Goldhirsh Yellin Foundation

The Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation is a family foundation rooted in the legacy of Bernard A. Goldhirsh, the founding publisher of Inc. and Sail magazines, who established the related Goldhirsh Foundation in 2000 after being diagnosed with brain cancer. The Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation, led by Elizabeth A. Goldhirsh (President and Treasurer) and Eric Yellin (Secretary), extends the family's philanthropic reach across four distinct pillars: Jewish education and advocacy, cancer and medical research, archaeology and heritage in Israel, and higher education. With $44.1 million in assets and approximately $2.8 million in annual distributions across 45 grants, the foundation operates with a lean volunteer board and no compensated officers, directing virtually all resources to grantmaking. The foundation is open to new applicants but maintains a selective 12% acceptance rate for first-time requests. There is no formal public application portal; the recommended approach is a concise letter of inquiry to the foundation's office at One Liberty Square, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02109. The foundation's grantmaking reflects deeply personal commitments — cancer research honoring Bernard Goldhirsh's legacy, Jewish education and antisemitism studies reflecting the family's values, and Israel-focused archaeology and heritage preservation. Understanding these motivations is essential for any prospective applicant.

The Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation demonstrates consistent, diversified grantmaking across several patterns. First, Jewish education and community support represent the largest single category, with marquee grants including $250,000 to the Los Angeles Jewish Federation and the establishment of two program funds at the University of Pennsylvania's Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies — one for Jewish History and Culture in Israel, the other for the Study of Antisemitism. Second, medical research receives substantial funding, particularly through Johns Hopkins University ($300,000 combined across multiple programs in brain tumors, ALS, nanotechnology, and neurosurgery), reflecting the foundation's roots in Bernard Goldhirsh's cancer diagnosis. Third, Israel-focused giving spans both heritage (Israel Nature and Heritage Foundation at $200,000) and academic programs. Fourth, the foundation supports veteran and military-adjacent causes through Brothers for Life in Seattle ($200,000). Grant sizes range widely from $1,000 to $450,000 with an average of approximately $77,250, indicating the foundation makes both modest exploratory grants and large programmatic investments. Annual giving has remained stable at $2.5-3.1 million over recent years (49 grants in 2022, 39 in 2023, 45 in 2024). Revenue derives primarily from investment returns — sales of assets (63%), dividends (27%), and interest (10%) — with no external contributions, indicating a fully endowed operation.

The Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation occupies a distinctive niche among Boston-area Jewish family foundations, combining medical research funding with Jewish education and Israel advocacy in a way that few peers replicate:

While significantly smaller than the major Boston Jewish philanthropies, the Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation is distinguished by its unique combination of cancer/medical research (absent from most Jewish family foundations) and deep Judaic scholarship (the UPenn Katz Center funds are rare in their academic specificity). Together with the related Goldhirsh Foundation ($60M), the family's combined philanthropic footprint exceeds $100 million in assets. The foundation's 17-state geographic reach is broader than most peers of its size, reflecting national-scale ambitions in both medical research and Jewish education.

The Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation's most prominent recent initiative was the 2023 establishment of two program funds at the University of Pennsylvania's Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies: the Goldhirsh-Yellin Program Fund for the Study of Jewish History and Culture in Israel and the Goldhirsh-Yellin Program Fund for the Study of Antisemitism. Announced in September 2023 — notably just weeks before the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that dramatically elevated antisemitism concerns nationally — the timing gave the antisemitism fund particular urgency and relevance. The Israel fund supports Katz Center projects related to the study of Jewish life in the land of Israel across all historical periods, while the antisemitism fund enables research into the history, causes, and impact of antisemitism and anti-Judaism. On the financial front, the foundation's assets have stabilized around $44 million after reaching a peak of approximately $48 million in 2019, reflecting the broader market environment and sustained grantmaking. The foundation continues to operate across 17 states with consistent giving in the $2.5-3.1 million range annually. The related Goldhirsh Foundation made headlines by naming an all-female investment committee, signaling the family's commitment to equity in foundation governance.

Prospective applicants to the Goldhirsh-Yellin Foundation should consider these strategies: (1) Align with the four pillars — Jewish education, cancer/medical research, Israel archaeology and heritage, or Jewish advocacy. Proposals outside these areas are unlikely to succeed. (2) Understand the personal motivation — Bernard Goldhirsh's brain cancer diagnosis drives the medical research portfolio; honoring this legacy in your proposal creates resonance. (3) Submit a letter of inquiry to One Liberty Square, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, addressed to President Elizabeth A. Goldhirsh. Keep it to 2-3 pages maximum. (4) For academic and research proposals, demonstrate scholarly rigor — the UPenn Katz Center gifts show the foundation values institutional quality and long-term research programs over short-term projects. (5) Medical research applicants should emphasize brain tumor, neuroscience, ALS, or nanotechnology-related work, particularly at Johns Hopkins or peer institutions. (6) Israel-related proposals should emphasize heritage preservation, archaeological research, or educational programs rather than political advocacy. (7) Jewish education proposals should demonstrate how they strengthen Jewish identity, combat antisemitism, or deepen understanding of Jewish history and culture. (8) Be realistic about scale — first-time grants may be in the $10,000-$50,000 range, with the largest grants ($200,000-$450,000) reserved for established institutional relationships. (9) The foundation gives nationally across 17+ states, so geographic location is not a barrier — quality and mission alignment matter more than proximity to Boston.