OVERVIEW: The New York City-based Robbins Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of hedge fund manager Larry Robbins. Its largest areas of giving are housing, economic development and education. Other interests include Jewish causes and health.
IP TAKE: The Robbins Family Foundation maintains a low profile and does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals for funding. It’s not accessible or transparent, restricting information about its giving and strategies.
This funder tends to work with medium-sized organizations with well-established reputations. It appears that this funder prioriritizes giving to organizations in New York City and in the state of Virginia, but the foundation otherwise gives nationally. A mailing address and phone number are provided below, but they are not particularly approachable. This is a tough nut to crack.
PROFILE: Established in New York City in 2008, the Robbins Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of hedge fund manager Larry Robbins. A native of Illinois, Robbins is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. After college, he moved to New York City and worked at Gleacher & Co. and Omega Advisors before starting his own hedge fund, Glenview Capital Management, in 2000. Glenview manages an estimated $8 billion and has made successful investments in healthcare and hospital companies. The Robbins Family Foundation maintains a low profile, limiting information about its grantmaking priorities. Recent tax filings reveal interests in the areas of health, disease research, housing, economic opportunity, education and Jewish causes. Grantmaking is national in scope, with a strong focus on the state of Virginia and the New York City area.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Urban Development
The Robbins Family Foundation has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting affordable housing opportunities for low-income families and vulnerable populations in recent years. In Virginia, the foundation has supported Housing Families First, which aims to provide homeless and vulnerable families with a “path to a permanent home.” Other grantees include the Family Independence Initiative of Texas, Elderhomes and the Children’s Home Society of Virginia, which helps children who are aging out of foster care find stable housing.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
Economic opportunity for low- and middle-income Americans appears to be another significant area of interest for the Robbins Foundation. Recent grants have gone to the Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center, ReWork Richmond and California’s Help Me Help You, which assists offenders find stable employment upon reentry.
Grants for Early Childhood and K-12 Education
The Robbins Family Foundation appears to prioritize organizations and schools that aim to improve educational outcomes for underserved children. The foundation has supported early childhood programming at the YWCA of Richmond, Virginia and Reach Out and Read, which supports early literacy through pediatric interventions. Grantees working with K-12 populations include Virginia’s Mathscience Innovation Center, KIPP New York charter schools, the Higher Achievement Program of Pittsburgh and Communities in Schools of Petersburg, Virginia.
Grants for Higher Education
The Robbins Family Foundation’s giving for higher education giving has tapered off somewhat in recent years but continues to be an area of interest, according to recent tax filings. Grantees include the Relay Graduate School of Education in New York and Robbins’ alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. It is worth mentioning that Larry Robbins maintains personal involvement with Teach for America and the Education Committee of New York City’s Robin Hood Foundation, both of which receive ongoing support from his foundation.
Grants for Jewish Causes
Larry Robbins has served on various boards at the New York-based United Jewish Appeal Federation, which has received ongoing support from the Robbins Family Foundation. Other Jewish organizations that have received funding in recent years include Manhattan’s Jewish Community Center, New Jersey’s Morasha Olami, an organization that promotes Jewish culture.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
The Robbins Family Foundation’s grantmaking for health and diseases has decreased over the past several years, but a few select organizations have continued to receive funding. The foundation recently gave to Childsavers, Inc., which provides health and mental health services to children at their schools. Another recent grant went to Family Lifeline, a Richmond, Virginia organization involved in home healthcare services. The Robbins Foundation has also provided ongoing support to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth organization, which is “the leading philanthropic funder of CMT research worldwide.”
Important Grant Details:
In a recent year, the Robbins Family Foundation made about $11 million in grants ranging from $10,000 to $500,000. The foundation’s largest areas of giving are housing, economic opportunity and education, and its grantees in these tend to be small- to medium-sized organizations with well-established reputations. New York City and the state of Virginia appear to be geographic priorities. For additional information about this funder’s recent grantmaking, see its tax filings.
The Robbins Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funding and does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. A mailing address and phone number are provided below.
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CONTACT:
Robbins Family Foundation
767 5th Ave., 44th Fl.
New York, NY United States 10153
(212) 812-4700