OVERVIEW: The New York Life Foundation supports young people and emphasizes education and bereavement support. It runs a separate initiative to support the philanthropic interests of its employees.
IP TAKE: New York Life is a significant national corporate funder with an unusually deep commitment to childhood bereavement. In 2026, it added a major new youth-development strategy, Coaching the Future, backed by an initial $15 million, three-year commitment. Grantseekers should know that most of the Foundation’s larger strategic relationships are not open to unsolicited proposals. However, New York Life maintains several meaningful entry points, including the competitive Grief Reach and Aim High programs, employee- and agent-connected workplace grants, and a new Coaching the Future RFP expected in 2027. This makes the Foundation more accessible than a wholly invitation-only corporate funder, but nonprofits should pursue the specific channel that fits their work rather than rely on general direct outreach.
PROFILE: Established in 1979, the New York Life Foundation is the philanthropic offshoot of the New York Life Insurance Company, a leading provider of life insurance that is based in New York City. The Foundation is on a mission to “improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities.” Under the leadership of President Heather Nesle, this Foundation represents corporate philanthropy in a relatively niche area of individual and community grief. In this vein, focus areas include grants to support children’s bereavement, workplace grief counseling and education. It also supports the philanthropic interests of its employees through a matching grants program.
Grants for Community and Youth
New York Life is widely recognized for its bereavement support, with the Foundation “committed to ensuring that no one grieves alone and that everyone—from families to educators, managers, and community leaders—is equipped to help.”
- It funds both direct-service grief centers and national capacity-building networks, especially through the Grief Reach Program co-run by National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG).
- Major six-and-seven figure grants recently awarded partners like the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, The Dougy Center, and significant combined funding exceeding $1.1 million to the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.
- New York Life also supports grief research and clinical models, with recent grants benefitting Judi’s House and the Yale Child Study Center.
- Some bereavement support, which don’t necessarily take the form of traditional grants, flows through two subprograms: the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative and the Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative.
- Grief-Sensitive Schools resources seek to “better equip educators and other school personnel to support grieving students.”
- Grief-Supportive Workplace resources “help companies build compassionate bereavement support for employees while maintaining business productivity.”
- In 2026, New York Life launched Coaching the Future, a major new funding initiative designed to expand young people’s access to trained coaches and mentors. The Foundation committed an initial $15 million over three years and aims to help train 25,000 coaches and mentors. Grantmaking is organized around three areas:
- On the Field Coaching supports youth sports, including coach training and access to equipment and other resources.
- Off the Field Coaching supports mentoring and coaching that develops life, leadership and career skills.
- All Abilities Coaching supports inclusive coaching, sports and leadership opportunities for young people of differing abilities.
- Initial national partners include Best Buddies International, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts of the USA and Positive Coaching Alliance.
Grants for Education
Recognizing middle school as a critical intervention period, the foundation heavily funds after school programs, summer learning, and educational equity initiatives for children through its Educational Enhancement grants, including the Aim High subprogram.
- Grants largely seeks to “prepare [children] for successful transitions to high school and throughout life,” hence its focus on the middle-school-aged demographic.
- Grantee organizations range from tutoring outfits, history museums, STEM teaching labs, college prep nonprofits and other kinds of after school programs.
- Aim High awards forty general operating grants of $20,000 to organizations demonstrating a commitment to middle schoolers.
- Recent grantees include After-School All-Stars, the American Museum of Natural History, Higher Achievement and the Queens Library Foundation.
Grants for Civic and Democracy, and Racial Justice
While strictly secondary to its two main pillars, the foundation has also historically distributed significant corporate grants to legacy civil rights organizations and major cultural institutions.
- Key partners include the NAACP, TheHistoryMakers, Ms. Foundation for Women, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers.
- A listing of recent grantees can be found on its website.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between $5,000 and over $1 million. The foundation typically awards just under $30 million in grants each year.
- This funder does not provide the clearest online instructions for applications, although they do exist, via the Grant Opportunities page.
- The two programs which explicitly announce multiple grant cycles during the year are Grief Reach and Aim High; otherwise, funding appears to be invite-only.
- The foundation explicitly does not fund individuals, religious organizations for sectarian purposes, or political campaigns.
- The foundation is highly approachable and directs grantseekers to its website for full criteria.
- Consider contacting an employee or agent at one of New York Life’s general offices to make an introduction.
- General inquiries can be directed to the NYLF staff at (212) 576-7341 or via email at nylfoundation@newyorklife.com.
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