Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation supports Jewish-related causes in the U.S. and Israel. It also makes grants to support community development, healthcare access, and arts and culture groups, primarily in the New York City-area.
IP TAKE: This funder is not accessible or particularly approachable. It keeps a low profile, does not have a website or provide a clear way to get in contact or apply for support. It also does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding. This is a tough nut to crack. This funder prefers a proactive grantmaking approach, deciding what to fund according to the family’s evolving interests.
PROFILE: The Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation is the family foundation of Warren Eisenberg and his wife, Mitzi. Eisenberg co-founded Bed Bath & Beyond in 1971. A significant component of the foundation’s giving involves Jewish causes. It also funds organizations and groups working in healthcare access, arts and culture, and community development. The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation does not have a website or appear to have clearly defined focus areas; however, tax records indicate that support for Jewish causes and organizations is a significant part of its funding profile.
Eisenberg helps bankroll the Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp in Columbia County, New York, which serves Jewish children and teens. Other Jewish youth organizations the foundation supports include Valley Chabad Friendship Circle, which "cultivates friendships between teen volunteers and children with special needs and their families," and Israel Tennis Centers.
It also funds Jewish community organizations, a majority of them in New Jersey and New York. Grantees have included Jewish Federation of Central Jersey, Jewish Federation of Greater Metro West (which has received especially strong support), UJA Federation of New York, Bergen County YJCC, and the JCC of Central New Jersey.
The family foundation also supports Jewish religious organizations like Temple Emanu El and Central Synagogue. It supports organizations that work for/in Israel such as Friends of the Israel Defense Forces; Friends of ELNET, which "unites Europeans and Israelis who believe that close relations between Europe and Israel. . . are vital to both;" and the American Israel Education Foundation.
The foundation also supports Jewish-related arts and culture institutions in both the U.S. and Israel, including American Friends of the Israel Museum, American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic, American Friends of the Tel Aviv Museum, and National Museum of American Jewish History.
Grants for Community Development, Public Health and Access, and Arts and Culture
Because the Eisenberg Family Foundation does not have focus areas or stated grantmaking priorities, it can be difficult to discern a pattern to their support for non-Jewish-related organizations. However, tax filings do reveal a preference for groups focused on healthcare access, arts and culture, and community development.
Previous grantees in this space include New Museum of Contemporary Art, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, I Have A Dream Foundation, Studio Museum in Harlem, and My Sisters Place, a domestic violence shelter in New York.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from just a few hundred dollars up to $500,000. The most common amount is around $1,000. Most domestic grantmaking happens in New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C.
The foundation does not have a website or indicate a clear way for grantseekers to get in contact. It does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
The Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation
650 Liberty Ave.
Union, NJ 07083
Telephone: (908) 688-4815
