Robert and Jane Toll Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Robert and Jane Toll Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education and youth, Jewish causes, art and cultural programs, and health and human services. Geographic priorities include New York City, Philadelphia and Miami.

IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. The Toll Foundation tends to support the same grantees year after year, and many of these are organizations with which family members are connected. One way to gain this funder’s attention might be to network with past recipients.

PROFILE: Established in 1991, the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation was founded by businessman Robert Toll and his wife, Jane. Robert Toll co-founded Toll Brothers in 1967, a publicly-traded luxury home builder in Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to tax filings, the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education and youth, Jewish causes, art and cultural programs, and health and human services. While this foundation does not name specific priorities for its grantmaking, the Tolls have said that their “philanthropy will be always about eliminating economic inequality and education."

Grants for Education

A significant portion of the Toll Foundation’s grantmaking supports education. While this funder does not name educational priorities for its work in this field, it appears to prioritize out-of-school learning and youth development organizations. The Tolls serve on the board of Seeds of Peace, which brings youth and educators from areas of conflict around the world to a camp in Maine. The organization has received ongoing support over the past several years. Jane Toll, who worked as a teacher for many years, has spearheaded a program that provides support to promising students from underserved urban communities through Say Yes to Education, which also receives regular funding from the foundation. Robert Toll, meanwhile, served for several years on the board of trustees at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, which received $10 million in the 2010s for a scholarship and student debt reduction program. More recently, in 2020, the law school received an additional $50 million for the expansion of the Toll Public Interest Scholars and Fellows Program.

Grants for Jewish Causes

The Toll Foundation has supported many Jewish organizations over the past several years, although the foundation does not name goals or specific areas of interest for this giving. Among its recent recipients are New York City’s Park Avenue Synagogue, the Jewish Museum, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Temple, Beth Shalom Congregation in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania and Bet Shalom in Miami Beach, Florida.

Grants for Ats and Culture

The Toll Foundation makes grants for arts and culture, and tax filings suggest a focus on music organizations in the New York City area. Recently, grants have gone to the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. The foundation has also given to the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Arts and culture grantees outside of the realm of music include New York City’s Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Playwrights Preview Productions and the Museum of Modern Art.

Grants for Public Health and Diseases

This funder gives broadly in the area of public health, making grants to hospitals and disease research institutes in New York, Florida and elsewhere. Grantees include Pennsylvania’s Abbington Memorial Hospital, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the American Cancer Society, the New York Stem Cell Foundation and New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery.

Grants for Civic Engagement, Democracy, Work and Opportunity

While these are smaller areas of giving for the Toll Foundation, grantmaking has gone to some organizations concerned with civic engagement and poverty alleviation in recent years. In 2019, the foundation made a grant of over $1 million to the Barack Obama Foundation. Other recipients include New York City’s Robin Hood Foundation, Women in Need and Goods for Good, through which distributes food, clothing and supplies to individuals and families need in the Washington D.C. area.

Grants for Immigrants and Refugees

Grantmaking for immigrants and refugees represents a smaller area of giving for this funder, yet recent tax filings have suggested a growing interest in this area. The Toll Foundation has supported Americans for Immigrant Justice, the International Refugee Assistance Project and Human Rights Watch.

Important Grant Details

Grants mainly range from $100 to $300,000. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $2.2 million. This funder appears to prioritize New York City, Greater Philadelphia and Greater Miami. For additional information about past grants, see this funder’s recent tax filings.

The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals. Contact information is provided below.

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CONTACT:

The Robert and Jane Toll Foundation
250 Gibraltar Rd.
Horsham, PA 19044

(215) 938-8000