The Weill Family Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests and works by invitation only, so a cold application is unlikely to get a hearing; an introduction through someone already connected to it is the more realistic route.
- Its stated areas are education, social causes, music and the arts, and medical research and patient care, so check that your work clearly sits within one of them before reaching out.
- Half of its 44 grants to organisations were $50,000 or less, so a request around that scale fits its usual giving, although its largest grant was $11,000,000.
- Most of its grant dollars went to organisations it had also funded in earlier filings (82%), so established relationships matter a great deal.
- No geographic focus is stated; the filing shows most grant dollars going to California and New York, which is useful context but not a rule about who may apply.
Overview
The Weill Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Albany, NY.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and web pages about the foundation (news.weill.cornell.edu), with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Foundation's reported philanthropy spans education, social causes, music and the arts, and medical research and patient care. Its publicised work includes collaborative scientific research, while its grants also reach universities, medical and health organisations, arts and cultural institutions, community organisations and social-service charities. The filings show both large commitments to educational and medical institutions and smaller grants for a range of charitable needs. California organisations received most of the recorded grant dollars, with New York the next-largest destination and smaller grants reaching other states. The Foundation gives through selected organisations rather than accepting unsolicited proposals.
Themes
- Education
- Social causes
- Music and the arts
- Medical research and patient care
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California and New York.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 82% 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 44 grants to organisations were $50,000 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
3 other states: <1%
- The largest single recipient received 59% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 82% of grant dollars went to organisations The Weill Family Foundation 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 20 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $50,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- University of California San Francisco Foundation · Satisfaction of Pledge$9,653,6072024 tax year
- University of California Berkeley Foundation · $3,653,607 satisfaction of pledge$3,753,6072024 tax year
- Uc Davis Foundation · Satisfaction of pledge$2,500,0002024 tax year
- NAF · Satisfaction of Pledge$800,0002024 tax year
- New York Historical Society · General charitable needs$250,0002024 tax year
- Chabad of Sonoma County · General charitable needs$150,0002024 tax year
- Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation · General charitable needs$125,0002024 tax year
- Carnegie Hall Corporation · General charitable needs$75,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Dr Marc Tessier-Lavigne — Director
- Dr Mark Schlissel — Director
- Dr Paul Alivisatos — Director
- Laurel Sri-Jayantha — Director
- Viju Rajan — Director, Audit Committee
- Marc Weill — Vice Chairman, Director
- Michael Freedman — Treasurer, Director, Investment Committee
- David Bibliowicz — Director
- Tommy Bibliowicz — Director
- Jessica Bibliowicz — President, Director
- Michael Masin — Secretary, Director
- Joan Weill — Vice Chairman, Director
- Sanford Weill — Chairman, CEO, Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $18,828,343 | $18,100,000 | $360,381,619 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $20,876,255 | $19,620,000 | $373,297,907 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $19,133,900 | $17,637,214 | $413,738,255 | 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.
Sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Weill Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Albany, NY
Applying to The Weill Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Albany, NY