Sundheim Family Foundation

Quick Stats

Annual Giving: $8,962,292 (2023)
Success Rate: Not applicable (invitation only)
Decision Time: Not applicable (no public application process)
Grant Range: Varies significantly (individual grants from thousands to millions)
Geographic Focus: Primarily New York, expanding to Florida
Foundation Assets: $83,123,072 (2023)

Contact Details

Address: C/O Sunny Cap Mgmt, 9 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019

Note: The foundation does not accept unsolicited applications or requests for funds. All grants are made to preselected charitable organizations.

Overview

The Sundheim Family Foundation was established as a private grantmaking foundation led by Daniel and Brett Sundheim. Daniel Sundheim is the founder of D1 Capital Partners, a global investment firm. The foundation has grown significantly in recent years, distributing $8,962,292 in grants during 2023, up from $5.9 million in 2022. The foundation's assets total over $83 million as of 2023. The foundation's philanthropic strategy focuses primarily on education, healthcare (particularly diabetes research), and the arts. The Sundheims have demonstrated a pattern of transformational giving through major gifts to institutions where they have personal connections, including universities their children attend and medical causes affecting their family. Their approach emphasizes creating lasting impact through substantial donations combined with active board participation.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation operates exclusively through trustee-selected grants with no formal application programs. Grant amounts vary widely based on the nature and scope of projects:

Major institutional gifts: $1 million - $10 million (universities, capital projects)
Program support: Amounts vary based on relationship and project scope
General operating support: Provided to select organizations

The foundation makes grants on a rolling basis throughout the year as trustees identify opportunities aligned with their philanthropic interests.

Priority Areas

Education: The foundation's primary focus area, with particular emphasis on:

Higher education, especially supporting the University of Pennsylvania
Independent K-12 schools (Ransom Everglades School, connections to Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School)
International student scholarship programs
Humanities education alongside STEM programs
Educational equity and access

Healthcare & Medical Research:

Diabetes research (personal connection through family member with Type 1 diabetes)
Support for major medical institutions (NYU Langone Health)

Arts & Culture:

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Institute of Contemporary Art at University of Pennsylvania

Geographic Priorities:

New York City and New York State (primary focus)
Miami/South Florida (emerging focus as family relocated)

What They Don't Fund

The foundation explicitly states it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Based on their grantmaking pattern:

Organizations without existing connection to the Sundheim family
General operating requests from organizations unknown to trustees
Organizations outside their core focus areas of education, healthcare, and arts
Grants outside their geographic areas of interest (New York and Florida)

Governance and Leadership

Daniel Sundheim, President: Founder of D1 Capital Partners, a global investment firm. Despite being a numbers-focused investor, Sundheim has stated that "core components of a humanities education - writing, critical thinking and public speaking" were central to his career success, which informs the foundation's educational focus.

Brett Sundheim, Secretary: Works alongside Daniel in leading the foundation's philanthropic strategy. Brett has spoken about the family's commitment to diabetes research, noting that when they moved to Miami from New York, "they were eager to continue their support" of the Diabetes Research Institute.

Mark Halpern, Treasurer: Provides financial oversight for the foundation.

None of the key personnel receive compensation for their roles. Each dedicates approximately one hour per week to foundation duties according to IRS filings.

Board Service: The Sundheims maintain active involvement in organizations they support:

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - Daniel serves on the board
NYU Langone Health - Daniel serves on the board
Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School - Daniel serves as a board member

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process. The foundation explicitly states on its IRS filings that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds."

All grants are made at the discretion of the trustees (Daniel and Brett Sundheim) to organizations they have identified through:

Personal connections (schools their children attend, alma maters)
Board service and institutional involvement
Family circumstances (e.g., diabetes research due to family member's diagnosis)
Geographic ties (New York area and Miami following family relocation)

Getting on Their Radar

The Sundheim Family Foundation's grantmaking is relationship-driven. Based on documented grants, the foundation discovers opportunities through:

Board Connections: Daniel Sundheim serves on the boards of MoMA, NYU Langone Health, and Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School. Board service appears to be a key pathway for the Sundheims to identify philanthropic priorities.

Educational Institutions with Family Ties: The foundation has made major gifts to:

Ransom Everglades School (where their children attend, noted as P '26 '28 in school materials)
University of Pennsylvania (likely alma mater connection)

Personal or Family Health Experiences: The $1 million donation to the Diabetes Research Institute in Miami (February 2024) was directly connected to the family being "directly affected by type 1 diabetes."

Geographic Proximity: The foundation's focus expanded from New York to include Miami/South Florida following the family's relocation. Brett Sundheim explicitly mentioned that moving to Miami created new opportunities to support local institutions like the Diabetes Research Institute.

Organizations in the foundation's core focus areas (education, medical research, arts) that engage with Daniel Sundheim through his professional networks or Brett Sundheim through community involvement in New York or Miami may have opportunities for consideration, though no unsolicited applications are accepted.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable - grants are made at trustee discretion throughout the year without a formal review process or timeline.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept applications, so there is no success rate for applicants.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept initial applications or reapplications. All grants are trustee-initiated.

Application Success Factors

Since this foundation does not accept applications, traditional "success factors" do not apply. However, analysis of their documented grantmaking reveals patterns that characterize organizations they choose to support:

Relationship-Based Selection: Every documented major grant traces back to a personal connection - schools the Sundheim children attend, institutions where Daniel serves on boards, causes affecting their family directly, or geographic communities where they live.

Transformational Scale: When the Sundheims commit to an organization, they tend to make significant gifts. Examples include the $7.5 million to Ransom Everglades School (described as "the single largest in the school's history"), $10 million to University of Pennsylvania, and $9 million for the Sundheim International Scholars Fund.

Values Alignment: Daniel Sundheim's stated belief in humanities education despite his quantitative career demonstrates the foundation looks for organizations embodying specific educational philosophies - institutions that balance traditional humanities with contemporary needs.

Geographic Relevance: The foundation's focus has evolved geographically with the family's personal circumstances, expanding from New York-centric to include Miami-area institutions after relocation.

Mission-Driven Healthcare: The diabetes research support demonstrates willingness to fund medical research when aligned with personal family health experiences and commitment to finding cures rather than just treatment.

Institutional Capacity: All documented recipients are well-established institutions (major universities, respected independent schools, leading research institutes, world-class museums) with proven track records and capacity to deploy significant funds effectively.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

This foundation is not accessible through traditional grant applications - all funding is trustee-initiated to preselected organizations
Personal relationships are essential - documented grants all trace to direct family connections, board service, or personal circumstances
They give at transformational levels - when the Sundheims engage, they make significant multi-million dollar commitments that represent major gifts to recipient institutions
Education is the cornerstone priority - particularly higher education and independent schools, with emphasis on humanities education and supporting international students
Geographic focus follows family presence - strong New York ties with emerging Miami/South Florida focus after relocation
Family circumstances drive healthcare giving - Type 1 diabetes diagnosis in the family led directly to diabetes research support
Board service creates opportunities - Daniel's board positions at MoMA, NYU Langone, and Columbia Grammar correlate with foundation's interest areas
Multi-year foundation growth - annual giving increased from $5.9M (2022) to nearly $9M (2023), suggesting expanding philanthropic capacity

References

All sources accessed December 2024.