The Wagner Family Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on Israel-focused policy, advocacy, and Jewish communal initiatives while also making smaller, local grants in Chicago-area social services and health/arts programs. A large share of funding goes to pro‑Israel think tanks, advocacy groups, and Jewish education/leadership organizations, with a secondary stream of one-off or modest gifts to nonprofits addressing homelessness, caregiving/health, and cultural programs.
Concentrated toward a few large, policy‑oriented grantees supporting Israel and Middle East policy, supplemented by many smaller discretionary grants across Jewish communal causes and local Chicago nonprofits; mix of several sizeable gifts and numerous modest awards.
A $172,500 general-support grant to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy stands out in the Nathan and Esther K Wagner Family Foundation’s recent giving and signals how central Israel-focused policy and advocacy are to the funder’s profile. The foundation’s grants also show consistent support for Jewish communal institutions and organizations working on Israel education, public advocacy, and philanthropic leadership. Recent recipients include Friends of Elnet, American Israeli Education Foundation, StandWithUs, PEF Israel Endowment Funds Inc., and Central Fund for Israel, all funded for general support. Alongside that core pattern, the foundation makes smaller grants to local and civic nonprofits, including Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness and Institute for Therapy Through the Arts, as well as service organizations such as Israel Guide Dog Center. The overall picture is of a family foundation that combines larger grants to policy and advocacy groups with modest unrestricted support for a wider mix of Jewish, civic, and social-service organizations. Its latest grant list also includes recurring support across multiple years for some Jewish communal groups, reinforcing a sustained rather than purely opportunistic funding approach.
Israel-focused policy and advocacy is the clearest theme in the recent grants. The foundation gave $172,500 to Washington Institute for Near East Policy for general support, $50,000 to American Israeli Education Foundation for general support, and $21,600 to StandWithUs for general support. Jewish philanthropic infrastructure is another thread: it awarded $20,000 to PEF Israel Endowment Funds Inc for general support and $7,500 to Center for Entrepreneurial Jewish Philanthropy for general support. The family foundation also extends smaller general-support gifts to civic and social-service organizations outside that core lane, including $14,130 to Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness and $4,000 to World Central Kitchen Inc. A separate grant of $4,000 to Israel Guide Dog Center shows direct support for an Israel-based service provider.
Typical grant size is modest: the middle grant in the dataset is $5,400, with a lower quartile of $3,099 and an upper quartile of $7,700. The grant list mixes a few much larger awards with many smaller general-support gifts, suggesting a combination of anchor grants and broad-based, flexible support. Several organizations appear more than once across the available years, including Project Kesher and Jewish Federations of North America, which points to some recurring relationships rather than strictly one-time awards. The foundation itself is a family foundation, and the grants shown are overwhelmingly unrestricted or general support. No application process is indicated in the data.
$455K
$6.3M
$939K
$738K
Most grants fall between $3K and $8K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$8K
About 13% of grants go to recipients in NY.
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Notable grantees: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Friends of ELNET, American Israeli Education Foundation, StandWithUs, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
Grant recipients are entirely in the United States in the data provided. New York appears repeatedly, with recipients in New York, NY, New York City, NY, Staten Island, NY, and New Rochelle, NY. Washington, DC is also a frequent destination, alongside Chicago, IL and Skokie, IL in the Midwest. Other recipient locations include Los Angeles, CA; Boston, MA; Denver, CO; Boulder, CO; Arlington, VA; Warrington, PA; and Lewes, DE. The foundation gives most often in New York by grant count, even though its headquarters are in Highland Park, Illinois.
Recent grants emphasize Israel-focused policy and advocacy, Jewish communal and philanthropic organizations, and Jewish education or leadership work. The foundation also makes smaller general-support grants to Chicago-area social services, health and arts programs, and a few civic or bridging organizations.
The middle grant size is $5,400, with a p25 of $3,099 and a p75 of $7,700. That distribution sits alongside a few much larger awards, including one $172,500 grant and several gifts in the $10,000 to $55,000 range.
No. Israel-focused policy and advocacy is the dominant theme, but the grant list also includes Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness, Institute for Therapy Through the Arts, World Central Kitchen Inc, and Conservation International, all funded with general support.
New York is the top state by grant count, and recent recipient cities include New York, New York City, Staten Island, and New Rochelle. The foundation also gives in Washington, DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, and other US cities.
Yes. The data shows repeated giving to some organizations across multiple years, including Project Kesher and Jewish Federations of North America. Most awards in the recent list are described as general support, which is consistent with ongoing institutional relationships.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY | WASHINGTON, DC | $172,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FRIENDS OF ELNET | SKOKIE, IL | $55,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| AMERICAN ISRAELI EDUCATION FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| STANDWITHUS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $21,600 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PEF ISRAELS ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CENTRAL FUND FOR ISRAEL | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS | CHICAGO, IL | $14,130 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| BRAVER ANGELS | NEW YORK, NY | $14,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CHEF ANN FOUNDATION | BOULDER, CO | $14,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION - ILLINOIS | ATLANTA, GA | $12,480 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION | STATEN ISLAND, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| HETERODOX ACADEMY | NEW YORK CITY, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL JEWISH PHILANTHROPY | NEW ROCHELLE, NY | $7,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| COMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING AND ANALYSIS | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ISRAEL GUIDE DOG CENTER | WARRINGTON, PA | $4,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| INSTITUTE FOR THERAPY THROUGH THE ARTS | EVANSTON, IL | $4,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| AI FOR GOOD FOUNDATION | LEWES, DE | $4,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL | ARLINGTON, VA | $4,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JOY AS RESISTANCE | DENVER, CO | $4,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC | WASHINGTON, DC | $4,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JEWISH UNITED FUND OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $85,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FRIENDS OF ELNET | SKOKIE, IL | $75,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| AMERICAN ISRAELI EDUCATION FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PEF ISRAELS ENDOWMENT FUNDS INC | NEW YORK, NY | $40,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CENTRAL FUND FOR ISRAEL | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| STANDWITHUS | LOS ANGELES, CA | $21,600 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL JEWISH PHILANTHROPY | NEW ROCHELLE, NY | $17,500 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| COMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING AND ANALYSIS | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PROJECT KESHER | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA | NEW YORK, NY | $799 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY
$172,500GENERAL SUPPORT
AMERICAN ISRAELI EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$50,000GENERAL SUPPORT
CENTRAL FUND FOR ISRAEL
GENERAL SUPPORT
ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION - ILLINOIS
$12,480GENERAL SUPPORT
COMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING AND ANALYSIS
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
INSTITUTE FOR THERAPY THROUGH THE ARTS
$4,000GENERAL SUPPORT
AI FOR GOOD FOUNDATION
$4,000GENERAL SUPPORT
JEWISH UNITED FUND OF CHICAGO
$85,000GENERAL SUPPORT
AMERICAN ISRAELI EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$50,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT