Belz Foundation

The Belz Foundation is a Memphis-rooted private family philanthropy established in 1953 by real estate developer Philip Belz and today stewarded by his son Ronald A. Belz (President) alongside family members Martin S. Belz (Vice President) and in-laws Andrew J. and Jan B. Groveman (Vice President and Director, respectively). All five board members serve without compensation, reflecting the intensely personal character of the foundation's work.

The giving philosophy rests on three interlocking pillars: Jewish communal and religious institutions at the local, national, and Israel level; Memphis civic infrastructure including healthcare, arts, and community organizations; and Jewish higher education with a particular emphasis on yeshiva-based learning. These streams have remained consistent across every year of available 990-PF data, from the $863K disbursed in FY2015 to the record $6.88M paid in FY2023.

Critical structural fact: The Belz Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications. IRS filings, Candid Foundation Directory, and third-party aggregators (Grantmakers.io, CauseIQ, Hinchilla) all confirm that contributions go exclusively to preselected charitable organizations. There is no RFP, no public portal, and no posted deadline. The foundation maintains no dedicated public-facing website for grant applications — the URL listed (worldofbelz.org) belongs to an unrelated Israeli religious organization. The path to a Belz grant runs entirely through relationship-building rather than proposal submission.

Across 591 recorded grants totaling $14.87 million, the top 50 grantees almost universally appear across 3–4 consecutive grant cycles — a clear signal that the Belz family prizes continuity and depth over discovery. Yeshiva University ($3.155M over 4 cycles), Methodist Healthcare Foundation ($1.666M over 4 cycles), Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab ($1.4M over 4 cycles), and Jewish Foundation of Memphis ($1.2M over 4 cycles) represent multi-decade relationships, not competitively awarded grants.

For organizations seeking to enter the Belz orbit, the optimal strategy is deep engagement with Memphis Jewish community infrastructure. Board service, event participation, or programmatic partnership within the Memphis Jewish Federation, Jewish Foundation of Memphis, Baron Hirsch Congregation, or Bornblum Jewish Community School creates organic conditions for an introduction to Belz family members. The foundation's geographic footprint anchors in Memphis/Tennessee (190 grants, 32%) and New York (227 grants, 38%), with secondary presence in DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, California, and Florida — meaning organizations outside these corridors face significantly lower odds.

First-time grant amounts, based on the tail distribution of smaller grants in the grantee dataset, typically range from $5,000 to $25,000. Transformational gifts ($100,000–$2,000,000+) are reserved for established partners with demonstrated multi-year track records of mission execution and financial stewardship.

Total annual giving has grown nearly 8x over the past decade: from $863,150 in FY2015 to $2.69M (FY2019), $3.93M (FY2020), $4.43M (FY2021), $4.49M (FY2022), and a record $6.88M in FY2023. The asset base has remained relatively stable at $24–32M, meaning FY2023's payout rate reached approximately 26% of assets — far above the 5% legal minimum for private foundations. The Belz family has injected $500,000/year in personal contributions consistently from FY2019 through FY2023, supplemented by investment income ranging from $1.27M to $5.31M depending on market conditions.

Grant size distribution is highly bimodal. Across 591 recorded grants ($14.87M total), the average grant is $25,164 while the median falls near $1,000 — indicating a large volume of small recurring contributions ($25–$5,000) alongside concentrated transformational gifts. The top five grantees alone account for approximately $8.5M of all recorded giving: Yeshiva University ($3.155M), Methodist Healthcare Foundation ($1.666M), Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab ($1.4M), Jewish Foundation of Memphis ($1.2M), and Memphis Jewish Federation ($1.095M).

By program area, derived from 990-PF purpose codes across all recorded grants: - Religious/Jewish community (~35% of total giving): Yeshiva University ($3.155M), Memphis Jewish Federation ($1.095M), Yad Vashem ($455K), Yeshivat Maharat ($400K), Baron Hirsch Congregation ($346K), Ohr Torah Stone Institutions ($64.5K), Fifth Avenue Synagogue ($64.4K), Anti-Defamation League ($24.2K). - Health/welfare (~30%): Methodist Healthcare Foundation ($1.666M), Memphis Jewish Home & Rehab ($1.4M), Hadassah NY ($505K), Magen David Adom ($300K), Church Health Center of Memphis ($113K), PEF Israel Endowment (health, $112K), Shaare Zedek Hospital ($60K), Mayo Clinic ($19.6K), St. Jude ($12.5K). The $2M sickle cell commitment will substantially elevate this category. - Community/civic (~15%): Jewish Foundation of Memphis ($1.2M), United Way Mid-South ($565K), Memphis River Parks ($150K), Community Foundation of Greater Memphis ($66.8K), Wolf River Conservancy ($40K), Tennessee Holocaust Commission ($35.7K). - Education (~12%): American Israel Education Foundation ($207K), University of Memphis Foundation ($145K), Bornblum Jewish Community School ($75K), Weizmann Institute ($13.7K), Machanayim Inc ($12K). - Arts (~5%): ArtsMemphis ($378.9K), Memphis Brooks Museum of Art ($66.7K).

Geographically, New York organizations receive the highest grant count (227 of 591), concentrated in national Jewish institutions headquartered there. Tennessee (190) reflects deep Memphis civic and local Jewish community investment. DC (49), California (25), Massachusetts and New Jersey (15 each), and Illinois and Virginia (10 each) round out the footprint.

The table below compares the Belz Foundation to peer private foundations sharing Memphis civic roots or Jewish philanthropy focus. Peer financials are approximate, sourced from most recently available public IRS Form 990-PF filings; treat them as order-of-magnitude comparators rather than precise figures.

Belz stands out among Memphis peers for its exceptionally high payout rate (26% of assets in FY2023), indicating a more aggressive giving posture than similarly sized foundations typically sustain. Its Jewish community focus also differentiates it sharply from Plough, Assisi, and Hyde, which operate broader civic mandates — making Belz the clear first call for Jewish organizations with Memphis ties and Israel connections. Compared to the Jewish Foundation of Memphis, Belz operates with a more insular, family-directed model that bypasses formal grant rounds entirely. Organizations seeking Jewish philanthropy in Memphis should treat these two foundations as complementary: Belz for invited relationship-based support, Jewish Foundation of Memphis for competitive program grants open to the broader Jewish organizational community.

The most significant publicly disclosed recent activity is the Belz Foundation's $2 million commitment to Methodist Healthcare's Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center in Memphis — the largest confirmed single gift to a non-Jewish, non-educational institution in the foundation's documented grant history. Ron Belz, speaking as Chairman, stated: 'Our family has a long history of giving back to our Memphis community. Partnering with the Methodist Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center is a natural fit.' Methodist will establish the Belz Foundation Sickle Cell Fund and assign both the Center's Infusion and Emergency Care Program and its Medical Directorship the Belz Foundation name in perpetuity.

FY2023 990-PF data reveals a dramatic acceleration in grantmaking: total giving reached $6.88M ($6.58M in direct grants paid), up 53% from the $4.49M disbursed in FY2022 and the highest annual disbursement in at least a decade of available records. Net assets declined from $30.84M (FY2022) to $26.14M (FY2023), confirming the increase is funded by deliberate endowment drawdown rather than investment growth — net investment income fell from $2.27M (FY2022) to $1.37M (FY2023) amid challenging market conditions.

Leadership has remained entirely stable with no publicly disclosed changes since at least FY2019. Ronald A. Belz continues as President, Martin S. Belz as Vice President, and Andrew J. and Jan B. Groveman as Vice President and Director, all without compensation. No new program launches, RFP announcements, strategic plan disclosures, or leadership transitions have been identified through web or database research for 2024–2026, consistent with the foundation's characteristically low public profile. The foundation maintains no dedicated public-facing grant website — the URL on file (worldofbelz.org) is associated with an unrelated Israeli Hasidic organization.

Because the Belz Foundation awards grants exclusively to preselected organizations, the following tips address relationship positioning and cultivation rather than formal application submission — the only viable path to a Belz grant.

Know the decision-makers. Ronald A. Belz (President) and Martin S. Belz (Vice President) are the primary decision-making principals. Andrew J. and Jan B. Groveman provide board oversight. All are embedded in Memphis Jewish civic life. Any cultivation strategy must work toward a personal conversation with one of these five individuals — not a cold submission to a program officer.

Enter through established grantee networks. Long-term Belz grantees are the most effective introduction vehicles. Pursue board service, event sponsorship, committee participation, or joint programming with Memphis Jewish Federation, Jewish Foundation of Memphis, Baron Hirsch Congregation, ArtsMemphis, or Methodist Healthcare Foundation before attempting any direct Belz outreach. These are not casual relationships — Belz has invested $1M+ with each of the top four.

Use language that mirrors documented giving priorities. Any introductory materials should reference 'Jewish communal infrastructure,' 'health equity in the Mid-South,' 'Torah-based education and scholarship,' 'Memphis civic heritage,' and 'Israel-diaspora connection.' These phrases map directly to the purpose codes and grantee narratives in the foundation's 990-PF filings across multiple years.

Memphis presence is non-negotiable for civic grants. All Tennessee grantees demonstrate authentic operational roots in the Memphis region — United Way Mid-South, Memphis River Parks, Church Health Center of Memphis are locally embedded institutions, not national replications. Out-of-state organizations should focus exclusively on the national Jewish institutional pipeline (Yeshiva University model, Hadassah model, Israel-focused endowments) rather than competing for Memphis civic grants.

Calibrate your initial ask to $5,000–$25,000. The grant distribution shows two clear tiers: small exploratory contributions and large anchor partnerships. Position your first request in the lower tier to allow the relationship to develop before asking for larger commitments. Large requests without a prior relationship will not succeed.

Contact details for follow-through: Foundation phone (901) 767-4780, mailing address 100 Peabody Place Suite 1400, Memphis, TN 38103. No published grant inquiry email exists. Channel any organizational inquiry through a mutual connection first — do not cold-call the foundation number.