The Tikkun Olam Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation founded by philanthropist Denise Sobel located in New York City registered in the care of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The foundation disburses grants to organizations associated with left-of-center social causes, such as abortion, race, gender, sexuality, and immigration issues.

Background

Philanthropist Denise Sobel created the Tikkun Olam Foundation in 2013. Later, in January 2015, it was registered as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt private grantmaking foundation in New York City under the “care of” Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. ^{1 2 3}

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, founded in 2002, is one of the United States’ largest philanthropic organizations and generally engages in diverse investments, grants, and guidance with its partners. Though many of the firm’s investments support apolitical causes such as art initiatives, other groups particularly highlighted on its website have left-leaning social-change missions, for instance, ones associated with race, environment, and gender issues. ^{4 5 6}

Management and Contractors

The Tikkun Olam Foundation is registered in the “care of” Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and per its 2020 filing with the Internal Revenue Service provided an annual compensation to the firm of $135, 384 for “philanthropic consulting” services. In that same year, the foundation also compensated Hall Capital Partners and Boston Common Asset Management $108,954 and $65,516 respectively for “investment management” services.

Grants

Left-of-center social issues-oriented organizations that have received grants from the Tikkun Olam Foundation include the Alliance for Global Justice, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Black and Pink, Dignity and Power Now, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Network of Abortion Funds, the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Planned Parenthood of New York City, the Social Good Fund, the Tides Center, the Transgender Law Center, and United We Dream.⁷

Holdings

As of 2020, the Tikkun Olam Foundation, possesses assets exceeding $63 million in value. Notably, the foundation holds multi-million-dollar shares of various major corporations and investment funds, including Bain Capital’s Double Impact Fund, the Buena Vista Asian Opportunities Offshore Fund, the Canyon Value Realization Fund, the Dodge and Cox Income Fund, Dodge and Cox International Stock, the Farallon Capital Investors F5 Investors Fund, the Generation IM Fund, the Generation IM Global Equity Fund, the Inclusive Capital Partners Spring International Fund, and Orbimed Partners. ⁸

Denise Sobel

Denise Sobel is the founder, president, treasurer, and a director of the Tikkun Olam Foundation as well as the chair of the board of trustees of the Clark Art Institute. Previously, Sobel sat on the boards of organizations including the American Red Cross of Greater New York, Congregation Rodeph Sholom of New York, and Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. ^{9 10}

Additionally, Sobel supports a range of artistic and cultural venues, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Barnes Museum in Philadelphia, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Williams College Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Frick Madison in New York, the Morgan Library Garden in New York, the Bennington Museum in Vermont, and the Jewish Museum in New York. ¹¹

1. “Tikkun Olam Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464286227
2. “DENISE LITTLEFIELD SOBEL NAMED CHAIR OF CLARK ART INSTITUTE’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES.” The Clark. July 26, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.clarkart.edu/About/Press-Room/Press-Room-Archives/2022-Archives/Denise-Sobel-Named-as-Board-Chair
3. Tikkun Olam Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464286227/202113139349102016/full
4. “About.” Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.rockpa.org/about/
5. “Melissa A. Berman.” Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.rockpa.org/about/team/?member=melissa-berman
6. “Featured Projects.” Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.rockpa.org/projects/issue-areas/
7. Tikkun Olam Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464286227/202113139349102016/full
8. Tikkun Olam Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464286227/202113139349102016/full
9. “DENISE LITTLEFIELD SOBEL NAMED CHAIR OF CLARK ART INSTITUTE’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES.” The Clark. July 26, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.clarkart.edu/About/Press-Room/Press-Room-Archives/2022-Archives/Denise-Sobel-Named-as-Board-Chair
10. Tikkun Olam Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/464286227/202113139349102016/full
11. “DENISE LITTLEFIELD SOBEL NAMED CHAIR OF CLARK ART INSTITUTE’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES.” The Clark. July 26, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.clarkart.edu/About/Press-Room/Press-Room-Archives/2022-Archives/Denise-Sobel-Named-as-Board-Chair