Hertog Foundation Inc.

Hertog Foundation Inc. is best understood as two organizations wearing one 501(c)(3): a highly visible fellowship and seminar operator (Political Studies, Constitutional Studies, Security Studies, War Studies, and the online Humanities at Hertog series) for individuals, and a much quieter, closed-door grantmaker for institutions. The foundation states directly on its site that it does not accept unsolicited proposals — grant requests are considered only in response to a proposal solicited at the foundation's own initiative. That single fact should reset expectations for any nonprofit hoping to 'apply': there is no portal, LOI process, or public RFP for organizational funding, only an application portal for individual fellows (hertogfoundation.org/apply-online).

The 23 organizational grants on record (FY2023, $3,136,740 total, average $136,380) show a tight, personally-curated circle rather than a broad open program: Tikvah Fund ($1M across 2 grants — Roger Hertog's other foundation for Jewish thought), Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Weill Cornell Medical College ($500K and $400K, clinical/medical research), Federalist Society ($400K, public policy), Friends of Ir David ($400K, Israeli archaeology), and Success Academy Charter Schools ($300K, education). Every one of these recipients has a documented, long-running personal or board-level tie to Roger and/or Susan Hertog. First-time, cold-contact applicants without an existing relationship to the Hertog family, its foundation staff (Executive Director Cheryl Miller, Managing Director Dorothea Israel Wolfson), or its adjacent network (Tikvah Fund, Manhattan Institute, New-York Historical Society) have essentially no realistic path to funding.

The practical strategy for organizations is indirect: build visibility through the Hertog fellowship alumni network, adjacent institutions the family already funds, or shared board memberships, and wait to be approached rather than approaching. For individuals, the direct front door (fellowship applications) is real, competitive, and worth pursuing on its own merits — 231+ applicants competed for 60 Fall 2025 Humanities seats alone.

Hertog Foundation's institutional giving has contracted substantially from its capital-deployment years. FY2011-2015 saw total giving of $9.7M-$13.3M annually against $22M-$34M in assets and matching large contributions received ($9.5M-$12.1M/year) — the profile of a vehicle moving large one-time transfers, likely tied to the founding of the Hertog Global Strategy Initiative and related program buildouts. Since FY2019, the pattern has normalized to a smaller, steadier operation: total giving of $2.5M-$4.0M/year (FY2023: $2,539,629) against assets of roughly $9.8M-$15.4M, funded mostly by net investment income ($4.07M in FY2023) rather than fresh outside contributions (FY2022 saw zero contributions received).

Of the 23 discrete organizational grants captured (total $3,136,740), the average grant is $136,380, but the distribution is top-heavy: Tikvah Fund alone ($1,000,000, 2 grants) accounts for 31.9% of all dollars, and the top three recipients (Tikvah Fund, Breast Cancer Research Foundation at $500,000, Federalist Society at $400,000) together account for 60.7%. The foundation's own reported typical grant size (a 10-grant sample) shows a median of $175,000, average $155,247, and range of $1,000-$500,000 — consistent with a barbell of a few large, recurring commitments and several smaller, token-level gifts (Ben Porat Yosef at $1,800; Network for Good at $2,000).

By purpose, the largest bloc is Jewish education and thought (Tikvah Fund, Ben Porat Yosef, Palm Beach Freedom Institute) at roughly $1.0M (32%), followed by clinical/medical research (Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Weill Cornell Medical College, Hospital for Special Surgery Foundation) at roughly $905,000 (29%), public policy and commentary (Federalist Society, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Commentary Magazine) at roughly $498,000 (16%), Israel/archaeology (Friends of Ir David) at $400,000 (13%), and education (Success Academy Charter Schools, Cambridge in America) at roughly $325,000 (10%). Geographically, grants concentrate in New York (17 of 23 grants) with a secondary DC cluster (4 grants) reflecting the family's NYC base and the foundation's DC-centered fellowship programs.

Hertog sits in an asset tier ($11.95M-$11.96M) essentially identical to all five listed peers, all classified under the same Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE code — a common signature of small, closely-held family foundations rather than large public charities. None of the peers have a public website on file, which is itself a useful signal: like Hertog's own grantmaking side, these are likely low-visibility, relationship-driven vehicles rather than open grant programs. Hertog's distinguishing feature among this peer set is its large public-facing footprint through fellowships — a hybrid model (visible educational program plus quiet family grantmaking) that most same-sized peers do not appear to operate.

Hertog Foundation's 2025-2026 activity has been dominated by fellowship-cycle announcements rather than institutional grantmaking news. In November 2025, applications opened for Summer 2026 residential DC programs (Political Studies, Constitutional Studies, Security Studies, War Studies) with an early deadline of January 20, 2026 and a final deadline of February 24, 2026. The Fall 2025 Humanities at Hertog cohort (60 fellows, selected from 231 applicants across 113 colleges, average GPA 3.64) studied works by Winston Churchill, Mary Shelley, and biblical texts in online seminars. A Spring 2026 Humanities at Hertog cohort of 45 fellows followed, centered on Dante, Mark Twain, and Richard Rhodes. Summer 2025 saw 97 residential fellows awarded across four tracks (32 Political Studies, 20 Constitutional Studies, 25 Security Studies, 20 War Studies).

No new organizational grants, leadership changes, or program pivots surfaced in available 2025-2026 news coverage — Roger Hertog (President/Treasurer) and Susan Hertog (Secretary) remain the foundation's only listed directors, both uncompensated, and Cheryl Miller (Executive Director) and Dorothea Israel Wolfson (Managing Director) continue running day-to-day operations per the foundation's own site. The most recent 990 data available (FY2023) shows total assets of $13,176,686 and total giving of $2,539,629, with no indication of a major capital event since the smaller, steadier post-2019 giving pattern took hold. Grant seekers should treat the fellowship calendar (application windows opening each fall for the following summer/spring) as the only reliably recurring, dated event on the foundation's calendar.

The single most important fact for any grant seeker: Hertog Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals from organizations. Its site states funding requests are considered only in response to a proposal solicited at the foundation's own initiative — meaning there is no cold-application path for nonprofits, only for individual fellows. Any strategy built around submitting a standard LOI or full proposal to this funder will fail; the realistic path is relationship-building through the Hertog family's existing network (Tikvah Fund, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, New-York Historical Society, Hertog Global Strategy Initiative at Columbia) or through introductions from current grantees such as the Federalist Society, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, or Commentary Magazine.

For individuals pursuing the fellowship track (the foundation's actual open door), the process runs entirely through hertogfoundation.org/apply-online: create an account, then submit a CV/resume, personal statement, headshot, an academic or professional writing sample (12-page cap for Political/Constitutional/Security Studies and the Humanities series; 20-page cap for War Studies), and transcripts. Reviewers weigh the personal statement, academic record, and resume together, and finalists are invited to interview. A common mistake is treating the writing sample as a length contest — successful applicants frequently submit well under the maximum, prioritizing polish and a clear argument over volume. The statement of purpose should explicitly connect the applicant's existing interests to the specific track applied to (Political Studies vs. Constitutional Studies vs. Security Studies vs. War Studies vs. Humanities at Hertog) rather than reading as generic.

Timing matters: for the Summer 2026 cohort, the early deadline (January 20, 2026) is materially advantageous over the final deadline (February 24, 2026) given that comparable cohorts (Fall 2025 Humanities) drew 231 applicants for just 60 seats. Direct questions not covered in the FAQ should go to info@hertogfoundation.org. Organizations should not expect a response to unsolicited outreach seeking institutional funding — the foundation's public materials give no indication this channel is monitored for grant inquiries.