The Heckscher Foundation for Children
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The Heckscher Foundation for Children funds education, workforce training and jobs access, and capacity-building and technical assistance, with a geographic focus of United States, so check that your work matches before approaching it.
- It operates by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so you must wait to be invited and then apply through its online application.
- Pitch a modest request: about 8 in 10 of its 211 grants fall between $8,500 and $250,000, with a median grant of $100,000, so most organisations should not expect anything close to the $1,000,000 largest grant recorded.
- Giving appears somewhat relationship-led, as 44% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had also funded the previous year, and invited applications are considered on a year-round, rolling basis rather than to a fixed deadline.
- The foundation does not fund political or advocacy groups, nonprofits not located and operating primarily in the United States, religious organisations where funding is to be used for primarily religious purposes, or "umbrella" organisations that provide funding to other nonprofits, so these should not apply.
Overview
The Heckscher Foundation for Children is a US private foundation based in New York, NY.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Heckscher Foundation for Children focuses its giving on education, workforce training and jobs access, and capacity-building and technical assistance. Its named areas include career navigation and workforce development, charter schools and school networks, college access and success, K–12 education, learning through arts, sports and sciences, literacy, and emergency support. It uses venture philanthropy to seek bold solutions, meaningful partnerships and measurable impact in support of underserved youth. It stresses positive, measurable quantitative outcomes and favours programmes that critically evaluate their work and demonstrate value to participants. Invited applicants provide a logic model, and grantees report against that model.
Themes
- Workforce Development
- Charter Schools
- College Access
- K-12 Education
- Arts, Sports + Sciences
- Literacy
- Capacity Building
Geographic Focus
United States.
What They Don't Fund
- Political or advocacy groups
- Nonprofit entities not located and operating primarily in the United States
- Religious organizations (when funding is to be used for primarily religious purposes)
- “umbrella” organizations that provide funding to nonprofits
How to apply
The foundation invites applicants, who submit through its online application. First-time invited applicants establish an online account and receive an email link to the account and application form.
Deadlines: Invited applications are considered on a year-round, rolling basis.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2023 filing, 44% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022 and TY2023 filings, half of its 211 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It stresses positive, measurable and clear quantitative outcomes.
- It is particularly interested in programmes that critically evaluate their work and highlight their value to participants.
- It expects strong governance, board-composition and support best practices, including full board participation.
- It requires applicants to disclose individual financial and other contributions from board members.
- It critically assesses the logic model as a key part of the application.
- It expects narrative reports based on the original logic model in each grantee’s application.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2023.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 2%
- The largest single recipient received 4% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2023, 44% of grant dollars went to organisations The Heckscher Foundation for Children had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- <1% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 104 grants in tax year 2023 by size
Median $136k (tax year 2023)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Central Park Conservancy · Playground restoration$750,0002023 tax year
- Literacy Academy Collective · Literacy academy school support$659,0002023 tax year
- New Visions for Public Schools · Mathematics support and career directory$543,1872023 tax year
- Georgia State University · Capacity building through diagnostic analysis and playbook modeling$500,0002023 tax year
- Door · Workforce development training program$370,0002023 tax year
- Read Alliance · Literacy tutoring$340,0002023 tax year
- Ascend Public Charter Schools · Mathematics training and curriculum k-5 grade$315,8752023 tax year
- Fund for the City of New York · Workforce development for emerging leaders$300,0002023 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Ourania Vokolos-Zias — Asst.Treasurer & Coo
- Arthur Smadbeck — Vice-Chair & Treasurer / Trustee
- Gail Meyers — Vice-Chair / Trustee
- Howard Grant Sloane — Chairman & CEO / Trustee
- Philippe Laub — Secretary / Trustee
- Nessia Kushner — Trustee & Director Of Strategy
- Frank Zhang — Trustee
- David Tillson — Trustee
- Alexander Taubman — Trustee
- Paul Smadbeck — Trustee
- Mark Smadbeck — Trustee
- Louis Smadbeck — Trustee
- Jeffrey Smadbeck — Trustee
- Jake Sloane — Trustee
- Alexander Sloane — Trustee
- Louis Smadbeck Jr — Trustee
- Bari Rausnitz — Trustee
- Matt Perelman — Trustee
- Kathryn Meyers — Trustee
- Daniel Laub — Trustee
and 4 more
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
2 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $17,923,295 | $12,191,316 | $330,768,424 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $20,843,955 | $15,014,453 | $341,543,020 | Filing for 2023 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.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
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Applying to The Heckscher Foundation for Children?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required