The Bernhill Fund makes a small number of sizable general‑purpose grants focused on education-related causes and public interest work. Its giving is concentrated and selective: significant multi‑thousand dollar gifts support arts-in-schools programming, higher education/scholarships, and legal-justice efforts. Grants are often unrestricted/general operating support and include repeat funding to longtime partners.
Concentrated, high-dollar grants across very few recipients; mixes repeat funding (Studio in a School) with one-off large gifts; predominantly general-purpose/unrestricted support rather than project-specific grants.
A defining feature of The Bernhill Fund is its repeated support for education-linked institutions and public-interest legal work, with several recipients appearing across multiple years. The largest recent grant in the file was a $125,000 general-purpose award to Studio in a School Association Inc in 2025, and the same amount also went to The Winston Churchill Foundation in 2024. That pattern of substantial unrestricted grants runs alongside smaller awards to universities, cultural institutions, and scholarship organizations. In the recent grants list, Yale University received $50,000 for general purposes, and The Innocence Project received $50,000 in 2023 plus another $10,000 in 2024. The fund also backed Leo Baeck Institute in both 2024 and 2025, as well as Weill Cornell Medical College in both years. Across the record, the foundation’s giving looks selective rather than broad-based, with gifts often described as general purpose or general purposes and a visible preference for established organizations in New York.
Education-related giving appears in several forms. In 2024, The Bernhill Fund gave $125,000 to The Winston Churchill Foundation for general purposes, and in 2025 it added another $25,000 scholarship grant to the same organization. It also supported higher education directly with a $50,000 general-purpose grant to Yale University in 2024 and $25,000 to Weill Cornell Medical College in both 2024 and 2025. The arts-in-schools side of the portfolio is visible in a $125,000 grant to Studio in a School Association Inc in 2025 and a $50,000 grant to Studio in a School Association in 2023. Public-interest legal work is another clear theme: The Innocence Project received $50,000 in 2023 and $10,000 in 2024. Cultural institutions such as Leo Baeck Institute also received support in consecutive years.
Typical grant size centers in the low five figures, with the 25th percentile at $8,750, the median at $13,750, and the 75th percentile at $26,250. The distribution includes a small number of much larger awards, including several $50,000 and $125,000 grants. The record shows repeat funding to the same organizations across multiple years, including The Winston Churchill Foundation, Studio in a School Association, Leo Baeck Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, and The Innocence Project. Grants are described largely as general purposes or general purpose support, with one scholarship grant noted. The fund also makes grants to individuals, and it does not make program-related investments.
$108K
$1.5M
$299K
$134K
Most grants fall between $9K and $26K, with a median of $14K.
25th Percentile
$9K
Median
$14K
75th Percentile
$26K
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Notable grantees: Studio in a School Association (repeat grantee focused on arts education), The Winston Churchill Foundation (scholarship/fellowship grants), The Innocence Project (legal-defense/wrongful-conviction work), Yale University (higher education grant)
Giving is strongly concentrated in New York: 90% of grants went to recipients in the HQ state, and New York is also the top state by grant count. The most frequent recipient city is New York, NY, which appears across universities, arts groups, media organizations, and legal nonprofits. Other recipient locations appear only occasionally, including New Haven, CT for Yale University, Roosevelt Island, NY for Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, and Lawrenceville, NJ for The Lawrenceville School. All recent grants in the file went to US recipients.
The recent record shows support for education-related institutions, arts-in-schools programming, scholarship organizations, higher education, and public-interest legal work. Examples include general-purpose grants to Studio in a School Association Inc, Yale University, and The Innocence Project, plus a scholarship grant to The Winston Churchill Foundation.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including The Winston Churchill Foundation, Studio in a School Association, Leo Baeck Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, and The Innocence Project. That pattern suggests recurring support rather than one-off grants only.
The 25th percentile grant is $8,750, the median is $13,750, and the 75th percentile is $26,250. The file also includes larger awards such as $50,000 and $125,000, showing a mix of mid-sized and major grants.
Its giving is concentrated in New York. Ninety percent of grants went to recipients in the HQ state, and New York is the top state by grant count. Recent recipient cities include New York, NY, New Haven, CT, Roosevelt Island, NY, and Lawrenceville, NJ.
No. The foundation funds individuals as well as organizations. The available record also shows one scholarship grant, alongside many general-purpose grants to institutions.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEO BAECK INSTITUTE | NEW YORK, NY | $35,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE WINSTON CHURCHILL FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2026 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE INNOCENCE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS | NEW YORKN, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE GIFT OF HOPE USA FDN | STAMFORD, CT | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| STUDIO IN A SCHOOL ASSOCIATION INC | NEW YORK, NY | $125,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| LEO BAECK INSTITUTE | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE WINSTON CHURCHILL FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | SCHOLARSHIP |
| NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS | NEW YORKN, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| WNET GROUP | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SCAN HARBOR INC | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| FOUR FREEDOMS PARK CONSERVANCY | ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY | $1,000 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE WINSTON CHURCHILL FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $125,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| LEO BAECK INSTITUTE | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS | NEW YORKN, NY | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE WNET GROUP | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY | NEW YORK, NY | $12,500 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE INNOCENCE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MOMA | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION | NEW YORK, NY | $2,500 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE INNOCENCE PROJECT | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| STUDIO IN A SCHOOL ASSOCIATION | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE MOMA | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| THE LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL | LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| CENTURY ASSOCIATION ARCHIVES FOUNDATION | NEW YORK, NY | $250 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO
$20,000GENERAL PURPOSES
NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
$10,000GENERAL PURPOSES
THE GIFT OF HOPE USA FDN
GENERAL PURPOSES
NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
$25,000GENERAL PURPOSES
WNET GROUP
$15,000GENERAL PURPOSES
THE INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
$5,000GENERAL PURPOSES
YALE UNIVERSITY
$50,000GENERAL PURPOSES
NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
$25,000GENERAL PURPOSES
NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO
$15,000GENERAL PURPOSES
THE WNET GROUP
$15,000GENERAL PURPOSES
THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY
$12,500GENERAL PURPOSES
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MOMA
$10,000GENERAL PURPOSES
NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO
$15,000GENERAL PURPOSES
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE MOMA
$10,000GENERAL PURPOSES
NAUMBURG ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
$5,000GENERAL PURPOSES
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
$1,000GENERAL PURPOSES
CENTURY ASSOCIATION ARCHIVES FOUNDATION
$250GENERAL PURPOSES