Asen Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Asen Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to conservation, global health, and the arts.

IP TAKE: The foundation does not maintain a website, which restricts transparency about grantmaking strategies and guidelines. Tax filings show that this funder may support an organization for more than one year, which makes its grantmaking a crowded space. It’s lack of public profile suggests it prefers to choose its own grantees to support, as indicated by its decision to not accept unsolicited proposals. However, call this foundation to introduce your work to them to get on their radar.

PROFILE: Established in 2007, the Asen Foundation is steered by R. Scott Asen, a private investor through Asen & Company. Tax filings suggest that the Asen Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to conservation, global health, and the arts.

Grants for Conservation

The Asen Foundation’s tax filings suggest that environmental conservation grantmaking is a top priority. Scott takes up residence in the Northeast, where local environmental work takes place. He also appears to have a strong interest in African wildlife conservation, and was on the board of WildlifeDirect which works in Kenya. One grantee, Big Life Foundation, preserving the wildlife and habitats of the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem of East Africa through community-based and collaborative strategies.”Scott was also on the board of Land and Garden Preserve in Maine.

Grants for the Arts

Foundation arts grantmaking includes support of writers. Scott was on the board of The Paris Review, which he steadily supports through the Paris Review Foundation. He’s also supported places like Authors Guild Foundation and Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. Asen has worked as a journalist and author.

Grantmaking Insights

Grants range from $250 to $50,000. In a recent year, the foundation gave away approximately $195,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Domestic grantmaking focuses primarily on the Northeast, particularly New York, Connecticut, and Maine. Past grantees include American Folk Art Museum, Doctors Without Borders, National Book Foundation, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited applications.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

The Asen Foundation
24 E. 49th St.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 758-2323