Milbank Memorial Fund
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The Fund contributes only to organisations it has preselected and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a cold application is unlikely to be considered; approach it only if you already have a genuine link to the Fund.
- Most of its grants are modest: about 8 in 10 fall between $250 and $30,000, and half are $2,500 or less, so a request near the lower end fits its usual pattern.
- The largest grant was $2,000,000, so that typical band is not a ceiling.
- Repeat giving is strong, with 77% of its grant dollars to organisations going to groups it had also funded in its earlier filing, which suggests relationships matter more than a first approach.
- Its stated themes are state health policy leadership, primary care transformation and health care affordability, so work outside those areas is a weaker fit, and the filing sets out no application stages or timetable to plan around.
Overview
Milbank Memorial Fund 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 Fund works to improve population health and health equity by collaborating with leaders and decision makers and connecting them with experience and sound evidence. It supports health policy leaders through small convenings, cross-state networks and two annual state leadership programmes, alongside evidence-based publications and an editorially independent journal. Its programmes focus on an affordable health care system built on strong primary care and partnerships that improve health outcomes for all. Its recorded grants have also gone to universities and research institutions, schools, a church and a music school, supporting health-policy publishing and research as well as general support.
Themes
- State health policy leadership
- Primary care transformation
- Health care affordability
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington.
How to apply
The Fund contributes only to preselected charitable organisations and does not accept unsolicited requests; no application stages for organisations are set out.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2023 filing, 77% 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 41 grants to organisations were $2,500 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2023.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: <1%
- The largest single recipient received 77% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2023, 77% of grant dollars went to organisations Milbank Memorial Fund had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 18 grants in tax year 2023 by size
Median $2,500 (tax year 2023)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Boston University · In support of the editor of the milbank quarterly, a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal of population health and health policy$211,4252023 tax year
- University of Massachusetts Boston · In support of a data brief focused on understanding the trends and impacts of having a usual source of care on patient outcomes$30,0002023 tax year
- National Academy of Sciences · In support of a workshop to consider what factors affected the ability of governments and other institutions to respond successfully to the pandemic and to examine new approaches that might enable a more effective response to future public health crises and avoid conflicts that hinder pandemic response$25,0002023 tax year
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · In support of a brief on teaching health centers$6,0002023 tax year
- Yale University · General support$5,0002023 tax year
- Bloomingdale School of Music · General support$5,0002023 tax year
- Holy Trinity School · General support$5,0002023 tax year
- Salem Missionary Baptist Church · General support$3,0002023 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Anthony Shih — Director As Of May 2023
- Patricia Arzuaga — Director As Of May 2023
- Anya Rader Wallack — Director
- Lashawn Richburg - Hayes — Director And Vice Chair
- Margaret E O'Kane — Director
- Joneigh Khaldun — Director
- Robert E Harvey — Director And Treasurer
- Kelly Major Green — Director
- Sherry Glied — Director
- Peter Donnelly — Director
- Linda V Decherrie — Director
- John M Colmers — Director And Chair
- Paul D Cleary — Director
- Tara Strome — Secretary And Coo
- Christopher F Koller — Director And President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
2 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $8,448,526 | $2,291,496 | $84,386,413 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $6,229,935 | $300,295 | $90,722,486 | 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
Applying to Milbank Memorial Fund?
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Applying to Milbank Memorial Fund?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required