Robbins Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The New York City-based Robbins Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of hedge fund manager Larry Robbins. Its largest area of giving is education. Other interests include economic development, health and Jewish causes.
IP TAKE: The hedge fund virtuoso Larry Robbins, founder of the New York City-based Robbins Family Foundation, is a well known supporter of charters schools, especially in New York City. A significant portion of the foundation’s giving serves organizations where Robbins serves on or leads boards of trustees. The Robbins Family Foundation does not maintain a website and does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding. A connection to the family or one of its grantees could lead to an in with this funder.
PROFILE: Established in New York City in 2008, the Robbins Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of hedge fund manager Larry Robbins. A native of Illinois, Robbins is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. After college, he moved to New York City and worked at Gleacher & Co. and Omega Advisors before starting his own hedge fund, Glenview Capital Management, in 2000. Glenview manages an estimated $8 billion and has made successful investments in healthcare and hospital companies. Larry Robbins is well-known for his financial and strategic support of large charter school networks and, more broadly, of public school reform. Robbins is the board chair of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) and New York City’s Relay Graduate School of Education. He is also personally involved with the Robin Hood Foundation’s education committee and Teach for America.
The Robbins Family Foundation does not maintain a website, making it difficult to understand its specific grantmaking priorities. In addition to education, its largest giving area, the foundation supports health, disease research, housing, economic opportunity and Jewish causes. Grantmaking is national in scope, with a strong focus on the New York City area.
Grants for K-12 Education
The Robbins Family Foundation prioritizes organizations and schools that aim to improve educational outcomes for underserved children, with a strong focus on charter schools and New York-based initiatives. Robbins is the chairs the board of KIPP New York, which has received millions over the years. The foundatin has also funded Connecticut’s Achievement First, which runs over 40 schools, and Success Academy Charter Schools.
Other early childhood and K-12 grantees include Array Education, the Riverdale Country School and the Allen Stevenson School, all of New York City. Funding has also gone to chapters of Communities in Schools, the Higher Achievement Program and Reach out and Read.
Grants for Higher Education
The Robbins Family Foundation’s support for education reform extends to teacher education. Larry Robbins chairs the board of New York City’s Relay Graduate School of Education, which receives ongoing support, and Teach for America. The foundation also regularly supports Teach for America, where Robbins has been a board member, and the University of Pennsylvania, Robbins alma mater.
Other higher education grantees include Sacred Heart University, Johns Hopkins University and New York University.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Urban Development
The Robbins Family Foundation has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting affordable housing opportunities for low-income families and vulnerable populations. The foundation’s main recipient in this area is the Robin Hood Foundation, where Larry Robbins sits on the board. In addition to other “poverty fighting” areas, Robbin Hood supports and invests in organizations that aim to expand and maintain affordable housing throughout the city.
Other housing grantees include Virginia’s Housing Families First, which aims to provide homeless and vulnerable families with a “path to a permanent home,” and the Family Independence Initiative of Texas.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
Economic opportunity for low- and middle-income Americans appears to be another significant area of interest for the Robbins Foundation. In addition to the Robbin Hood Foundation, which works broadly to “fight poverty” in New York City, the foundation has given to the Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center, ReWork Richmond and California’s Help Me Help You, which assists offenders find stable employment upon reentry.
Grants for Jewish Causes
Larry Robbins has served on various boards at the New York-based United Jewish Appeal Federation, which has received ongoing support from the Robbins Family Foundation. Other Jewish organizations that have received funding in recent years include Manhattan’s Jewish Community Center, New Jersey’s Morasha Olami, an organization that promotes Jewish culture.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
The Robbins Family Foundation’s grantmaking for health and diseases has decreased over the past several years, but a few select organizations have continued to receive funding. The foundation recently made grants to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mayo Clinic.
Other health-related grantees include the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Sohn Conference Foundation and the Travis Roy Foundation.
Important Grant Details:
Robbins Family Foundation grants range from $5,000 to $1 million.
Giving is national in scope, but New York City is a clear priority and the target of more than half of the foundation’s total grantmaking.
A significant portion of funding serves organizations where Larry Robbins maintains board positions.
Grants tend to support large, well-established organizations.
This funder does not accept applications and gives only to pre-selected organizations.
For additional information about past grantmaking, see this funder’s tax filings.
The Robbins Family Foundation does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch, but a mailing address and phone number are provided below.
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CONTACT:
Robbins Family Foundation
767 5th Ave., 44th Fl.
New York, NY United States 10153
(212) 812-4700
