Altamira Foundation

The Altamira Foundation operates as a tightly held family philanthropic trust governed by three uncompensated trustees — Kenneth L. Abrams, Susan N. Abrams, and Jessica A. Murray — with operational support from Executive Director Sheldon M. Fox ($60,000 annual compensation). The foundation was established in February 2007 and has grown from roughly $1.8 million in assets at inception to approximately $20 million by 2024, a trajectory that reflects disciplined reinvestment rather than aggressive grantmaking.

The single most important fact for any grant seeker: the Altamira Foundation exclusively funds preselected organizations and explicitly does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. There is no open application window, no public RFP, no downloadable application form, and no formal LOI process for organizations the foundation has not already initiated contact with. The foundation's website (altamirafoundation.org) appears to have limited public-facing content, with key pages returning errors as of mid-2026.

The Abrams family's giving reflects personal networks and deeply held values across multiple geographies. Westwood, MA is their home base, and 68% of grant recipients by count are Massachusetts organizations. Illinois ties run through Augustana University (Rock Island, IL), which has received $105,000 across three grants. Louisville, KY connections show through the University of Louisville School of Medicine ($125,000) and the Jewish Federation of Louisville ($25,000). Washington, DC receives 12% of grant count, driven by Georgetown MedStar.

For organizations that share alignment with the Abrams family's demonstrable priorities — Jewish community institutions, academic medical centers, K-12 and higher education scholarships, and Metro-Boston community nonprofits — the most realistic pathway to funding is a warm introduction through an existing grantee relationship. Organizations should map their board and leadership networks against the foundation's top grantees (JCC, Georgetown MedStar, Central High School, Smart From The Start, Augustana Fund) before taking any outreach steps.

First-time applicants should understand that the Altamira Foundation makes no grants on the basis of written proposals alone. Multi-year relationships precede multi-year funding commitments: the JCC Capital Campaign, Central High School Scholarship, and Augustana Fund have each received three or more grants over multiple years.

Annual grantmaking at the Altamira Foundation has ranged from $534,680 (2021) to $1,160,812 (2022), with a clear moderation in recent years: $849,284 in 2023 and $545,877 in 2024. The 2022 peak likely reflects completion of a major multi-year pledge cycle, and the 2024 figure suggests the foundation has returned to a baseline distribution rate of roughly $550,000-$650,000 annually.

In FY2024, the foundation made 26 grants with a median of $2,300 and a maximum of $75,000. The historical grant database (78 grants, $2,100,030 total, average $26,923) reveals a pronounced bimodal structure: a small number of large strategic commitments coexist with dozens of small recurring community gifts.

Large strategic grants (>$50,000): - JCC Capital Campaign: $800,000 across 2 DB grants + $600,000 in 2024 = $1.4M+ total - MedStar-Georgetown University Hospital: $200,000 (DB) + additional 2024 grants - Central High School Scholarship: $180,000 across 3 grants - Smart From The Start: $150,000 across 3 grants - University of Louisville School of Medicine: $125,000 (single grant) - Augustana Fund: $105,000 across 3 grants - Black Economic Council of Massachusetts: $75,000 - Hope for Henry Foundation: $57,000 across 3 grants - Heart Gallery of Alabama: $50,000; Clearway School: $50,000; College Choice Foundation: $50,000

Small recurring gifts (<$10,000): Westwood Community Chest ($6,000/3 grants), WBUR ($5,000/3), Westwood Historical Society ($4,000/3), Friends of Westwood Public Library ($4,000/3), Pan Mass Challenge ($4,000/3).

By focus area: capital campaigns/Jewish community organizations account for roughly 38% of historical giving; healthcare and medical research 23%; education and scholarships 21%; Illinois/Augustana causes 5%; local Westwood community organizations 5%; arts and culture 3%; social services and other 5%.

Geographically: Massachusetts receives 68% of grant count, DC 12%, Illinois 10%, Kentucky 4%, Alabama and California 2% each, Maryland 1%.

The following table compares Altamira Foundation to four peer foundations at the ~$18-19M asset tier, all classified under NTEE T20 (Philanthropy & Grantmaking) and operating as independent private grantmaking foundations:

All five peer foundations are family-led private trusts at similar asset scales and share a defining characteristic: none accepts unsolicited proposals. Altamira is the most transparent of the group by virtue of consistent Form 990-PF filings with granular grantee data, making its giving patterns more legible to researchers than peers who report only aggregate totals. Altamira's annual giving rate of roughly 2.7-3% of assets is conservative by private foundation standards (the IRS minimum is 5% of net investment assets), suggesting the foundation is steadily building its endowment for larger future grantmaking. Organizations that cultivate relationships now may be well-positioned for increased grant sizes as the foundation matures.

The most current IRS Form 990-PF data (FY2024, published September 2025) shows the Altamira Foundation disbursed $545,877 across 26 grants — its lowest annual total in the reported period. The dominant transaction was a $600,000 grant to the JCC Capital Campaign, which alone represented 110% of all other FY2024 grants combined. This outsized single award, viewed alongside the $800,000 in prior JCC grants in the database, strongly suggests the conclusion of a long-running capital campaign pledge.

Total assets climbed to approximately $20 million in FY2024, up from $16.2 million in FY2023, reflecting strong investment returns. Revenue of $3,322,845 came primarily from asset sales (83.5%) and dividends (15.9%), with minimal external contributions ($2,000). No officer compensation was paid to the trustees; Executive Director Sheldon M. Fox received $60,000.

The foundation's listed website (altamirafoundation.org) returned error pages for multiple subpages in June 2026, suggesting limited maintenance of the foundation's public web presence. No press releases, grants announcements, or leadership changes have been issued publicly in 2025 or 2026. No GrantAdvisor reviews exist for this foundation. The absence of a public communications strategy is consistent with a foundation that does not seek inbound applications and has no need for an external-facing brand.

The Altamira Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. This is not a soft discouragement — it is an explicit policy confirmed in IRS filings and multiple grant databases. Any organization that submits an unsolicited letter of inquiry, mails a proposal, or sends a cold email to the foundation is wasting resources and potentially creating a negative impression with a small family office where every contact is noticed.

The only viable strategy is relationship-first cultivation:

• Map your board and staff networks against existing grantees. The JCC Capital Campaign, MedStar-Georgetown University Hospital, Central High School Scholarship program, Smart From The Start, Augustana Fund, Hope for Henry Foundation, and Clearway School are the most reliable entry points. If any of your board members, major donors, or senior staff have professional or personal relationships with leadership at these organizations, a warm introduction to the Abrams family trustees is more valuable than any written proposal.

• Target the Westwood, MA ecosystem. The foundation's home base is Westwood, MA (401 Summer St, 02090). Organizations active in the Westwood community — particularly those that intersect with the Westwood Community Chest, Westwood Land Trust, Westwood Historical Society, or Westwood public schools — are in the same civic orbit as the Abrams family.

• Align language with demonstrated values. IRS grant purpose codes reveal the Abrams family's language: all grants are coded simply as "CHARITABLE" — meaning there is no programmatic vocabulary to mirror. Instead, align your narrative with their demonstrated sectors: capital campaigns for Jewish community institutions, pediatric/childhood health (Hope for Henry), early education access (Smart From The Start), first-generation college scholarships (Clearway, College Choice, Steppingstone), and academic medical research partnerships.

• Contact via phone first. The foundation's listed number is (781) 329-5186. A respectful, brief call to Executive Director Sheldon M. Fox — introducing your organization and asking whether there is any pathway to a relationship — is a lower-barrier first step than any written communication.

• Be patient and persistent across years. Every major grantee in the foundation's portfolio has received three or more grants across multiple years. The Altamira Foundation rewards long-term relationships, not one-time pitches.