The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- This foundation focuses exclusively on New York City, funding colleges and nonprofit organisations working on college access, college success, student basic needs, career pathways and policy advocacy.
- It does not accept unsolicited requests and operates by invitation only, so a cold application is unlikely to succeed; this points to a relationship-led approach rather than an open competitive process.
- A realistic request would be modest: about 8 in 10 grants fall between $20,000 and $230,000, and half of its grants are $100,000 or less, though the largest grant was around $2,000,000.
- A large majority of its grant dollars go to organisations it has funded before, so new applicants should be aware that much of the funding pool supports continuing relationships.
- Given the invitation-only approach, organisations should focus on building visibility and connections within the foundation's areas of interest rather than submitting a direct application.
Overview
The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation is a US private foundation based in New York, NY.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
Focused exclusively on New York City, the Foundation invests in colleges and nonprofit organisations running high-impact programmes that strengthen college and career pathways. For access to college, it partners with select school-network organisations with a proven record of improving readiness and enrolment. For students in college, it supports efforts to remove barriers to graduation, including academic momentum, affordability, transfer support, connection and belonging. Its student basic-needs work includes emergency grants for students facing sudden hardship and campus food pantries and food-access initiatives, in collaboration with select public and private colleges serving large populations of students with financial need. It also supports programmes that prepare college students for meaningful careers, including internships, job placement, coaching, networking and links between workforce training and degree programmes. A select group of organisations works on policy, advocacy and research to advance postsecondary access and success, with particular attention to affordability and basic needs.
Themes
- College access
- College success
- Student basic needs
- Career pathways
- Policy advocacy
Geographic Focus
New York City.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 83% 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 185 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The Connect to College portfolio favours school network organisations with a proven record of improving college readiness and enrolment for students from all backgrounds.
- For college-success work, it is especially interested in student-centred projects that build early academic momentum through supports for credits, academic standing and college-level coursework.
- It is especially interested in non-scholarship strategies that reduce college costs, including financial aid advising and approaches that improve affordability.
- For career-focused work, it favours projects connecting college students to internships, job placement, career coaching and networking.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
- The largest single recipient received 23% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 83% of grant dollars went to organisations The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 2% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 48 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $94,975 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Research Foundation for CUNY · Research and Sponsored Program Grant$1,444,7962024 tax year
- City University of New York Research Foundation · Student Emergency Fund$600,0002024 tax year
- New Visions for Public Schools · Postsecondary advising model expansion.$425,0002024 tax year
- Brooklyn College Foundation · Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund 2024$275,6572024 tax year
- Internationals Network for Public Schools · Providing Immigrant, Multilingual Learners Equitab$225,0472024 tax year
- City College of New York · Student Emergency Fund$225,0072024 tax year
- Borough of Manhattan Community College Foundation · Student Emergency Fund$190,0002024 tax year
- Streetwise Partners · Student Emergency Fund$170,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Cass Conrad — Executive Director
- Steve Colon — Director
- Meisha Porter — Director
- Karrin Wilks — Director
- Gail Gordon — Secretary
- David Tanner — Treasurer
- Jean Troubh — Vice President
- Regina Peruggi — Co-President
- Etta Brandman — Co-President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $11,622,574 | $10,255,990 | $93,126,280 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $8,202,941 | $7,002,183 | $102,889,545 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $7,901,544 | $6,531,750 | $110,836,074 | 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
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- info@petrie.org
- New York, NY
- petrie.org
Applying to The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- info@petrie.org
- New York, NY
- petrie.org