The Polonsky Foundation

Charity Number: 291143

Annual Expenditure: £1.5M
Geographic Focus: France, Germany, Israel, Italy, United States, Throughout England And Wales

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Expenditure: £1.5 million (2024)
  • Grant Range: £8,000 - £12 million (project-dependent)
  • Geographic Focus: UK, USA, Israel, Europe
  • Application Process: No public application process - Foundation generates its own projects
  • Founded: 1985

Contact Details

Registered Address: 8 Park Crescent, London W1B 1PG

Charity Number: 291143

Website: https://polonskyfoundation.org/

Note: The Foundation does not accept unsolicited communications regarding funding requests.

Overview

The Polonsky Foundation was established in 1985 by Dr. Leonard S. Polonsky CBE, who passed away in 2025. The Foundation is a UK-registered grant-making charity focusing on three primary areas: cultural heritage and digitisation, humanities education and research, and excellence and innovation in the arts. With annual charitable expenditure of approximately £1.5 million (2024), the Foundation has supported some of the world's most prestigious cultural and educational institutions including the British Library, Bodleian Libraries, New York Public Library, Library of Congress, Vatican Library, Cambridge University Library, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Foundation operates through a highly strategic, proactive grant-making model, generating its own projects rather than responding to applications. Dr. Polonsky was named Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 for his charitable services.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Foundation operates through self-generated projects in three distinct areas:

Cultural Heritage and Digitisation (£8,000 - £12 million per project)

  • Major digitisation partnerships with world-leading libraries and museums
  • Focus on making collections freely accessible online to researchers and the public
  • Projects must make digitised material freely available

Humanities Education and Research (£40,000 - multi-year commitments)

  • Polonsky Prizes for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines at Hebrew University (annual, since 2004)
  • Polonsky Academy for Advanced Study in Humanities and Social Sciences (fellowships of $40,000/year for up to 4 years)
  • Individual student grants (e.g., £8,000 annual grant at Lincoln College, Oxford)
  • Support for humanities education programmes in primary and secondary schools

Excellence and Innovation in the Arts (varying amounts)

  • Support for major performing arts institutions
  • Scholarships for music students
  • Named facilities and professorships
  • Support for both classical traditions and innovative new work

Priority Areas

Digitisation Projects Focus On:

  • Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts (Greek, Hebrew, Latin)
  • Historic papers of major intellectual figures (Newton, Einstein, Freud)
  • Early printed books (incunabula)
  • Collaborative projects between major institutions
  • Projects that democratise access to cultural treasures

Education Initiatives Include:

  • Postdoctoral fellowships in humanities
  • Prizes for academic excellence in humanistic disciplines
  • Programmes teaching classics in state primary schools
  • Theatre education programmes for schools
  • Music academy scholarships

Arts Support Includes:

  • Named performance spaces and facilities
  • Professional development for young artists
  • Innovative theatrical productions
  • Cross-cultural artistic exchange programmes

What They Don't Fund

While not explicitly stated, the Foundation's track record indicates they do not fund:

  • Unsolicited project proposals
  • Organizations outside their three priority areas
  • Projects not involving major established institutions
  • Projects that do not make outputs freely available (for digitisation work)
  • Small-scale or local initiatives
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Governance and Leadership

Current Trustees:

  • Dr. Georgette Bennett (Trustee)
  • Marc Polonsky (Managing Trustee, appointed 2012)
  • Hannah Polonsky Whitney (Trustee, appointed 2016)
  • Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum (Trustee, appointed 2018)

Founder:

Dr. Leonard S. Polonsky CBE (1927-2025) established the Foundation in 1985. He held a doctorate from the Sorbonne (1952) and founded Liberty Life Assurance Company in London in 1970. He was named Commander of the British Empire in 2013 for charitable services.

Leadership Philosophy:

Dr. Leonard S. Polonsky stated: “Our Foundation aims to democratize knowledge and to enrich lives through greater access to the treasures of our cultures and civilization.”

The Foundation operates with a clear governance structure where no trustees receive remuneration or payments. They maintain formal policies including trustee conflicts of interest procedures, risk management, and serious incident reporting.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

The Polonsky Foundation does not have a public application process. According to their official materials: “The Foundation generates its own projects and generally does not respond to unsolicited communications.”

The Foundation operates through a proactive grant-making model where they:

  • Identify institutions and projects that align with their strategic priorities
  • Research potential initiatives internally
  • Approach institutions directly to develop collaborative projects
  • Work with major established cultural and educational institutions

This is not an accessible funding source for organizations seeking grant opportunities through traditional application processes.

Getting on Their Radar

The Foundation works exclusively with major, internationally-recognized institutions in culture, education, and the arts. Their track record shows partnerships with:

  • World-leading research libraries (British Library, Bodleian, Vatican, Library of Congress, NYPL)
  • Elite universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Hebrew University)
  • Major arts institutions (National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal College of Music)

Organizations that have received funding typically:

  • Hold collections or programmes of international significance
  • Align perfectly with the Foundation's three priority areas
  • Have capacity for major multi-year projects
  • Can ensure long-term public access to outputs
  • Have existing relationships with trustee networks in cultural heritage, academia, or the arts

The Foundation's approach is strategic and institution-focused rather than project-responsive. Smaller organizations or those without established international standing are unlikely to be approached for partnerships.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable due to the Foundation's proactive grant-making model. Projects are developed through direct partnerships rather than application cycles.

Application Success Factors

Given the Foundation's closed grant-making model, traditional “application success factors” do not apply. However, analysis of their funded projects reveals clear patterns:

For Digitisation Projects:

  • World-class collections of manuscripts, archives, or rare materials
  • Collections with broad scholarly and public appeal
  • Institutional capacity to undertake major digitisation initiatives
  • Commitment to making materials freely available online permanently
  • Innovative approaches to digital presentation and access
  • International collaborative potential

Successful Digitisation Examples:

  • Bodleian-Vatican partnership: £2 million to digitise 1.5 million pages of manuscripts
  • British Library Hebrew manuscripts: 1,300 manuscripts (435,000 images) made freely available
  • Newton papers at Cambridge: £1.5 million lead gift, resulting in 100 million hits in first six months
  • New York Public Library: $12 million for “Treasures” exhibition plus earlier digitisation support

For Humanities Education:

  • Focus on excellence and innovation in scholarship
  • Support for young researchers and postdoctoral fellows
  • Programmes that broaden educational opportunity, particularly in socio-economically challenged areas
  • Initiatives that inspire young people about humanities

For Arts Funding:

  • Major established institutions with track records of excellence
  • Programmes nurturing young performers
  • Projects fostering deep appreciation for culture and contributing to public discourse
  • Both preservation of classical traditions and support for innovative new work

The Foundation's fundamental principle: All digitisation work must make materials freely available to the global public, reflecting their mission to “democratize knowledge.”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Not an accessible funding source: The Polonsky Foundation does not accept applications and is therefore not a viable prospect for most grant writers
  • Institution-level partnerships only: They work exclusively with major international cultural, educational, and arts institutions
  • Proactive grant-making model: They identify, develop, and approach organizations for projects rather than responding to proposals
  • Three clear priorities: Cultural heritage digitisation, humanities education/research, and arts excellence and innovation
  • Substantial funding available: Individual grants range from £8,000 to £12 million depending on project scale
  • Free access is fundamental: For digitisation projects, public access to outputs is non-negotiable
  • Long-term strategic approach: Projects are often multi-year partnerships with major institutions
  • Elite institutional focus: Track record shows partnerships with world-leading libraries, universities, and cultural organizations only

For grant writers: This funder should be classified as “not accessible through public applications” rather than pursued as a funding opportunity. Organizations seeking digitisation, humanities, or arts funding should look to funders with open application processes.

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