Skip to content
Foundation Dossiers

New York · Private foundation

The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$56k
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
1
Grants FY2024
52
Organizations funded FY2021
48%
First-time grantees FY2021
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$56,300
Largest grant, FY2024
$56,300
Organizations funded a year
49 to 52
FY2020 to FY2021
States reached, FY2024
1
Total assets, FY2024
$1.3M
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2021, 48% of the organizations The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 49% of its grant dollars.

The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving1$56k100%
FY202152$47k48%
FY202049$43kn/a
87% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$39kHealth$10kHuman Services$6kCivil Rights$6kInternational$6kCrime & Legal$4kFood & Nutrition$4kPublic Safety & Disaster$4kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
WA
IL
NY
MA
PA
NJ
RI
CA
VA
MD
DC
AL
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
The Trustees of Princeton University$8,00020%
Wellesley College$7,00020%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$5,00020%
The Humane Society for Seattleking County$3,00020%
Sprye Inc$2,50021%
Emmanuel College$2,50020%
Hopelink$2,40020%
Bryn Mawr College$2,00010%
Southern Poverty Law Center Inc$2,00010%
Rye Volunteer Firefighters Inc$1,80020%
Show all 40 grantees
All grantees of The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
The Trustees of Princeton University$8,00020%
Wellesley College$7,00020%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$5,00020%
The Humane Society for Seattleking County$3,00020%
Sprye Inc$2,50021%
Emmanuel College$2,50020%
Hopelink$2,40020%
Bryn Mawr College$2,00010%
Southern Poverty Law Center Inc$2,00010%
Rye Volunteer Firefighters Inc$1,80020%
The Community Chest of Port Washington Ny Inc$1,10020%
Citymeals-On-Wheels$1,10020%
The Harrison Public Library Foundation Inc$1,10012%
Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook Emergency Medical Services Inc$1,00010%
Appalachian Mountain Club$1,00020%
Partnership to End Addiction$1,00010%
Legal Momentum$1,00020%
Police Association of the City of Rye Inc$80010%
Girls Embracing Mothers Inc$75010%
Feeding America$65020%
Glsen Inc$60020%
The Osborn Foundation$60010%
The Feminist Press Inc$60020%
United States Association for UNHCR$50010%
Charter School of Educational Excellence$50010%
Long Island Cares Inc$50010%
The Green Mountain Club Inc Debonis$50010%
Vermont Public Radio$30020%
Manchester Music Festival Inc$30020%
WGBH Educational Foundation$25010%
New England Aquarium Corporation$25020%
Museum of Fine Arts$21520%
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc$21020%
The International School of San Francisco$20020%
Teachers College Columbia University$20020%
The New York Center for Children$20010%
Metropolitan Museum of Art$15010%
Museum of Modern Art$15010%
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center$10010%
Ethical Culture Fieldston School$10010%

Plus 35 recipients with no EIN on record ($94k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWellesley College: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMedecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Humane Society for Seattleking County: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSprye Inc: $2,500 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetEmmanuel College: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHopelink: $2,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBryn Mawr College: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern Poverty Law Center Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRye Volunteer Firefighters Inc: $1,800 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetThe Community Chest of Port Washington Ny Inc: $1,100 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCitymeals-On-Wheels: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Harrison Public Library Foundation Inc: $1,100 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetPort Chester-Rye-Rye Brook Emergency Medical Services Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPartnership to End Addiction: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLegal Momentum: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPolice Association of the City of Rye Inc: $800 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetGirls Embracing Mothers Inc: $750 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFeeding America: $650 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGlsen Inc: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Osborn Foundation: $600 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Feminist Press Inc: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUnited States Association for UNHCR: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCharter School of Educational Excellence: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLong Island Cares Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Green Mountain Club Inc Debonis: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVermont Public Radio: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetManchester Music Festival Inc: $300 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWGBH Educational Foundation: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNew England Aquarium Corporation: $250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMuseum of Fine Arts: $215 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc: $210 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe International School of San Francisco: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTeachers College Columbia University: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe New York Center for Children: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMetropolitan Museum of Art: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMuseum of Modern Art: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEthical Culture Fieldston School: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 40.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Joe & Sandy Sambe…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Morgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…National Philanthropi…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Joe & Sandy Samberg Foundation IncNY13.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Joe & Sandy Samberg Foundation Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Compare The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation with peer funders

About The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation

How much does The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation give?
The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation reported 1 grants totaling $56,300 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 49 and 52 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2021.
What does The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2024, its largest causes are Education (11%), Health (3%), Human Services (2%).
Who are The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2024: The Trustees of Princeton University ($8k), Wellesley College ($7k), Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc ($5k).
Does The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2021, 48% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The Joe & Sandy Samberg Foundation Inc, Jpmorgan Chase Foundation, Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc.
Where is The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation based?
The Robert L & Ellen D Stern Foundation is based in NY.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 77 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $64k of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Robert L & Ellen D Stern’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home