Buller Foundation

The Buller Foundation is not an open grantmaker — it is a private, non-operating charitable trust (EIN 47-1291497, IRS ruling 2014) that functions as a vehicle for the Buller family's personal giving. Its five trustees are James, Cheryl, Anna, and Jesse Buller plus Mitchell Kahn, whose name is associated with the trust's accounting address (c/o KWM/KGS CPAs LLP, 100 Jericho Quadrangle, Jericho, NY). The foundation's own IRS filing states plainly that it "makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations" and does not solicit or accept unsolicited proposals through any formal application. First-time applicants should recalibrate expectations accordingly: this is a relationship-driven funder, not a competitive-RFP funder.

The grantee pattern reinforces this. Of 133 recorded grants to 52 organizations, the overwhelming majority (33 recipients receiving grant_count of 2-4) reflect the same organizations funded repeatedly over consecutive years — the hallmark of a family that has built a fixed roster of causes it trusts and renews, rather than one that evaluates a rotating applicant pool. The single largest relationship, Birthright Israel Foundation ($400,000 across 4 grants, ~$100,000/year), likely reflects a personal or generational commitment to Israel-connection programming rather than a competitive award.

For organizations without an existing tie to the family, the only documented channel is a physical mail inquiry per the trust's own Form 990-PF instructions: "MAIL. INFORMATION REGARDING PURPOSE AND NATURE OF CHARITY." This is a low-probability, low-cost outreach path — worth attempting for organizations that fit the giving profile (Jewish communal/Israel-connection causes, medical research, human services), but it should not be treated as a formal application process with a review cycle or expected response. The strongest path to funding remains a warm introduction through the Buller family's personal, synagogue, or professional-advisory network, particularly through Mitchell Kahn.

Organizations should also weigh capacity realistically before applying. With only $404,620 distributed across 34 grants in the most recent reported year, and roughly half of that already committed to renewing the Birthright Israel Foundation relationship, the discretionary pool available to a genuinely new organization in any given year is modest — likely a small number of gifts in the low thousands of dollars. This is best approached as a long-horizon relationship-building exercise rather than a near-term funding source, and is most promising for organizations whose mission overlaps closely with the family's demonstrated priorities rather than as a general-purpose funder to add to a broad prospect list.

Total giving has grown steadily and substantially: $117,914 (2019) → $157,215 (2020) → $189,686 (2021) → $253,438 (2022) → $369,910 (2023) → an estimated $404,620 across 34 grants (2024, per third-party 990 aggregation) — more than a 3x increase over five years. Assets have grown even faster, from $1.8M (2019) to roughly $7.2-7.4M by 2024, including a $1.99M contribution inflow in FY2023 alone.

Across its full 133-grant, $840,620 historical footprint, the median grant is $1,800 and the average is $5,767 (typical range $180-$100,000) — but this average is skewed heavily by one outlier relationship. Birthright Israel Foundation alone accounts for $400,000, or roughly 48% of all-time dollars, across just 4 grants averaging $100,000 each. The next tier — Breast Cancer Research Foundation ($85,000/4 grants), Colel Chabad ($72,000/2 grants, food banks and soup kitchens), and Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation ($40,000/4 grants) — together represent another 24% of total dollars. Below that, dozens of organizations receive small, recurring annual gifts of $500-$10,800.

By category, Jewish heritage, Israel-connection, and Jewish communal organizations dominate by recipient count (20+ of the top 50 grantees, including American Jewish Committee, Chabad of Roslyn, Hillel International, American Technion Society, Weizmann Institute, and several "American Friends of" Israeli-university and hospital support organizations). Medical/biomedical research (cancer, Alzheimer's, pediatric scleroderma, autism) forms the second cluster, with Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the Lustgarten Foundation (pancreatic cancer) each appearing as repeat, multi-year recipients rather than one-time gifts. A smaller but consistent third category is social services and hunger relief, anchored by Colel Chabad's soup kitchens and food banks ($72,000) and smaller gifts to Meir Panim and its American Friends affiliate. Geographically, 113 of 133 grants (85%) went to New York-registered recipients by count, though the two largest dollar relationships (Birthright Israel Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation) skew the dollar-weighted geography toward wherever those organizations are headquartered; smaller secondary clusters exist in California (6), DC (5), New Hampshire (3), Florida (2), Tennessee (3), and Louisiana (1, Chabad at Tulane). Notably, none of the 133 recorded grants exceed $100,000, and the vast majority (well over 100 of 133) fall under $10,000 — this is a foundation built on many small, loyal recurring gifts rather than a handful of large transformative awards.

This peer set was matched on near-identical asset size (all within $10,000 of Buller's $7.38M) within the same NTEE "Philanthropy & Grantmaking" category, and the comparison is telling in itself: four of the five peers, like Buller, have no public website at all, confirming that Buller's minimal web presence and closed application process are typical of this asset tier rather than an anomaly. The T Boone Pickens Foundation is the outlier with an active public site, likely reflecting its namesake's higher public profile rather than a fundamentally different operating model — grant seekers should not assume peer foundations of this size are any more accessible than Buller.

The most concrete recent activity is financial rather than programmatic: FY2023 Form 990-PF filings show total assets growing 63% year-over-year (from $2.76M to $4.5M) and total giving growing 46% (from $253,438 to $369,910), fueled by a $1.99M contribution the trust received that year. Third-party 990 aggregation for FY2024 (Instrumentl) shows this trend continuing, with reported assets around $7.2-7.4M and giving of $404,620 across 34 grants — implying assets roughly doubled again from FY2023 to FY2024.

No news coverage, press releases, or leadership changes were found specific to this Jericho, NY trust; web searches for "Buller Foundation" news returned unrelated organizations with similar names (the Buell Foundation in Colorado, the Harding-Buller Foundation of Worthington in Ohio, and MB Foundation's staff additions), none of which are this entity. The trustee roster — James Buller, Cheryl Buller, Anna Buller, Jesse Buller, and Mitchell Kahn — appears consistent across all available filing years with no turnover detected.

One notable development: the foundation's own website, bullerfoundation.org, is live but displays a "Launching Soon" placeholder as of this research (August 2026), with only an email signup and contact form available. This suggests the family may be preparing to establish a more formal public-facing presence after a decade of operating with no website, though no timeline or content preview is available.

This foundation does not run a competitive or open application process, so generic grant-writing advice does not apply. Practical guidance specific to Buller Foundation:

• Do not use third-party "apply now" listings. A Zeffy page referencing a "Prevention Services" grant program under this EIN appeared in search results but is not linked from the foundation's own site or IRS filing and should be treated as unverified until confirmed directly with the trust.
• The only documented channel is physical mail. The trust's own Form 990-PF states its application procedure as "MAIL. INFORMATION REGARDING PURPOSE AND NATURE OF CHARITY" — send a concise letter describing your organization's purpose and programs to 100 Jericho Quadrangle, Ste 220, Jericho, NY 11753-2702.
• Lead with mission alignment, not need. Roughly 72% of all historical dollars went to two categories: Jewish communal/Israel-connection organizations (Birthright Israel Foundation, Chabad affiliates, "American Friends of" Israeli institutions, Hillel International) and medical research (cancer, Alzheimer's, pediatric conditions). Organizations outside these two lanes have received little to no support historically — state your fit to one of these categories explicitly and early.
• Do not over-ask. The grantee data shows the foundation's typical new-relationship gift is $500-$3,600 (see Family Center for Autism, Lifes Worc for Autism, and Yad Vashem, each entering at $500 or $360); the $100,000-level gifts are reserved for the single decade-long Birthright Israel Foundation relationship, not a benchmark for a first-time ask.
• Expect renewal-style, not project-style, giving. Most recipients show grant_count of 2-4 with flat or near-flat dollar amounts year to year, suggesting the trustees renew a fixed annual gift rather than fund discrete projects or campaigns — frame your request as an ongoing partnership rather than a one-time program budget.
• Build a personal bridge. With trustees limited to four Buller family members and advisor Mitchell Kahn (linked to the trust's KWM/KGS CPAs accounting address), a warm referral through Jewish communal, Long Island business, or accounting/financial-advisory networks on Long Island (Jericho, NY) is the most realistic path to a first conversation.
• Common mistake to avoid: treating this like a typical private foundation with a grants webpage, guidelines PDF, or online LOI form — none exist, and time spent hunting for one is better spent on the mail inquiry or a direct introduction.