OVERVIEW: The Samberg Family Foundation supports children and youth and Jewish causes. In 2016, the foundation joined Blue Meridian Partners, a philanthropic collaborative aiming to help children living in poverty in the United States. The foundation does not have a specific mental health grantmaking program, but it does address the topic, mainly through its broader support of programs to improve health outcomes of low-income populations.
IP TAKE: This foundation is spending down, so it’s not accessible or a dependable source of grants for new grantseekers.
The majority of Samberg’s philanthropic investments are made through Blue Meridian Partners. Its in-house children and youth program supports established organizations working with underserved K-12 populations in the U.S. Grant seekers will find it difficult to get Samberg’s attention. The foundation does not award a large number of mental health grants in any single year, and many of the grants it does award are of the multi-year variety. Moreover, after joining Blue Meridian Partners in 2016, Samberg announced a five-year plan to spend down the entirety of its assets, and as such it is no longer accepting unsolicited proposals.
The Sambergs also conduct some of their philanthropy through a low-profile vehicle, the Rebecca and Arthur Samberg Foundation, which focuses more locally in suburban New York. Tax filings reveal that the foundation awarded $17,000 in grants in 2017.
PROFILE: The Samberg Family Foundation was established in 1995 by Rebecca and Arthur Samberg. Arthur Samberg is founder and CEO of the hedge fund Pequot Capital Management. The foundation seeks to support “healthy and productive living for children and youth, families and communities” In 2016, the Samberg Family Foundation joined the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and others in the establishment of Blue Meridian Partners, a collaborative philanthropic endeavor aiming to make a large impact on the lives of children living in poverty in the United States. Based in Arlington, Virginia, this foundation supports children and youth and Jewish causes.
Grants for K-12 Education
Since 2016, the greater part of the Samberg Family Foundation’s grantmaking has taken place through Blue Meridian Partners. Blue Meridian invests in established nonprofits that are “poised to have a national impact on economically disadvantaged children and youth.” Its grantees include Reading Partners, a national program that establishes tutoring centers at schools in low-income areas, and Communities in Schools, which aims to improve high school graduation rates by offering counseling and social services to children of all ages.
Samberg’s in-house children and youth program maintains similar priorities--improving the lives of underserved children. Among the foundation’s grantees are DREAM, a New York City organization that supports at-risk children and youth with academic support, enrichment and sports programming during after school hours and summer vacation, and College Summit, an organization that helps high school junior and seniors in low-income areas prepare for and apply to colleges through peer leadership programs.
Grants for Mental Health
Samberg does not have a specific mental health grantmaking program. However, Samberg does award grants to mental health-related projects, mainly through its Health grantmaking program. At Samberg, the guiding belief is that poverty has an adverse effect on overall health. So, the foundation seeks out organizations that address the harmful health effects of poverty on health outcomes. Areas of funding interest include maternal and child health, mental health, and health education.
Grants for Public Health
The Samberg Family Foundation’s Health grantmaking links health with poverty and includes support of areas like maternal and child health, mental health, and health education. New York City health grantees include Nurse Family Partnership and NiteStar, a peer education program, which addresses behaviors related to adolescent emotional and physical health. Samberg and Rebecca, a few years ago, gave $25 million to NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital to create the Samberg Scholars in Children’s Health. Samberg has served on the board of trustees of New York-Presbyterian since 2004.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The Samberg Family Foundation’s Jewish Giving broadly supports “select programs of Jewish history, culture and community that foster connections to Jewish life at different points along individuals’ lives.” The two main beneficiaries of Samberg’s giving in this area are Birthright Israel and UJA Federation NY, but it also supports a range of smaller organizations that promote Jewish values and heritage through efforts such as “caring for the elderly, social justice, and campus Israel education.” Grantees include Avodah, Dorot, Jewish Agency Israel Fellows, Teach for All – Israel, YRF Darca, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Important Grant Details:
Grants from this foundation are pretty substantial, ranging from around $15,000 to $1 million. However, the majority fall in the $25,000 to $200,000 range. Explore past grantees for further information.
Grantseekers should be aware that the Samberg Family Foundation is planning to spend down the entirety of its assets by 2021, and thus does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry or requests for funding.
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