Pershing Square Foundation 

OVERVIEW: The New York City-based Pershing Square Foundation makes grants in the areas of education, global development, human rights, environment, Jewish causes, racial justice, criminal justice reform, work and opportunity and health. 

IP TAKE: More than half of Pershing Square’s U.S. grants fund organizations operating in the greater New York City area. Global grantees tend to be large, well-established nonprofits and NGOs, so grassroots outfits may have a tough time here.

The Pershing Square Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, but the names of members of its leadership team and advisory board are available on its website. Networking might be one way to get on this funder’s radar.

PROFILE: The Pershing Square Foundation was established in 2006 by Bill Ackman, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital. The foundation is based in New York City and run by Ackman and his wife, Neri Oxman. Pershing Square “supports exceptional leaders and innovative organizations that tackle important social issues and deliver scalable and sustainable impact.” Working in the U.S. and around the world, its initiatives are arts and urban development, economic opportunity and development, education, health and life sciences, social justice and environment

Grants for K-12 Education 

Education is the Pershing Square Foundation’s largest area of giving. The foundation does not outline specific goals for its K-12 grants, but a significant portion of funding in this area supports organizations that work with underserved and low-income students in and outside of classrooms. The greater New York City area also appears to be an area of geographic focus. One grantee that has received ongoing support is New York City’s Boys’ and Girls’ Harbor, which provides academic and social services to at-risk students. Another grantee, Equal Opportunity Schools, supports students who are struggling in college preparatory classes so that they are more likely to succeed academically and pursue higher education. Other K-12 grantees include the New York City summer school Practice Makes Perfect, Row New York, New York Junior Tennis and Learning and the Foundations for Newark’s Future. 

Grants for Higher Education 

The Pershing Square Foundation does not outline specific goals for its higher education funding, but according to tax filings, this is one of its largest giving areas. Grants have supported a variety of colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad, but U.S. funding prioritizes the New York area. U.S. recipients include the University of California at Berkeley, Vassar College, New York University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and the City University of New York’s Dreamers Club. Global higher education grantees include the Said Business School at Oxford University and the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University in China. 

Grants for Global Development 

Global Development grantmaking stems from Pershing Square’s education and economic opportunity initiatives. Education funding has gone to Bridge International Academies, which aims to serve students whose education has been disrupted by unrest or conflict in underserved areas of Asia and Africa. Other global education grantees include Lead Africa, Shining Hope for Communities and Stir Education, an NGO which aims to increase excellence in teaching and intrinsic motivation in students in the poorest areas of the world. Global grantees working in economic development and opportunity include Digital Divide Data, which aims to create technology career opportunities for low-income youth in Asia, and the Grameen Foundations, which aim to bring financial and information services to the world’s poorest communities. 

Grants for Work and Opportunity 

The Pershing Square Foundation’s work and opportunity grants also stem from its economic opportunity and development funding area. The foundation does not outline specific goals for its grantmaking in this area. One grantee, Social Finance Inc., funds public-private partnerships that aim to solve problems of inequality in jobs, housing and education. Another grantee, New York’s KIVA, provides low- and no-interest loans to small businesses in low- and middle-income urban communities. The foundation has also given to Year Up, a national organization that supports young adults with job training, education and job placement services. 

Grants for Global Health 

The Pershing Square Foundation supports global health via its health and life sciences initiative. Grants have mainly gone to organizations that aim to improve vital services in remote or underserved areas of the world. One grantee, Global Health Delivery, is a joint project of Harvard University and Bringham and Women’s Hospital that provides virtual education to health professionals around the world. The foundation has also supported Last Mile Health, which aims to bring lifesaving medical services to remote areas of Africa. Additional global health grantees include Sirum, the Strongheart Group and Watsi, a global health crowdfunding platform. 

Grants for Public Health 

Pershing Square’s health and life sciences grantmaking also accessibility and quality care in the U.S. Grantees include Caremessage, an organization that develops mobile technologies for health management, Planned Parenthood and HealthLeads, which helps healthcare providers connect patients with agencies that can provide basic needs. 

Grants for Disease Research 

The Pershing Square Foundation does not name specific areas of interest for its disease research funding, but it has supported research and medical education at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Medical School and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The foundation also endows the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research, which is awarded each year to scientists working in areas of high potential at early stages, when traditional funding is not available. 

Grants for Criminal Justice Reform 

Criminal justice reform giving stems from this funder’s social justice grantmaking area. The foundation has not outlined specific goals for its grantmaking in this area. Its grantees include Measures for Justice, a nonprofit that is developing a large dataset comparing criminal justice practices in counties across the U.S., and the Innocence Project, which aims to overturn wrongful convictions and reform the justice system. 

Grants for Racial Justice and Equity 

Racial justice grants also stem from Pershing Square’s social justice giving program. One grant supported the Center for Popular Democracy, which aims to create “equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy” that is inclusive of all underrepresented groups. Pershing Square has also given to the Vera Institute of Justice, which works to “end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color.”

Grants for Human Rights 

More than half of Pershing Square’s social justice funding supports global organizations, although the foundation does not name specific goals in this area. Grantees include Human Rights Watch, Crisis Action, Yahad in Unum and Seeds of Peace, which develops leadership talent with the goal of increasing social, economic and political equity around the world. 

Grants for Arts and Culture 

The Pershing Square Foundation’s arts and urban development funding tends to support organizations in the greater New York City area. Past grantees include the Signature Theatre Company, the Park Avenue Armory, Lincoln Center and the Friends of the High Line. The foundation has also given to the Silk Road Project, a global arts organization that organizes music, arts education and cultural entrepreneurship programming. 

Grants for Jewish Causes

Pershing Square has made grants to Jewish organizations via its social justice and arts and urban development grantmaking areas. Grantees include the Center for Jewish History, the New Jewish Home and the Jerusalem Foundation.

Grants for Environment, Marine and Freshwater and Wildlife Conservation

Environment is Pershing Square’s newest giving area. Early grants have gone to Greenwave, which develops ocean farms, and Rare, an organization that helps communities become more sustainable.

Important Grant Details:

The Pershing Square Foundation’s annual grantmaking has ranged from about $17 million to $38 million in recent years, with grants ranging from $25,000 to over $1 million. The foundation’s average grant size is about $100,000. Grantees tend to be large, well-established organizations. For additional information about past grantees, see the foundation’s portfolio. 

This funder does not accept and will not review unsolicited proposals for funding. The best way to contact the foundation is via email, and the names of its leadership team and advisory board are available on its website. 

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).

LINKS: