Jill and Mark Fishman Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Jill and Mark Fishman Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to health, education, human services, and Jewish causes.

IP TAKE: The foundation keeps a low public profile, which restricts transparency about its grantmaking strategies and guidelines. It is neither transparent nor accessible, as it does not accept unsolicited applications. It also doesn’t have another form of contact, other than snail-mail, which complicates things further. This is a difficult nut to crack.

PROFILE: Established in 2010, the Jill and Mark Fishman Foundation was founded by Philadelphia area couple Mark and Jill Fishman. Mark Fishman attended Williams College and received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1978. He joined the family business and was co-president of GBG Kids, (formerly Fishman & Tobin, Inc.) a Philadelphia based clothing manufacturing company. Jill Fishman attended University of Pennsylvania. She was a clinical social worker at Northwestern Institute of Psychiatry and now focuses on philanthropy.

The foundation does not maintain a website, which restricts further information regarding its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. According to tax filings, the Jill and Mark Fishman Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to health, education, human services, and Jewish causes.

Grants for Health

The foundation’s health grantmaking appears to prioritize cancer research and pediatric health.

The Fishmans are steady patrons of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where Fishman is on the board of overseers and is an emeritus trustee. He’s been involved in leadership at the hospital for some three decades. In the early 2000s, the couple established the Jane Fishman Grinberg Endowment in Stem Cell Research at CHOP in memory of Fishman’s sister. More recently, they made a donation to create the Jill and Mark Fishman Center for Lymphatic Imaging and Interventions. CHOP is also home to the Jill & Mark Fishman Center for Families.

Other grantees have included Kortney Rose Foundation, which deals with pediatric brain tumors; Lymphoma Research Foundation; Women in Need; Bryn Mawr Hospital Foundation; and K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, a “nonprofit organization that works directly with a network of retailers, manufacturers, and licensors in various industries to provide donations of product to persons in need.” Fishman is also involved with the Brodsky Research Institute at Johns Hopkins.

Grants for Jewish Causes

Jewish grantmaking, meanwhile, focuses on the Philadelphia Jewish community, as well as institutions that work for/in Israel. Fishman is a lifetime trustee of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and a current vice chair of the board. The family supports the organization as well as places like Clal-the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, American Friends of LIBI, Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, Anti Defamation League, Jewish Relief Agency, and Birthright Israel Foundation.

Grants for Education

Fishman supports his alma mater Duke University. He gave a $1.25 million gift to create a new distinguished professorship at Duke Law. Other grantees have included Jill’s school University of Pennsylvania.

Important Grant Details:

Grants range from $500 to $280,000. In a recent year, the foundation gave away around $1.2 million. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on the Philadelphia area, with organizations cities like New York and Boston also receiving some support.

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

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

Jill and Mark Fishman Foundation
848 Roscommon Rd.
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010