Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation

• This foundation funds work on democracy-related issues (such as election integrity, voting access, the rule of law, government accountability and civic engagement), climate and environmental justice, and reproductive rights, so it is only a fit for nonprofits active in those fields; no geographic focus is stated.
• It operates by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a cold application is unlikely to be the right route in; it is best approached through an existing relationship or connection rather than a speculative proposal.
• For sizing a request, about eight in ten of its 258 grants fell between $2,500 and $150,000 with a median grant of $50,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic, though its largest grant was $400,000 to Neo Philanthropy, an organisation it funds every year that regrants to other organisations rather than a typical direct applicant.
• Giving looks relationship-led: 80% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had also funded in the previous two years, so this reads as a foundation that sustains long-term partners more than one that runs an open, competitive round.
• Given the invitation-only policy, organisations without an existing link to the foundation should not send an unsolicited application.

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

• Neo Philanthropy · State infrastructure fund
  $400,0002024 tax year
• Common Cause Education Fund · General support
  $350,0002024 tax year
• Stand.earth · General support
  $300,0002024 tax year
• New Venture Fund · Trusted elections fund
  $300,0002024 tax year
• Rainforest Action Network · General support
  $250,0002024 tax year
• New York Immigration Coalition · General support
  $225,0002024 tax year
• Proteus Fund · Piper fund
  $200,0002024 tax year
• Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund · General support
  $200,0002024 tax year

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

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.