Honickman Foundation: Philadelphia Grants
/OVERVIEW: The Honickman Foundation focuses grantmaking on the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, with an emphasis on the arts, education social change, health, and Jewish heritage. The foundation is very specific about what its current priorities are in each of those categories, and most recent grants have been under $100,000. Unfortunately, unsolicited proposals are not accepted.
IP TAKE: Project H.O.M.E. and CeaseFirePA are a big part of Honickman Foundation grantmaking. Lynne Honickman serves on the board of Project H.O.M.E., which provides housing, opportunities, medical care and education for the homeless and at-risk individuals and families. She is also the founder of Moms Against Guns, which merged with CeasefirePA where she serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors. Grant seekers with a connection to these organizations may have a pathway to Honickman’s support.
PROFILE: Based in Philadelphia, the Honickman Foundation funds a small group of issues and organizations for which it hopes to truly make a difference. The foundation and its affiliate, the Honickman Charitable Trust, support projects that promote the arts, education, health, social change, and heritage. Foundation giving is primarily focused on the city of Philadelphia and the five surrounding counties.
Honickman is led by two staff members and an advisory board of eight professionals, including several high-ranking executives of Pepsi Cola & National Brand Beverages Ltd. The foundation’s president and founder is Lynn Honickman, who’s the wife of Harold Honickman, Chairman of the Honickman group of soft drink bottling and distribution companies. The Honickman businesses remain one of the nation’s largest privately owned bottling and distribution organizations today.
Lynn is a formally trained artist and writer, and she is most driven today by social activism, the arts, and her Jewish heritage. She has a long list of trustee and board memberships on her resume including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Project H.O.M.E., and the Mayor's Task Force to End Homelessness Action Leadership Team.
Honickman’s arts program is currently focused on photography and poetry that has the power to impact social change. One of the foundation’s current projects is called “This Place,” an initiative that connects 12 of the world's leading photographers to reveal Israel as they see it. The foundation’s education focus of the moment is programs that provide the computer literacy and equal opportunity to at-risk children and their families. The most representative example of a Honickman education grantee is Project H.O.M.E.'s Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs.
To support positive social change, Honickman has worked with Project H.O.M.E. on various projects, CeaseFirePA to reduce gun violence, the Support Center for Child Advocates, and the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. Health, wellness, and human service grants are generally focused on underserved women and social issues, as well as programs and research for cancer, stroke and AIDS. All heritage grants have a Jewish angle, as the foundation supports the National Museum of American Jewish History, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Birthright Israel, and Jewish education.
At the end of a past year, the Honickman Foundation reported over $11.6 million in assets and just $433,8955 in total giving. These figures have remained steady in recent years. So basically, there is plenty of potential here. Some local grantees have included the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, Friends of Rittenhouse Square, Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Art Alliance. All of these grants were in the $3,500 to $65,000 range. The foundation also gave $50 million to Jefferson Health to create The Honickman Center.
Unfortunately for grant seekers, the Honickman Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications. Grantmaking is guided by the colleagues and family members who sit on the advisory board. Kathy H. Ruyak has worked with Lynne Honickman for over 30 years, overseeing all program operations and serving as the foundation’s Executive Vice President and Director of Programs. To get in touch with general inquiries, use the foundation's Contact Us form.
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