Fooksman Family Foundation

The Fooksman Family Foundation operates as a relationship-driven, invitation-only grantmaker headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Founded in 2018 and incorporated as a private foundation in January 2020, it is led by Eugene Fooksman (President) and Myron G. Sugarman (Secretary and CFO), both of whom draw zero compensation — a structural signal of a tightly founder-controlled operation driven by personal mission rather than institutional process.

The foundation's website makes its application stance explicit: 'Because we are constantly working to identify our potential grantees, the Foundation is not currently accepting unsolicited proposals for funding.' This is not a bureaucratic gatekeeping mechanism — it reflects a genuine belief that the best partnerships are discovered, not applied for. Eugene Fooksman identifies organizations that embody what the foundation describes as 'creativity, innovation, and intellectual courage' in advancing Jewish life and supporting Israel.

The 85-grant grantee database confirms a strong preference for multi-year relationships. Club Z received four grants totaling $485,000; Grains for Good Foundation three grants totaling $180,000; Americares three grants totaling $120,000; UJA Federation of New York three grants totaling $105,000; and Arlekin Players Theatre three grants totaling $95,000. These repeat partnerships account for a disproportionate share of total giving and indicate a relationship arc that typically begins with a test grant in the $15,000-$25,000 range before deepening to five- and six-figure commitments over two to four years.

Three interlocking priorities define the portfolio: Israel engagement and Jewish continuity (dominant, estimated 60-65% of dollars); humanitarian response with Russian and Ukrainian Jewish dimensions (approximately 12-15%); and arts and culture rooted in Jewish or Israeli identity (8-10%). The foundation also makes targeted grants in advocacy and democratic institutions — Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Lawfare Project, United Nations Watch — suggesting comfort with politically adjacent work.

Geographically, California and New York each account for 32 of 85 documented grants, with Massachusetts (8), Washington D.C. (6), Connecticut (3), and New Jersey (2) rounding out coverage. Organizations outside these states face a structurally higher relationship-building bar.

For first-time applicants, the viable entry point is through the existing grantee network — particularly Oshman Family JCC (Palo Alto), Hillel of Silicon Valley, Areivim Philanthropic Group, and the Merona Leadership Foundation, all of which operate in overlapping Jewish philanthropic leadership circles. The foundation's repeated investment in Jewish leadership pipelines signals that applicants embedded in formal philanthropic training networks carry additional credibility.

Annual grantmaking has grown from $599,814 in fiscal year 2019 to $2,178,893 in fiscal year 2025 — a 263% increase over six years. The trajectory is not linear: giving dipped to $1,098,308 in FY2021 before rebounding sharply. Total giving by year: $599,814 (2019), $1,312,649 (2020), $1,098,308 (2021), $1,486,949 (2022), $1,318,095 (2023), $1,549,516 (2024), $2,178,893 (2025). The FY2025 figure — a 41% year-over-year increase — is the highest in the foundation's history and may signal post-October 7, 2023 Israel-related commitments.

Across the 85 grants tracked in the database, the average award is $35,607 and the median is $25,000. The foundation's own records cite a typical range of $5,000 to $110,000. Documented individual grants range from $11,436 (Digital Culture JHN) to single awards of $100,000 (RFAK Global Citizens Project Boundless Grant; Pledges Inc. Sunflower Fund for Dnipro medical supplies). The Club Z total of $485,000 reflects four cumulative grants, not a single award.

By program area (estimated):

• Jewish community infrastructure and Israel engagement (60-65%): Largest recipients include Hillel of Silicon Valley ($70,000 across 3 grants), Hebrew Public ($65,000 across 2 grants), Jewish Agency for Israel NA ($60,000), Addison-Penzak JCC ($60,000), Friends of Ir David ($50,000), Jewish Agency for Israel NA ($60,000), Oshman Family JCC ($100,000 across 2 grants), and Jewish News Services ($46,000 across 3 grants including podcast support).

• Ukraine and Russian Jewish humanitarian (12-15%): Grains for Good Foundation ($180,000 across 3 grants — Operation Sunflower medical supplies and special needs children), Pledges Inc. ($100,000 Sunflower Fund for Dnipro), New Wave Arts ($75,000 Ukraine medical supplies), Leleka ($40,000 emergency medical), Worldwide Orphans Foundation ($25,000 Children of Ukraine), and Hebrew Public ($65,000 including Ukrainian refugee school support).

• Arts and culture (8-10%): Arlekin Players Theatre ($95,000 across 3 grants), Artis and Artis Contemporary Israel Art Fund ($90,000 combined), COJECO ($25,000 for Roman Freud theatrical work), Theater You ($15,000).

• Advocacy and democratic institutions (5-7%): Foundation for Defense of Democracies ($50,000), Lawfare/Lawfair Project ($50,000 combined), United Nations Watch-USA ($20,000), Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute ($20,000 Israeli Visiting Fellow), Louis D. Brandeis Center ($15,000).

Assets fluctuated significantly: $9.6M (2019), $11.1M (2020), $15.9M (2021), $5.7M (2022 — heavy distributions), $12.6M (2023), $18.3M (2025). Revenue is driven almost entirely by investment returns: asset sales accounted for 93.2% of FY2025 revenue, with dividends at 6.7%.

Database peers are matched on asset size (~$18.6M) rather than mission, providing a structural scale reference but limited strategic comparability. None of the five peer foundations have public websites or publicly reported annual giving figures.

Fooksman's FY2025 payout ratio of approximately 11.8% of total assets ($2.18M disbursed against $18.4M in assets) substantially exceeds the IRS-mandated 5% minimum distribution requirement for private foundations, placing it in the upper quartile of comparably sized family foundations by giving intensity. Zero officer compensation and a two-person leadership structure are consistent with a founder-operated family foundation at this asset scale.

For mission-aligned context, Fooksman occupies mid-market positioning within Jewish philanthropy — larger than most single-focus Jewish community foundations but far smaller than institutional anchors like the Jim Joseph Foundation, Covenant Foundation, or AVI CHAI Family Foundation (each with $100M+ in assets). Organizations already in relationship with those larger funders may find Fooksman a complementary source for $25,000-$100,000 awards that larger foundations cannot efficiently deploy.

No formal press releases, program announcements, or leadership changes were publicly identified for the Fooksman Family Foundation in 2025 or 2026. The foundation does not maintain a news feed, active social media presence, or blog on its website.

The most significant documentable development is the FY2025 charitable disbursement of $2,178,893 — up 41% from FY2024's $1,549,516 and the highest annual payout in the foundation's history. IRS Form 990 data for FY2025 was processed by ProPublica in May 2026. Asset recovery from the FY2022 low of $5.7M to $18.4M by FY2025 — driven primarily by asset sales representing 93.2% of FY2025 revenue — enabled this acceleration.

Eugene Fooksman (President) and Myron G. Sugarman (Secretary and CFO) continue in their roles with zero compensation, as confirmed by the most recent 990 filings. No board expansions or executive changes were publicly disclosed.

The Ukraine humanitarian strand represents the most documentable recent programmatic evolution: at least six grantees received Ukraine-specific awards totaling more than $420,000 between FY2022 and FY2023. Hebrew Public's grant specifically supported 'Ukrainian Refugees in Hebrew Public Schools,' reflecting the foundation's lens of integrating humanitarian response within Jewish community infrastructure. This strand appears to have stabilized as the acute emergency phase passed, though Grains for Good Foundation's work with special needs children in Ukraine ('Zhuravlikt') suggests continued engagement.

Candid's July 2025 update confirmed 37 grants in FY2024, down from the historical average — consistent with a grant consolidation trend toward deeper, fewer partnerships rather than broad portfolio expansion.

The most critical tactical reality: Fooksman Family Foundation does not process grant applications. Its website explicitly states it is 'not currently accepting unsolicited proposals for funding,' and the foundation's application instructions are blank. Every documented grantee relationship began through Eugene Fooksman's proactive identification of aligned organizations — not through portals, RFPs, or cold inquiries. The work before the work is relationship cultivation.

Highest-probability entry strategies:

• Activate existing grantee networks first. Board members or senior staff with direct relationships to Club Z, Oshman Family JCC (Palo Alto), Hillel of Silicon Valley, Areivim Philanthropic Group, the Merona Leadership Foundation, or Arlekin Players Theatre can provide warm introductions that bypass the cold-contact barrier entirely.

• Initial email contact, kept tight. If no warm introduction is available, send a concise email to info@fooksmanfoundation.org — no more than 250-300 words. Lead with your Israel connection, Jewish community impact, or specific creative innovation. Do not attach a proposal or budget in the first message. Subject line format: [Organization] — [Program Name] — [Jewish/Israel Connection].

• Use the foundation's language precisely. Phrases that signal alignment include: 'bold new era of Jewish philanthropy,' 'partnership,' 'Jewish continuity,' 'bridging diaspora and Israel,' and 'intellectual courage.' Avoid generic nonprofit-speak about capacity building or systems change unless it directly connects to Jewish community context.

• Russian-Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish work carries extra weight. Addison-Penzak JCC's Russian Speaking Jewish Programs ($60,000), Katahdin Foundation's Refusniks Development Project ($40,000), and multiple Ukraine relief grants confirm this resonance is personal to Eugene Fooksman.

• Arts organizations should lead with Jewish or Israeli creative content. Arlekin Players Theatre (Cherry Orchard; Chekhov in a Russian-Jewish émigré context), Artis Contemporary Israel Art Fund, and COJECO's Roman Freud production confirm the foundation's appetite for culturally substantive Jewish arts — not just community programming.

Avoid: submitting without an established relationship, pitching a generic Jewish community service organization without Israel or diaspora specificity, following up more than once before receiving a response, and requesting amounts above $100,000 in a first grant.

Timing: No formal grant cycle is published. If invited to submit, Q3-Q4 calendar year outreach aligns best with the foundation's giving pattern. Budget 6-18 months from first contact to first award.