Kneisel Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Kneisel Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, the arts, health, and human services.

IP TAKE: The foundation does not maintain a website, which restricts transparency about grantmaking strategies and guidelines.

PROFILE: Established in 1991, the Kneisel Foundation was founded by financier Bill Kneisel and his wife Anne Hooper Kneisel. Bill joined Morgan Stanley in 1974 and eventually became head of Morgan's Worldwide Equity Capital Market Group. The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its grantmaking strategies. Tax filings suggest the Kneisel Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, the arts, health, and human services.

This supports schools with which they have a personal connection, including Bill’s alma maters Harvard Business School and Dartmouth College. In the arts, the foundation’s grantmaking touches local museums.

Grants range $250 t0 $5,000. In a recent year, the foundation gave away around $304,000. Learn more about past giving in the funder’s past grant history. Boston is a primary focal point for grantmaking, along with New Hampshire and Connecticut, although the funder does not publish its grantmaking guidelines. Past local grantees include Pingree School (Anne’s school), Peabody Essex Museum, Cape Ann Museum, and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

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

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

The Kneisel Foundation
8 Washington St.
Beverly, MA 01915