OVERVIEW: The Tiger Foundation supports education, employment, youth causes and criminal justice causes in the five boroughs of New York City, aiming to end the cycle of poverty.
IP TAKE: Tiger Foundation is a substantial, highly focused New York City funder with a clear preference for direct-service organizations that can prove their results. Its sweet spots are education, early childhood and family stability, workforce development, foster youth, diversion and reentry. General operating support is common, and longstanding grantees often receive renewals.
Tiger is also unusually approachable for a foundation of its size. It accepts unsolicited LOIs year-round and publishes detailed criteria, grant ranges and outcome expectations. Still, this is not a funder for speculative or loosely defined work. Competitive applicants will have experienced leadership, sound finances, rigorous performance data and a strong five-borough footprint.
The best strategy is to submit a tightly tailored LOI while building credibility through the New York City education and human-services networks where Tiger is already active. Earlier-stage organizations may have an opening through Seed and Expansion, but they will still need compelling leadership, a well-defined unmet need and evidence that the model can produce measurable results.
In 1996, the late Robertson and wife Josie established the Robertson Foundation to begin allocating the family’s assets to US based grantees. He also launched his third charitable organization, The Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation (BJRFF), named after his parents.
PROFILE: The Tiger Foundation was established in 1989 by Julian H. Robertson Jr., founder of Tiger Management, to help break the cycle of poverty in New York City. Although the investment firm returned outside capital in 2000, former employees and others connected to the Tiger network have remained active supporters. Robertson died in 2022, but the foundation has pledged to continue his work and says it has awarded more than $364 million since its founding.
Tiger operates with an unusually large and engaged board of nearly 40 trustees. Board members contribute financially, participate directly in grantmaking and build relationships with nonprofit partners. The foundation also provides technical assistance to selected grantees and takes part in committees and affinity groups related to their work.
Unlike a conventional endowed foundation, Tiger relies heavily on contributions from trustees and its broader donor network, so annual grantmaking can fluctuate. It supports organizations across all five boroughs through three portfolios: Education, Family Support, and Youth, Workforce, and Justice. Across these areas, Tiger favors cost-effective programs, measurable and replicable results, sound financial management and strong leadership.
Grants for Education
Tiger’s Education portfolio supports New York City district and public charter schools, school networks and community-based organizations. The foundation is interested in organizations that help students succeed academically, complete high school and pursue college, training or employment.
- Tiger is highly data-driven. Depending on the program, it examines academic growth, attendance, graduation, student and teacher retention, family engagement, college enrollment and completion, instructional quality and organizational stability. Education prospects should be prepared to demonstrate meaningful student outcomes rather than simply describe program activities.
- Recent education grantees include Bottom Line, Central Queens Academy, CUNY Reading Corps, ExpandED Schools, Internationals Network for Public Schools, KIPP NYC, Literacy Academy Collective, New Visions for Public Schools, Teaching Lab, Teaching Matters, Urban Dove and Zeta Charter Schools. Grants support both general operations and named initiatives such as tutoring, college persistence, curriculum, teacher preparation and data systems. See a full listing of grantees.
Grants for Early Childhood, Human Services and Families
Tiger’s Family Support portfolio centers on young children and their families, generally from the prenatal period through age five. It seeks to improve early development, school readiness, parenting capacity, family stability and access to essential services.
- Relevant outcomes include enrollment and retention, developmental progress, identification and treatment of developmental needs, improved parenting practices, reduced family stress, access to childcare and healthcare, housing stability and family reunification.
- Recent Family Support grantees include Association to Benefit Children, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Center for Justice Innovation’s Strong Starts program, Children’s Aid, Fund for Public Health in New York City, Northside Center, PlayReadVIP, Power of Two and University Settlement’s Butterflies program. See a full listing of grantees.
- General operating support is common, although Tiger also makes grants for specific programs.
Grants for Economic Development and Justice
The Youth, Workforce, and Justice portfolio combines work that Tiger previously described through separate youth, employment and criminal justice categories. The current portfolio supports young adults disconnected from school or employment, young people affected by foster care, adults seeking better employment and people involved with—or at risk of involvement in—the criminal legal system.
- Grants prioritize opportunities for:
- Young adults who are not in school or not working; youth who have been impacted by the foster care system
- Adults who are seeking training and employment to better support their families
- Individuals who have been involved with the criminal legal system or are at risk of system involvement.
- Tiger evaluates youth programs through recruitment, retention, completion, educational milestones and progress toward independent living. Workforce organizations should be able to document job placement, job quality, retention and wage growth. Justice organizations should demonstrate outcomes such as diversion, reduced incarceration or recidivism, employment, education and access to stabilizing services.
- Recent grantees include Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, Center for Fair Futures, Commonpoint, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, East Side House Settlement, Exalt, Graham Windham, Henry Street Settlement, The HOPE Program, Marcy Lab School, NPower, Per Scholas and The Door. See a full listing of grantees.
- Most of the foundation’s published 2025 grants in this portfolio provided general operating support.
Other Opportunities:
Tiger created its Seed and Expansion Fund in 2022. While most of its funding still goes to experienced organizations with a record of measurable impact, this fund supports earlier-stage organizations responding to unmet needs with new approaches. It can also help proven organizations accelerate growth, replicate successful programs or expand their reach.
Tiger hosts the Julian Robertson Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes up to 10 New York City classroom teachers annually with unrestricted cash prizes of $20,000. The inaugural cycle accepted nominations in fall 2025 and announced winners in 2026. This is a teacher-recognition opportunity rather than a conventional nonprofit grant program.
Important Grant Details:
Tiger provides one-year grants that generally range from $50,000 to $300,000, with an average award of approximately $200,000. Tiger’s 2024 tax filing reported approximately $106.6 million in assets and $12.7 million in charitable disbursements.
- This foundation does not maintain an endowment, relying instead on “funds from its board members and a close circle of friends and other partners” for its grantmaking.
- Although each grant contract represents a one-time commitment, the foundation considers renewals when a grantee continues to demonstrate strong results and financial need. Many organizations receive support over multiple years.
- The foundation seeks to make its support as unrestricted as possible, and general operating grants are common across all three portfolios. Tiger nevertheless funds specific projects when appropriate. Capital campaigns, endowments, benefits, debt, existing obligations, public-policy or lobbying efforts and legal assistance are ineligible.
- Tiger accepts unsolicited letters of inquiry through its online application system. There are no deadlines; qualified LOIs are reviewed throughout the year. The foundation says initial review generally takes four to six weeks. Program staff contact organizations whose requests may receive further consideration.
- Prospects should not approach Tiger as though it were invitation-only, but neither should they submit a generic request.
- For additional information about past grants, see the foundation’s grantees page.
- The Tiger Foundation accepts letters of inquiry via its website and generally responds to these in four to six weeks with formal invitations to apply.
- General inquiries may be directed to the staff at info@tigerfoundation.org or (212) 984-2565.
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