Slovin Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Slovin Foundation prioritizes Jewish organizations with a strong focus on history, religion and New York City. Only a few grants to non-Jewish causes are awarded each year.
IP TAKE: The Slovin Foundation maintains an exceptionally low-profile, so it will be difficult to get on this funder’s radar. It’s not accessible or transparent, which purposefully obscures how this foundation conducts grantmaking. Without a website or formal staff, personal connection to Bruce Slovin, its founder, may necessary. An address and phone number are provided below.
PROFILE: The Slovin Foundation was established in 1987 in New York City by the real estate attorney and financier Bruce Slovin and his late wife, Francesca. Slovin earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a J.D. from Harvard University. He practiced real estate law early in his career but became interested in finance. Working closely with the investor Ronald Perelman, Slovin eventually became president of McAndrews & Forbes Holdings and the Revlon Group. He retired from these positions in 2000 and established his own investment firm, 1 Eleven Associates. The Slovin Foundation maintains a low profile. It does not operate a website or employ a formal staff, limiting information about its specific grantmaking practices. Tax filings suggest that the foundation mainly supports Jewish causes, with only a few grants for non-Jewish organizations based in New York City awarded each year.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The Slovin Foundation does not name priorities or goals for its Jewish funding, but tax filings suggest that a majority of Slovin’s grants go to Jewish historical, cultural and religious organizations. The foundation appears to prioritize organizations and initiatives concerned with documenting Jewish history. In a recent year, the foundation made a grant of more than $2 million to New York City’s Center for Jewish History. Other grantees working in this area include the American Jewish Historical Society, the National Yiddish Book Center, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Leo Baeck Institute and the Museum at Eldridge Street, which celebrates the Jewish culture of New York City’s Lower East Side. The foundation’s grants to religious organizations mainly support New York City congregations. Recipients include the Park East Synagogue, Congregation Rodeph Sholom and the American Sephardi Federations. Only a few grants each year appear to go to Israeli causes; two grantees, Colel Chabad and the Jaffa Institute, help needy children and families in Israel.
Grants for New York City
The Slovin Foundation does not name specific priorities for its New York City grantmaking, but supports a handful non-Jewish organizations around New York City each year. Recent grants have gone to Cornell University, the Northside Center for Child Development, Saint Ann’s School of Brooklyn and the Sunrise Association, which runs day camps for children with cancer and their siblings.
Important Grantmaking Details:
In a recent year, the Slovin Foundation made just over $4 million in grants. With only a few exceptions, grants are awarded in amounts under $100,000. Well over half of this funders grantmaking goes to Jewish causes, with a strong focus historical and cultural organizations and the New York City Jewish community.
The Slovin Foundation does not run an open application program and does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. An address and phone number are provided below.
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CONTACT:
Slovin Foundation
111 East 61st Street
New York City, NY 0065
(212) 588-9100
