARIAN AID
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING