Brookdale Foundation

The Brookdale Foundation (EIN 13-6076863, Teaneck, NJ) is a family-endowed private foundation — one of three related vehicles (with the Glendale Foundation and Ramapo Trust) collectively known as the Brookdale Foundation Group, established in 1950 by the Schwartz brothers to advance geriatrics and gerontology. This is not an open, competitive general grants program: the Foundation Group operates almost entirely through three named, structured national initiatives — the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP), the National Group Respite Program, and the Leadership in Aging Fellowship Program — each with its own dedicated program director (Melinda Perez-Porter for RAPP, Carmen Mendieta for Group Respite) rather than a general proposal intake. First-time applicants should not send an unsolicited general LOI; instead they should identify which of the three tracks matches their work and follow that track's specific, published guidelines and match requirements. Separate from those three tracks, the IRS grantee data for this specific entity shows a secondary pattern: direct, general-purpose gifts (26 grants totaling $545,500, averaging $20,981) to community organizations concentrated in Naples, FL (11 of 26 grants) and the NY/NJ metro area (11 of 26), covering senior centers, food banks, arts institutions, and a synagogue/Chabad center. These appear to be trustee-directed discretionary grants rather than applications reviewed through a formal RFP, and likely reflect personal or geographic ties of the foundation's directors (several of whom, per the 990, list New Jersey and Florida addresses). For a first-time relationship, the realistic paths in are: (1) apply formally to RAPP or Group Respite when a call opens, (2) be nominated into the Leadership in Aging Fellowship by a partner academic/medical institution, or (3) build a personal relationship with foundation leadership (President Karen S. Hart, VP Mary Ann Van Clief) if your organization serves seniors in the Naples, FL or NY/NJ metro corridor. Across all paths, expect a slow-moving, relationship-first funder that renews known grantees rather than seeking new ones broadly.

This entity's own tax filings show total assets of $5.39M and 2022 (most recent full-year filing) figures of $205,000 in grants paid and $358,028 in total qualifying distributions — the gap between the two ($153,028) reflects direct charitable activity costs (running RAPP/Group Respite conferences, technical assistance, and fellowship administration) rather than pass-through cash grants. Grants paid have held in a narrow $130,000-$210,500 band every year from 2018-2022 (2018: $137,500; 2019: $185,000; 2020: $130,000; 2021: $210,500; 2022: $205,000), a marked step down from a $719,420 outlier in 2010 and near-zero payout years in 2012-2014 ($0, $6,000, $0) — evidence of a foundation that occasionally pauses cash grantmaking in favor of funding its own direct programs. Net investment income swings widely with markets ($624,231 in 2020 vs. $67,263 in 2018), and total revenue has ranged from $50,788 to $865,777 over the sample decade, meaning payout capacity is investment-return-driven, not predictable. At the grantee level, the database shows 26 tracked grants totaling $545,500 (average $20,981), ranging from $5,000 (City Meals on Wheels, Pascack Valley Meals on Wheels) to $100,000 (Naples Senior Center at JFCS). Geographic distribution: FL leads with 11 grants (42%), NY follows with 7 (27%), NJ with 4 (15%), DC with 3 (12%), and NM with 1. By purpose, effectively all tracked grants (100%) are coded "GENERAL" — consistent with unrestricted operating support rather than project-specific funding. Recurring, multi-year relationships are visible: Harry Chapin Food Bank of SW Florida (3 grants, $70,000 total), Naples Senior Center/JFCS ($100,000 + $20,000 across two entries), Generations United ($48,000 + $40,000), and The Hebrew Home at Riverdale Foundation (3 grants, $15,000) — suggesting the foundation renews trusted grantees repeatedly rather than funding one-off projects, and that a mid-five-figure ask ($20,000-$50,000) is the realistic sweet spot for a new relationship.

Brookdale sits among a cluster of similarly small, family-endowed private foundations in the IRS "Philanthropy & Grantmaking" NTEE category with near-identical asset bases (~$5.39M), but it is distinguished by running three named, decades-old public programs rather than pure pass-through grantmaking.

Unlike its asset-matched peers — most of which have no public website, no published programs, and appear to give solely through personal trustee networks — Brookdale is unusually transparent and structured for a foundation this size, publishing full program descriptions, staff contacts, and a 70+ year institutional history. That transparency is a double-edged signal for applicants: it means real published guidelines exist to study, but it also confirms funding is channeled almost exclusively through the three named initiatives rather than a discretionary general fund, making Brookdale harder to break into cold than a peer with no stated process at all.

The most notable recent development is a leadership transition: the foundation's own website now lists Karen S. Hart as President, with Mary Ann Van Clief as Vice President and Maria Asenjo as Secretary/Treasurer, while the most recent IRS Form 990 data on file still names Stephen L. Schwartz as President/Director — indicating the succession from the founding Schwartz family to current leadership happened after the last-filed public tax return and hasn't fully propagated to third-party grant databases yet. Program-side, all three flagship initiatives remain active and are still run by long-tenured specialists: Melinda Perez-Porter continues to direct the Relatives as Parents Program (which references a next-cycle deadline in the June 2026-2027 range per third-party grant trackers, though this should be confirmed directly with the foundation since RAPP's own page does not publish a deadline), and Carmen Mendieta continues as the technical-assistance consultant for the Group Respite Program. The Leadership in Aging Fellowship Program, chaired historically by Dr. Robert N. Butler and later Dr. Albert L. Siu, continues its institution-nomination model rather than opening to direct applicants. No major new program announcements, large one-time grants, or public controversies were identified in the available news coverage for 2025-2026; search results for "Brookdale Foundation" news are dominated by the unrelated for-profit Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (a $3.2B-revenue public company) and Brookdale Community College's separate donor foundation — grant seekers should take care not to confuse these three distinct "Brookdale" entities when researching or making contact.

Do not send a general, unsolicited proposal — the Brookdale Foundation Group does not maintain an open general-grants process, and cold LOIs addressed to "the foundation" rather than a named program are the most common wasted effort. Instead, match your organization to one of the three specific tracks: if you serve kinship/grandfamily caregivers outside the foster-care system, target RAPP and be prepared to document 100% matching funds (cash or in-kind), at least two additional formal service partnerships beyond direct support groups (e.g., legal aid, counseling, childcare), and a concrete sustainability plan for after the 1-2 year, up-to-$30,000 seed grant ends ($20,000 year one, $10,000 year two per third-party trackers — confirm current figures directly, as the foundation's own site does not publish amounts). If you run or want to start an adult day/social-model respite program for people with Alzheimer's or related dementia, target the Group Respite Program and lead with direct-service program design (structured activities, caregiver support groups, counseling) rather than administrative or capital requests — both RAPP and Group Respite explicitly exclude capital improvements, indirect/overhead costs, and funding for services that already exist elsewhere. If your institution trains physicians or researchers in geriatrics, pursue the Leadership in Aging Fellowship through institutional nomination rather than individual application — self-nomination is not the entry point. For the separate, discretionary general-support giving this entity's 990 shows (mostly to Naples, FL and NY/NJ metro senior services, food banks, and arts organizations in the $5,000-$100,000 range), the realistic path is relationship-building with foundation leadership rather than a written application, since no public RFP governs these gifts. In every case, route initial contact to the correct named program staffer (RAPP: Melinda Perez-Porter; Group Respite: Carmen Mendieta) rather than the foundation's general line, and verify current leadership (President Karen S. Hart, not the Schwartz family names that still appear in older 990-sourced directories) before addressing any correspondence.