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Non-profit

Overbrook Foundation

Location:

New York, NY
Tax ID:

13-6088860
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)-PF

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $8,819,200
Expenses: $12,716,717
Assets: $192,018,982
Formation:

1948
President:

Eric Weingartner

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The Overbrook Foundation is a New York City-based grantmaking foundation founded in 1948 by investor Frank Altschul and his wife Helen. Today, the Overbrook Foundation’s grants are focused on funding for left-of-center groups supporting social liberalism and environmentalism.

Overbrook has an endowment of $150 million and has donated more than $188 million. 1 The Overbrook Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications from groups that are not already being funded by the Foundation. 2

Background

The Overbrook Foundation was founded in 1948 by Helen Altschul and Frank Altschul, a former New York investment banker. Overbrook is now led by their descendants and a small staff. The Overbrook Foundation’s primary areas of funding are social liberal advocacy (called “human rights” by the Foundation) and environmental issues. 3

Grantmaking Areas

Social Liberalism

The Overbrook Foundation has focused much of its human rights funding on social liberal causes, including LGBT interests and abortion rights.

Overbrook contributed $50,000 to the Freedom to Marry movement in 2015, the campaign that pushed most heavily for legalizing same-sex marriage. Overbrook contributes $60,000 annually to Lambda Legal, a left-leaning LGBT advocacy group. 4

In 2015 alone, the Overbrook Foundation contributed $500,000 to pro-abortion groups like National Advocates for Pregnant Women, National Network of Abortion Funds, and URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. 5

In 2013, the Overbrook Foundation helped develop the Building Equity and Alignment Impact (BEAI) Fund to support organizing in the environmental movement. Their goal is to raise and disperse $10 million to local-level environmental advocacy groups. 6

The Overbrook Foundation is a major funder of ­­Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), a left-of-center activist group that supports the radical environmentalist proposal Green New Deal. 7 CJA is the principle organizer for the People’s Climate Marches, a national movement to protest environmental policies. 8

People

Leadership

Eric Weingartner is the president of the Overbrook Foundation as of January 2023. He was previously the director of The Door plus Broome Street Academy, a youth services organization based in New York City, from 2016 to 2021. Prior, he was the managing director of charity organization the Robin Hood Foundation. He also served as a policy advisor for both Mayor Rudy Guiliani and Mayor Michael Bloomberg during their terms as mayor of NYC. 9

Stephen A. Foster is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Overbrook Foundation. He previously served as the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Sunrise Initiative for Human Rights and co-chaired the Civil Marriage Collaborative (CMC). Foster is the former president of the Charles A. Dana Foundation. 10

The Lead Environmental Advisor to the Overbrook Foundation is Daniel R. Katz, who co-founded the Rainforest Alliance, where he is the Board Chair and former president. He is a former Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellow, and has worked with organizations like People for the American Way, Grist.org and the Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board. Katz is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 11

Donation Recipients

References

  1. “About.” The Overbrook Foundation. Accessed August 14, 2019.  https://www.overbrook.org/mission-value-history
  2. “Apply.” The Overbrook Foundation. Accessed August 14, 2019.  https://www.overbrook.org/apply
  3. Williams, Tate. “A Small Family Funder Trying to Cure What Ails Environmentalism.” Inside Philanthropy. July 25, 2017. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/7/25/a-small-family-funder-trying-to-cure-what-ails-environmentalism
  4. “Human Rights, Marriage Equality.” The Overbrook Foundation. Accessed August 14, 2019. https://www.overbrook.org/marriage-equality-2015
  5. “Human Rights, Reproductive Justice.” The Overbrook Foundation. Accessed August 14, 2019. https://overbrook.org/reproductive-justice-2015
  6. “Our Work.” Building Equity and Alignment for Impact. Accessed August 14, 2019. https://bea4impact.org/work
  7. “CJA and the Green New Deal.” Climate Justice Alliance. Accessed August 14, 2019. https://climatejusticealliance.org/gnd/
  8. Williams, Tate. “A Small Family Funder Trying to Cure What Ails Environmentalism.” Inside Philanthropy. July 25, 2017. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/7/25/a-small-family-funder-trying-to-cure-what-ails-environmentalism
  9. “Board and Team.” The Overbrook Foundation. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://www.overbrook.org/board-and-team.
  10. “Board & Staff.” The Overbook Foundation. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.overbrook.org/board-and-staff
  11. “Board & Staff.” The Overbook Foundation. Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.overbrook.org/board-and-staff
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: April 1, 1949

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form PF $8,819,200 $12,716,717 $192,018,982 $3,110,238 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $5,787,447 $10,751,825 $170,340,103 $2,976,273 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form PF $4,995,314 $11,735,067 $155,980,628 $2,230,925 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $31,916,667 $10,349,264 $167,713,218 $1,244,790 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $22,411,437 $10,147,665 $177,403,440 $2,418,675 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $18,315,867 $9,664,007 $134,264,106 $971,825 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $11,729,236 $10,458,508 $124,343,328 $1,243,995 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Overbrook Foundation

    60 EAST 42ND STREET
    New York, NY 10165-0006