Adelson Family Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 04-7024330 · since 2010adelsonfoundation.org/AFF·Israel, United States·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$66.9M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$10,000 to $4.4M

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$100k

Typical grant (median)

55 grants in the latest filing

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.

Key takeaways

This foundation funds within Israel and the United States, with programmes in Holocaust and anti-Semitism awareness, Israel advocacy, Israel programmes, Jewish and Zionist education, social services and health, and welfare, so check your work sits within one of these before considering it further.
It operates by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a cold application is not the way in; focus instead on being visible and relevant within its stated programme areas rather than writing in cold.
For budgeting, most grants to organisations fall between $10,000 and $4,400,000, with a typical (median) grant of $100,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic for most applicants; very large grants, such as the roughly $11,000,000 given to Maccabee Task Force Foundation, which it funds every year and which regrants to other organisations, are not typical.
A large share of its grant dollars goes to organisations it has supported in previous years, so this looks like a relationship-led funder rather than one that spreads funding thinly across many new recipients each cycle.
It generally does not fund capital projects or provide endowment funding, so proposals built around either of these are not a fit.

Overview

Adelson Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Needham, MA.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The Adelson Family Foundation supports charitable organisations located primarily in Israel and the United States. Its stated programme categories are Holocaust and anti-Semitism awareness, Israel advocacy, Israel programmes, Jewish and Zionist identity and education, social services and health, and welfare. It makes grants to public charities and certain other qualified non-profit organisations. It generally does not contribute to capital projects and does not provide endowment funding. Its primary purpose is to strengthen the State of Israel and the Jewish people, and its support focuses primarily on programmes that benefit the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

Themes

Holocaust and anti-Semitism awareness
Israel advocacy
Israel programmes
Jewish and Zionist education
Social services and health
Welfare

Geographic Focus

Israel; the United States.

What They Don't Fund

Capital projects (generally)
Endowment funding

How to apply

The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 77% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 150 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It generally supports organisations whose work falls within its stated programme categories.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

New York49%

Nevada27%

California11%

Massachusetts2%

Florida<1%

Illinois<1%

6 other states: 1%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 8%

The largest single recipient received 17% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 77% of grant dollars went to organisations Adelson Family Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
7% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Israel, Macao).
24% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

55 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $100k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 55 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$5k–$10k2%

$10k–$25k18%

$25k–$50k11%

$50k–$100k15%

$100k–$250k16%

$250k–$500k7%

$500k–$1M4%

$1M and over27%

Median $100k (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

American Friends of Ariel University · General charitable purposes
$10,850,0002024 tax year
Birthright Israel Foundation · General charitable purposes
$9,000,0002024 tax year
Friends of Sourasky Tel Aviv Medical Center · General charitable purposes
$5,666,6672024 tax year
Maccabee Task Force Foundation · General charitable purposes
$5,601,5572024 tax year
Jewish Agency For Israel N American Council · General charitable purposes
$5,500,0002024 tax year
Israeli American Council · General charitable purposes
$5,000,0002024 tax year
Adelson Educational Institute · General charitable purposes
$4,900,0002024 tax year
Hashomer Hachadash · General charitable purposes
$4,000,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Michael Bohnen — President
Dr Miriam Adelson — Trustee

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$45,364,573	$44,697,169	$234,990	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$44,514,097	$43,806,189	$743,367	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$67,690,290	$66,861,072	$21,016,741	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.