Gehr Family Foundation

The Gehr Family Foundation is a highly concentrated family philanthropy with a singular, deeply personal mission: advancing adult leukemia research and treatment in honor of founder Norbert Gehr, who built The Gehr Group into a global industrial enterprise before his death from leukemia in February 2015. Established in 2014 and funded primarily through the Norbert Gehr Administrative Trust, the foundation has made annual contributions ranging from $102,000 to $3,530,000 in a single year, depending on Trust distributions.

Unlike foundations that evaluate competitive applications, the Gehr Family Foundation operates as a relationship-driven, preselected grantmaker with no public application process. All documented grants flow exclusively to two Southern California institutions — City of Hope in Duarte and the University of Southern California (Keck School of Medicine and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center). These institutional partnerships were not established through competitive review; they reflect Norbert Gehr's personal relationship with the physicians who treated him. Trustee David Lifschitz, who is also CEO of The Gehr Group, said at the time of the founding gift: *"What he wanted was to make a difference to other patients and he trusted these two doctors to use the funds for the greatest good."*

For any organization considering approaching this foundation, strategy must mirror this relationship-first model. Cold letters of inquiry are highly unlikely to succeed. The realistic pathways are: (1) institutional affiliation with City of Hope or USC — existing grantees may facilitate trustee introductions; (2) engagement with Gehr Group leadership in Commerce, CA through Southern California business or philanthropy networks; or (3) demonstrating exceptional scientific credibility in adult AML or myeloid malignancy treatment.

Organizations in acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, or cancer-focused healthcare delivery improvement are the only viable candidates. Community service nonprofits, education-focused entities, or general health organizations should look elsewhere — despite the IRS NTEE classification of Human Services (P99), this foundation is strictly a biomedical research funder operating in a narrow scientific lane.

The Gehr Family Foundation's grantmaking is uneven but substantial, driven by inflows from the Norbert Gehr Administrative Trust rather than a fixed annual payout schedule. Documented grants paid by fiscal year: FY2014: $1,033,000; FY2019: $3,000,000; FY2020: $600,000; FY2021: $600,000; FY2022: $0; FY2023: $1,800,000; FY2024 (estimated): $900,000. Across the 2019–2024 period, the foundation made approximately 10 total grants averaging $450,000 per award.

The two most recent documented grants (FY2024) were: $600,000 to USC University for acute myeloid leukemia research, and $300,000 to City of Hope's Gehr Family Leukemia Center — totaling approximately $900,000. This represents a 50% decrease from the $1.8 million awarded in FY2023 and likely reflects lower Trust distributions rather than a strategic pullback.

Individual grant sizes range from $300,000 at the documented low end to single-year totals of $3,000,000. The foundation's founding $20 million commitment to USC, pledged in 2015 and paid out over subsequent years, established the programmatic infrastructure (Gehr CURES Program, Center for Implementation Science) that annual grants now sustain. The typical annual maintenance grant per institution appears to fall in the $300,000–$1,500,000 range.

Geographically, 100% of giving is concentrated in the greater Los Angeles area — specifically Duarte (City of Hope) and Los Angeles (USC). By program area, 100% of giving addresses cancer research, with an exclusive focus on adult leukemia and myeloid malignancies. There are no recorded grants to social services, education, arts, or other categories.

Total foundation assets grew from $15.6M (FY2020) to $21.0M (FY2024) despite sustained grantmaking, because annual Trust inflows have exceeded grant outflows in most years. With $21M in assets and a 5% minimum distribution requirement, the foundation has roughly $1.05M in minimum annual payout capacity — though actual giving has exceeded this in strong years.

The five peer foundations below are matched by asset size (~$20–22M) and IRS NTEE Human Services classification. Note that Gehr's classification as Human Services (P99) is a taxonomy artifact — operationally it is a biomedical research funder, making direct comparison to traditional human services peers limited.

Gehr's most striking differentiator is its near-total concentration in a single disease area (leukemia/AML) and a single metro region (greater Los Angeles). While similarly-sized foundations in Human Services typically distribute giving across multiple grantees and program areas — often with grants of $25,000–$100,000 — Gehr maintains deep multi-year relationships with just two institutions and awards correspondingly larger individual grants ($300,000–$1.5M+). For academic medical centers in Southern California focused on myeloid malignancies, this concentration represents a uniquely significant funding opportunity — if the relationship gateway can be navigated.

The Gehr Family Foundation maintained consistent activity in FY2024, awarding approximately $900,000 in three grants — all directed to its long-standing institutional partners. The documented 2024 awards were $600,000 to USC for AML research and $300,000 to City of Hope's Gehr Family Leukemia Center. This followed a stronger FY2023, in which $1,800,000 was paid out alongside $2,600,000 in new Trust contributions received.

Foundation assets grew substantially from $16.6M (FY2023) to $21.0M (FY2024), reflecting approximately $5.6M in total contributions received from the Norbert Gehr Administrative Trust during 2024. This asset accumulation — growing faster than current grantmaking — may signal a future acceleration in giving, potentially toward a second large programmatic investment.

No leadership changes have been documented since founding. Mark Goldman and David Lifschitz have served as unpaid trustees continuously since 2014. The Gehr CURES Myeloid Malignancy Program at USC Norris (established 2016) and the Gehr Family Center for Leukemia Research at City of Hope (established 2015) remain the sole operational grantees.

There is no public record of new program announcements, RFP launches, or strategic updates for 2025–2026. The foundation maintains a minimal public footprint — no annual report, no public grants database, no social media presence — consistent with a private family foundation operating through relationship-based, invitation-only grantmaking.

The single most important insight about the Gehr Family Foundation is that it operates as a preselected grantmaker — there is no open application portal, published deadline, or competitive review process. The foundation record confirms preselected-only status with no published application instructions. Cold applications, even from highly qualified academic medical centers, are unlikely to receive consideration.

For organizations determined to pursue this funding, the following steps reflect what is publicly known:

Target the relationship gateway directly. David Lifschitz, CEO of The Gehr Group and trustee of the foundation, is the primary grantmaking decision-maker. He is based in Commerce, California. The Gehr Group can be reached at (800) 688-6606. Any outreach must be framed around Norbert Gehr's legacy and the foundation's mission — not a generic funding pitch.

Align exclusively with AML and myeloid malignancy research. The foundation's documented grant purpose is consistently stated as "research into the treatment of and to cure acute myeloid leukemia." Proposals must be anchored in adult AML, myelodysplastic syndromes, or pre-leukemic disease — pediatric oncology, solid tumors, and unrelated cancer types will not align.

Use the 'quantum leap' framework. The Gehr CURES program was established with explicit language around creating "quantum leaps" in myeloid malignancy treatment. Proposals should articulate transformative, paradigm-shifting science rather than incremental advances.

Leverage existing grantee introductions. City of Hope and USC Norris are the two known bridge institutions. A warm introduction from a principal investigator or department chair at either institution — someone known to foundation trustees — carries significantly more weight than any unsolicited inquiry.

Timing. The foundation has no fixed grant cycle; FY2022 saw zero grants despite the foundation receiving $480,000 in contributions. Q4 of the calendar year (October–December) is the most likely window for decision-making, as private foundations must meet their 5% annual minimum distribution requirement by fiscal year end.