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Robin Hood Foundation

Annual Giving
$130.0M
Grant Range
$100K - $1.6M

Robin Hood Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $130 million
  • Success Rate: Highly selective (portfolio of 300+ active partners)
  • Decision Time: Varies by program (rolling basis)
  • Grant Range: $100,000 - $1,600,000
  • Geographic Focus: New York City (five boroughs only)

Contact Details

Website: https://robinhood.org

Address: 826 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003

Phone: 212-227-6601

Become a Grantee: https://robinhood.org/our-work/become-grantee/

Overview

Founded in 1988 by hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones II, Robin Hood is New York City's largest poverty-fighting philanthropy. Over 36 years, the organization has invested over $3 billion in programs fighting poverty across the city's five boroughs. Robin Hood operates on a distinctive business model: the board of directors underwrites all administrative and fundraising expenses, ensuring 100% of donor contributions go directly to poverty-fighting programs. In 2024, Robin Hood distributed $129.5 million in grants to 285 nonprofit organizations, and in 2025 increased grantmaking by 40% in the first half of the year. Since September 2021, the organization has been led by CEO Richard Buery, Jr., who has emphasized data-driven impact measurement and proximity to the communities served.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Robin Hood organizes its grantmaking around life-stage milestones for economic mobility:

Early Childhood (grants range $100,000 - $1,600,000+)

  • Child Care Quality Improvement Initiative (CCQII): Drives child care improvements by promoting quality, accessibility, and innovation
  • FUEL: Supports NYC parents and caregivers with vital resources, education, and opportunities for healthy child development
  • Programs for mothers, infants, toddlers, and caregivers
  • Applications accepted through expression of interest portal

School-Age Children/Education

  • High-quality schools and curricula implementation
  • College access programs
  • Tutoring and academic support
  • Applications accepted through expression of interest portal and periodic RFPs

Young Adults

  • Job training and workforce development
  • Career advancement programs in green economy, tech, healthcare, construction, and emergency services
  • Programs for formerly incarcerated individuals
  • Applications accepted through expression of interest portal

Adults & Household Supports

  • Housing access and stability (129% increase in housing funding in 2025)
  • Emergency food assistance
  • Healthcare and mental health services
  • Benefits access and legal services
  • Immigration legal services
  • Applications accepted through expression of interest portal

The Power Fund (launched July 2020)

  • Supports outstanding nonprofit leaders of color with catalytic investments
  • Provides strategic management assistance, network access, and capacity building support
  • $11 million invested in 23 leaders at 22 organizations over initial 18 months
  • Includes board recruitment, fundraising support, and professional leadership development funding
  • Invitation-based program

Priority Areas

Robin Hood funds data-driven interventions that:

  • Respond to urgent needs of low-income New Yorkers
  • Invest in high-opportunity, enduring solutions that fuel permanent pathways out of poverty
  • Demonstrate measurable poverty-fighting impact through benefit-cost analysis
  • Serve populations exclusively within NYC's five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island)
  • Focus on financial security, education quality, stable housing, thriving communities, health, and career advancement

What They Don't Fund

Geographic Restrictions:

  • Organizations operating outside NYC's five boroughs
  • Programs serving populations outside New York City

Funding Type Restrictions:

  • Capital, renovation, and general operating funds for organizations not already receiving Robin Hood support (these are typically only provided to existing grantees)
  • Unsolicited proposals (the foundation uses strategic sourcing and expressions of interest)

Organizational Requirements: Organizations lacking:

  • Proven track record
  • Strong, committed leadership
  • Existing evaluation procedures or willingness to measure outcomes
  • Financial stability
  • Commitment to and knowledge of the population served
  • High-quality, dedicated staff

Governance and Leadership

Founder: Paul Tudor Jones II (founder and Chairman of Tudor Investment Corporation; founded Robin Hood in 1988 with Peter Borish and Glenn Dubin)

Board Chair: Kenneth G. Tropin, Chairman and Founder of Graham Capital Management

CEO: Richard Buery, Jr. (appointed September 2021)

Leadership Philosophy:

CEO Richard Buery on the foundation's approach to metrics: "We use a 'benefit-cost calculator' paradigm that tries to understand the actual poverty fighting impact of a particular dollar in a particular program."

On proximity to communities: "There is so much research and common sense that says that people and institutions that are closest to communities are often in the best position to address those challenges."

Former CEO Wes Moore on diversity in leadership: "As a poverty-fighting organization in a city where 80 percent of those in poverty are people of color, we know that poverty and race are inextricably linked. Leaders of color are often some of the most effective and innovative leaders because their solution-based approaches reflect lived, racialized experiences."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Robin Hood is a strategic grantmaker that does not accept unsolicited proposals. Instead, the foundation uses the following approaches:

Expression of Interest Portal (Primary Method)

  • Organizations can submit an expression of interest through the online portal at robinhood.org/our-work/become-grantee/
  • For mission-aligned 501(c)(3) organizations serving low-income populations in NYC's five boroughs
  • Inquiries accepted on an ongoing basis
  • Foundation reviews and contacts organizations that align with strategic priorities

Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

  • Robin Hood periodically releases specific funding opportunities as RFPs, challenges, or awards
  • Eligibility, guidelines, and deadlines vary by program
  • Current opportunities posted on the Robin Hood website
  • Some special initiatives run separate application programs linked to individual program pages
  • Example: The Funds for the Newest New Yorkers (partnership with New York Community Trust) included a formal RFP process

Strategic Sourcing

  • Robin Hood identifies and approaches organizations in collaboration with field experts
  • The foundation works with large panels of experts in its areas of interest to identify potential grantees

Decision Timeline

  • Review Process: Rolling basis as strategic opportunities are identified
  • Evaluation Method: All potential grants undergo benefit-cost ratio analysis using Robin Hood's proprietary methodology with 163 metrics
  • Expert Review: Grantmaking decisions made in collaboration with large panels of experts
  • Specific Timeline: Varies by program type and funding opportunity; not publicly disclosed
  • Robin Hood maintains a portfolio of 300+ active nonprofit partners

Success Rates

Robin Hood does not publicly disclose application success rates. However, indicators of competitiveness include:

  • Portfolio of 300+ active nonprofit partners
  • In 2024, funded 285 organizations
  • Highly selective strategic grantmaking approach
  • Rigorous benefit-cost analysis required for all grants
  • Expert panel review process

The foundation emphasizes relationship-based funding and strategic identification of grantees rather than open competition.

Reapplication Policy

Not explicitly stated, but the foundation maintains ongoing relationships with grantees:

  • Multi-year partnerships common
  • Existing grantees may receive supplemental funding for capacity building or program expansion
  • Organizations can update their expression of interest as their programs evolve

Application Success Factors

Data and Metrics are Critical

  • Robin Hood is an early practitioner of using metrics to measure grant effectiveness
  • The foundation's benefit-cost calculator monetizes poverty-fighting impact using 163 metrics based on rigorous research
  • Applicants should have "an arsenal of data" and ensure accuracy
  • Be prepared to demonstrate measurable outcomes and willingness to evaluate programs

Proven Track Record Required

  • Must demonstrate previous success in poverty-fighting work
  • Strong organizational leadership and committed staff essential
  • Financial stability and sound management practices required
  • Respect and relationships within the community served

Mission Alignment is Essential Successful grantees:

  • Serve low-income New Yorkers within the five boroughs
  • Align with Robin Hood's life-stage approach (early childhood, school-age, young adults, adults & household supports)
  • Address urgent needs while building enduring pathways out of poverty
  • Demonstrate commitment to and knowledge of populations served

Recent Funded Examples for Reference:

Jobs and Economic Security (2024):

  • Fortune Society ($350,000): Skills training and job placement for formerly incarcerated individuals
  • Nontraditional Employment for Women ($375,000): Training women for construction, building trades, transportation, and utilities jobs
  • Jobs First NYC ($300,000): Sector-based employment networks in green economy, tech, and healthcare
  • FDNY Foundation ($175,000): Training disadvantaged young adults as emergency medical technicians

Education (2025):

  • Fund for Public Schools ($973,000): NYC Reads initiative for high-quality curriculum and teacher training
  • Henry Street Settlement ($300,000): Job training and college access through On Ramps to Opportunity

Early Childhood & Community Support (2025):

  • Solar One ($100,000): Green Workforce Program training low-income young adults for green economy careers
  • Research Foundation of CUNY ($291,000): Immigration legal services for low-income students
  • Girls Who Code ($125,000): Enhancing utilization of NYS paid family leave through Paidleave.ai

Diversity and Leadership

  • Since the Power Fund launched in 2020, organizations led by people of color now constitute 48% of total grants and grant dollars (increased from 30% of grants and 20% of dollars previously)
  • Robin Hood values leaders with lived experience and proximity to the communities they serve

Bold but Feasible Ideas

  • Foundation looks for "bold ideas that are feasible"
  • Innovation welcomed, but must be grounded in realistic implementation plans
  • Clear sense of mission and steps to accomplish that mission required

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • 100% model matters: Emphasize how your program directly impacts poverty-fighting outcomes, as all donor funds go directly to programs
  • Come with data: Prepare comprehensive metrics and evaluation procedures; Robin Hood's 163-metric benefit-cost calculator requires rigorous evidence of impact
  • Geographic focus is absolute: Only organizations serving NYC's five boroughs are eligible—no exceptions
  • Strategic sourcing means patience: Without open applications, getting on Robin Hood's radar requires expression of interest submissions, watching for RFPs, and building reputation in NYC poverty-fighting networks
  • Existing grantees have advantage: Capital, renovation, and general operating support typically reserved for organizations already in the portfolio
  • Life-stage alignment: Frame your work within Robin Hood's life-stage approach (early childhood, school-age, young adults, or adults & household supports)
  • Proximity and lived experience valued: Leadership with direct connection to and knowledge of communities served is increasingly prioritized, especially leaders of color

References

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