OVERVIEW: The Revson Foundation works mainly in New York City and Israel. Its funding initiatives are urban affairs, Jewish life, biomedical research and education.
IP TAKE: The Revson Foundation is an important source of funding for public libraries and journalism in New York. The foundation accepts letters of inquiry at any time.
PROFILE: Established in 1956, the Revson Foundation is the foundation of the late Charles H. Revson, the founder of the Revlon cosmetics company. The foundation’s areas of giving are urban affairs, Jewish life, biomedical research and education. The Revson Foundation also backs the New York City Library Awards, which gives monetary awards to library branches with outstanding programming and services. This funder works mainly in New York City and Israel.
Revson’s urban affairs funding is exclusive to New York City and works in the areas of civic affairs, libraries, journalism and pluralistic community development. Past grantees include the Supportive Housing Network of New York, the Queens Library, the Institute for Nonprofit News and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
Jewish funding is focused on supporting communities in New York and Israel, prioritizing the engagement of young people in Jewish life. In New York, the foundation has supported the newspaper Jewish Week and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Another grant went to the Muslim Community Network to build “Muslim-Jewish partnerships in New York City.”
Biomedical research funds named fellowships in biomedical science at top medical schools in the U.S. and Israel. New York institutions with Revson fellowships include Columbia, New York University, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Rockefeller University and the Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell University.
The focus of Revson’s education funding is the support of “institutions and projects that seek to provide broad access to knowledge, information and resources that sustain an informed and engaged citizenry.” Recent funding has gone to public libraries, journalism education and the production of news and information about education. One grantee is Chalkbeat, a New York-based news organization that covers local and national education issues.
The Revson Foundation usually awards $5 million to $10 million in grants each year. The average grant size is about $50,000, and grants support organizations of all sizes. Additional information about past grantmaking is available at the foundation’s grants page.
Revson accepts brief letters of inquiry via email at any time. Guidelines are posted on the foundation’s application page. General inquiries are accepted by email or phone at 212-935-3340.
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