The Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation is a private family grantmaking organization founded in 1943 by Bernard and Alva Gimbel. As of December 2024, the foundation was managed by Bernard and Alva Gimbel’s granddaughter, Leslie Gimbel. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

The foundation provides grants to left-of-center environmentalist and pro-abortion organizations, including the Tides Foundation, EarthJustice, the Rainforest Action Network, the Pacific Environment and Resources Center, and the New Venture Fund. ⁶

In 2019, the foundation announced it would decrease its activities and spending over a ten-year period. ¹

History and Activities

The Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation is a private family grantmaking organization founded in 1943 by Bernard and Alva Gimbel. Bernard and Alva Gimbel were married in 1912 and Harold Gimbel was the board chairman of Gimbel Brothers, a major department store. Harold Gimbel died in 1966 at age 81 and Leslie Gimbel died in 1983 at age 90. ^{1 5 2}

In 2019, the foundation announced it would decrease its activities and spending over a ten-year period in order to focus its grantmaking efforts into  climate change and “strengthening democracy.” ¹

As part of its climate change priorities, the foundation provides grants to support environmental protection and a “just transition” to a more weather-dependent energy system. ⁷

As part of its strengthening democracy program, the foundation provides grants to organizations that focus on civic engagement, voting rights, protest rights, judicial independence, election integrity, and limiting the influence of money in politics. The foundation also considers promoting abortion as “essential to a functioning democracy.” ⁷

As of December 2024, the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation did not accept unsolicited grant requests, though the foundation has stated that it continues to support long-term grantees that do not fit into its climate change and strengthening democracy priorities. ^{1 7}

Leadership

The president and CEO of the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation is Leslie Gimbel, the daughter of Peter Fimbel and granddaughter of Bernard and Alva Gimbel, for whom the family foundation is named. ^{3 4 5}

Grantmaking

According to tax filings, the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation reported $6,505,925 in expenses in 2022, including $6,041,191 in disbursements for charitable purposes. That same year, the foundation reported dozens of grants, including many to left-of-center organizations, especially environmentalist and pro-abortion organizations. Grant recipients that year included the Tides Foundation ($22,000), EarthJustice ($375,000), the Rainforest Action Network ($150,000), StandEarth ($250,000), the Pacific Environment and Resources Center ($150,000), The Sentencing Project ($100,000), the New Venture Fund ($460,000), the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund ($400,000), the Common Cause Education Fund ($205,000), the Guttmacher Institute ($200,000), the Center for Reproductive Rights ($100,000), the Reproductive Health Access Project ($75,000), Physicians for Reproductive Health ($150,000), and the National Institute for Reproductive Health ($150,000). ⁶

On its website as of December 2024, the foundation stated it had provided grants to the following organizations in 2024: 350.org ($150,000), All Voting is Local ($100,000), the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation ($50,00), the Bridging Divides Initiative ($200,000), the Campaign Legal Center ($100,000), the Center for Reproductive Rights ($100,000), the Common Cause Education Fund ($250,000), the Legal Action Center ($650,000), the Legal Aid Society ($100,000), the Louisiana Bucket Brigade ($150,000), the National Institute for Reproductive Health ($75,000), NEO Philanthropy ($400,000), the New Economy Project ($50,000), the New York Immigration Coalition ($225,000), PHI ($50,000), Planned Parenthood of Greater New York ($75,000), the Rainforest Action Network ($500,000 two year grant), The Sentencing Project ($50,000), the Trusted Elections Fund ($100,000), the Union of Concerned Scientists ($100,000), URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity ($150,000), the Voting Rights Lab ($200,000), and the Waterfront Alliance ($25,000). ⁸

Grant recipients in other years include the Abortion on Our Own Terms, the American Constitution Society, the Center for Employment Opportunities, the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, Bronx Defenders, the Center for an Urban Future, and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. ^{9 10}

1. “Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc.” Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc.. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://gimbelfoundation.org/.
2. “Bernard F & Alva B Gimbel foundation Inc.” Foundation Center. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile/?key=GIMB001.
3. “Board of Director & Staff.” Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc.. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://gimbelfoundation.org/board-of-directors-staff/.
4. “Leslie Gimbel.” Activist Facts. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.activistfacts.com/person/111-leslie-gimbel/.
5. “Alva Gimbel is Dead; Active Philanthropist.” New York Times. May 1, 1983. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/01/obituaries/alva-gimbel-is-dead-active-philanthropist.html
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Bernard F. & Alva B. Gimbel Foundation. 2022.
7. “Funding Priorities.” Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc. Accessed December 5, 2024.  https://gimbelfoundation.org/funding-priorities/.
8.  2024 Grants (to date).” Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc. Accessed December 5, 2024.  https://gimbelfoundation.org/grants-2/2024-grants/
9. “2023 Grants.” Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc. Accessed December 5, 2024.  https://gimbelfoundation.org/grants-2/2023-grants/
10. “2021 Grants.” Bernard F. And Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Inc. Accessed December 5, 2024.  https://gimbelfoundation.org/grants-2/2021-grants/