Sue & Edgar Wachenheim 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 says its grants go to preselected organisations, so a cold application is not the route to take.
- Its filing describes its grants as general support across museums, hospitals, colleges, libraries, policy, environmental and community bodies, so check your work against those kinds of recipients.
- About 8 in 10 of its grants fall between $5,000 and $2,500,000, and half are $100,000 or less, so a modest request sits well within the usual range, although its largest grant was $13,500,000.
- Two-thirds of its grant dollars went to organisations it had funded in earlier filings, so repeat relationships matter.
- No geographic focus is stated, and its grants are concentrated in New York, Massachusetts and District of Columbia, but that is a pattern in its grants and not a rule about who may apply.
Overview
Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation is a US private foundation based in Purchase, NY.
What they fund
Profile based on the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) only: no website or other web source for the foundation was found. Every statement is checked against the filings. Sources read on 12 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The foundation’s filings describe its grants as general support rather than naming a particular funding field. Its recorded grants went to museums and other cultural institutions, hospitals, colleges and schools, libraries, policy and international-affairs organisations, environmental organisations, and community and social-service bodies. The recipient list includes institutions and organisations in several states; the grant record is especially concentrated in New York, with additional recipients in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. The filing also indicates that grants go to preselected charitable organisations, rather than through an unsolicited application process.
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in New York, Massachusetts and District of Columbia.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 66% 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 86 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
2 other states: <1%
- The largest single recipient received 33% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 66% of grant dollars went to organisations Sue & Edgar Wachenheim 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 29 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $100k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Museum of Modern Art · General support$12,135,0002024 tax year
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering · General support$7,500,0002024 tax year
- Council on Foreign Relations · General support$3,000,0002024 tax year
- Hospital for Special Surgery Foundation · General support$1,000,0002024 tax year
- Oceana · General support$1,000,0002024 tax year
- American Enterprise Institute · General support$750,0002024 tax year
- Skidmore College · General support$650,0002024 tax year
- Carver Center · General support$500,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Chris A Wachenheim — Director
- Kim W Wagman — Secretary
- Lance R Wachenheim — Treasurer
- Sue W Wachenheim — Vice President
- Edgar Wachenheim III — President, CEO
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $21,491,945 | $21,064,000 | $492,737,066 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $33,707,665 | $32,452,500 | $774,705,233 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $29,836,202 | $28,284,750 | $807,298,028 | 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 Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Purchase, NY
Applying to Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Purchase, NY