Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust

OVERVIEW: The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust awards grants to organizations fighting for human rights, arts and culture, education, and Jewish causes in the United States and around the world. It also supports environmental conservation organizations in the United States. 

IP TAKE: This funder tends to award unrestricted general operating cost grants rather than project specific grants. It is not completely accessible or responsive, but this is likely because it has just one formal staff member. According to tax filings, the trust does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry. While there’s no available phone number for this funder, a snail-mail address is listed below.

PROFILE: The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust was established in 2001. It seeks to “support advocacy for social change that promotes human dignity and contributes to a more just, democratic, and environmentally sustainable world.” Bernard Spitzer, who passed away in 2014, was known as a prominent New York City real estate developer and philanthropist. While the Spitzer Charitable Trust is sizable in terms of assets, it maintains a low public profile, does not operate a website and employs just one formal staff member. Tax filings indicate the trust has grantmaking interests in a variety of fields including human rights, arts and culture, education, and Jewish causes. The foundation awards environmental conservation grants on a smaller scale. 

Grants for Human Rights

Tax filings suggest it has an interest in public policy, immigrant rights, democracy, and legal services. Past grantees in this space include the Global Justice Center, which received a grant to support general operating costs; and Physicians for Human Rights, which also received a grant to support general operating costs.

Grants for Environmental Conservation

While the Spitzer Foundation does not have a stated interest in environmental grantmaking, it has supported major environmental nonprofits in the past, as well as organizations working in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and climate change. Past grantees include the World Wildlife Foundation and Earthwatch Institute. Both organizations received funding to support general operating costs. It has also given over $2 million to Clean Air Task Force in 2023, and another $1.2 million to Climateworks Foundation. Other grantees include San Francisco Estuary Institute and Energy Options Network.

Grants for Jewish Causes

Through its recent grantmaking, the Spitzer Foundation has demonstrated a strong interest in supporting Jewish causes in the U.S. In New York City, the foundation has supported the Museum of Jewish Heritage Holocaust Memorial; Tomche Shabbos, which focuses on hunger; and Chai Lifeline, which supports Jewish children with chronic illnesses and their families. Elsewhere, the foundation has given to the Jewish Community Center of Rockland County, the Yeshiva Ktana of Passaic and MAZON, a national Jewish organization that aims to end hunger for people of all faiths.

Grants for Arts and Culture

Tax filings indicate that this funder supports major artistic and cultural institutions in New York City and beyond, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Shakespeare Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Museum of Jewish Heritage, and WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Important Grant Details:

Spitzer Trust grants amounts tend to vary widely, often ranging from $500 to $1 million. Environmental conservation grants typically fall in the $1,000 to $10,000 range. 

The Spitzer Charitable Trust’s grantmaking guidelines, eligibility and requirements are unclear. It makes grants by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding. Although the trust does not impose geographic restrictions on its funding, it appears to support a number of nonprofit organizations located in New York and along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

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CONTACT:

The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust

730 Fifth Avenue #2202

New York, New York 10019