Jerome Robbins Foundation

The Jerome Robbins Foundation is one of the most prestigious — and most selective — performing arts funders in the United States. Founded in 1958 by Jerome Robbins in honor of his mother, the foundation operates with a single-minded purpose: to advance excellence in dance, theater, and their associated arts. Its three directors — Allen Greenberg (executive director, compensated ~$274,000 in FY2023), Christopher Pennington (~$187,000), and Ellen Sorrin (~$75,000) — exercise significant personal discretion over every grant decision. There is no program staff, no rolling RFP, and no open online portal.

CRITICAL STATUS UPDATE: As of February 2026, the foundation has announced it is not accepting new applications for 2026. Grantmaking has been paused since approximately 2021. The foundation states it hopes to resume next year. Applicants should treat this as a relationship-building and positioning period, not a permanent dead end.

The grantee roster reveals the foundation's preferences clearly. Flagship institutions dominate the top tier: New York City Ballet ($300,000 across 3 grants), Brooklyn Academy of Music ($175,000), The Joyce Theater ($145,000), Pacific Northwest Ballet ($132,000), and Baryshnikov Arts Center ($126,000). These are multi-year, repeat relationships — the same organizations appear three, four, and five times across the 312 grant records. The foundation values continuity and artistic credibility over novelty or emerging organizations.

First-time applicants should not expect a large inaugural grant. Regional ballet companies typically receive $14,000-$44,000 per cycle; New York-based presenting organizations may receive $25,000-$75,000. Dance companies with a direct Robbins repertory or legacy connection carry a meaningful advantage. Theater organizations are funded but must demonstrate that choreography or movement is central to their artistic identity — not incidental to it.

The application requirements are deliberately lean: a complete organizational description, all sources of funding, financial information, and proof of 501(c)(3) status. Instructions are posted at jeromerobbins.org. There is no formal LOI stage documented in the foundation's published materials. Direct outreach to info@jeromerobbins.org is the recommended first contact, especially during the current application pause.

The Jerome Robbins Foundation's financials reveal a well-endowed but modestly declining private foundation that gives generously relative to its size — and has recently pulled back in new grantmaking.

Total and annual giving: Annual total giving peaked at $3,147,144 in FY2019, a year when $13.2M in net investment income dramatically inflated revenue. From FY2020-2023, annual giving ranged $2.3M-$2.6M, with actual grants paid running lower: $1,132,250 (FY2023), $1,495,875 (FY2022), $1,397,675 (FY2021), and $1,450,425 (FY2020). The gap between total giving and grants paid reflects operating program expenditures on initiatives like the Floria V. Lasky Symposium ($43,545-$53,545/cycle) and Project Springboard ($10,107).

Grant size distribution: Across 312 recorded grants, the average is $12,903 and the median is $8,500 — a right-skewed distribution driven by a handful of flagship relationships. The top grantee, Jerome Robbins Dance Division at NYPL for the Performing Arts, received $703,000 across 4 grants, an average of $175,750 per award. New York City Ballet received $300,000 across 3 grants (~$100,000/year). Most grantees in the database fall in the $5,000-$25,000 range, with the formal grant range cited as $300 to $100,000.

Geographic distribution: New York State accounts for 230 of 312 grants (74%), essentially all in New York City. The remaining 26% spreads across MA (8 grants), NJ and CA (7 each), FL, CO, CT, MO, PA, and TX (6 each) — concentrated in cities with major professional ballet companies.

Program area: Dance (classical ballet, contemporary, tap) accounts for approximately 75-80% of grant volume. Theater with integrated choreography accounts for ~15%. Arts infrastructure and education — NYPL Dance Division, School of American Ballet, National Dance Institute, DanceNYC — round out the remainder.

Asset trajectory: Total assets declined from $24.6M in FY2020 to $22.5M in FY2023, a loss of roughly $2.1M as giving outpaced investment income in down years. Investment income volatility ($922K in FY2022 vs. $1.96M in FY2023) partly explains the decision to pause new grantmaking. The foundation receives zero external contributions — it is entirely endowment-funded.

The five peer foundations identified by asset size ($24.7M-$25.7M) are private arts foundations without public websites or detailed grant disclosures in available records, making direct line-by-line comparisons limited. The Jerome Robbins Foundation is unusual among its asset peers in having a clearly stated mission, a history of public grantmaking, and documented application instructions.

The Jerome Robbins Foundation stands apart from its asset-size peers in mission specificity and national visibility. It is the only foundation in this cohort with a documented grantmaking history, named past recipients, and a legacy tied to one of the 20th century's most celebrated choreographers. For dance and theater organizations, there is no functional substitute among these peers — the Robbins Foundation's brand recognition in the performing arts sector, and the prestige attached to its grants, are unmatched at this endowment level. The current application pause makes it even more important to build a relationship now rather than approaching cold when the cycle reopens.

The most significant recent development is the foundation's announced pause on new grantmaking. As of February 19, 2026, the foundation posted notice on jeromerobbins.org that it is not considering new applications for 2026, with a statement that it hopes to accept applications again next year — making 2027 the earliest plausible reopening for new applicants. This continues a pattern that Inside Philanthropy identified as beginning around 2021, meaning the foundation has not run a standard open grant cycle in approximately four to five years.

Prior to the pause, IRS filings document active giving from FY2019-2023: grants paid declined steadily from $1.66M in FY2019 to $1.13M in FY2023. The Floria V. Lasky Symposium — a convening initiative for NYC cultural organizations to explore transformational change — has been an active internal program with documented expenses of $43,545-$53,545 per cycle per the most recent 990.

The Jerome Robbins Award, established in 1995 for exceptional distinction in dance and theater, last appeared in a 2016 cycle honoring choreographer Stefanie Batten Bland and director Alex Timbers. No subsequent public award announcements have been located, suggesting this prize has been similarly dormant.

Leadership is stable: Allen Greenberg, Christopher Pennington, and Ellen Sorrin have each held director roles continuously across FY2019-2023 IRS filings, with no publicly announced transitions. This continuity is meaningful — the same relationships and curatorial preferences governing pre-pause grantmaking will almost certainly carry forward when the foundation reopens.

Given the current application pause, the strategic imperative is relationship positioning rather than immediate proposal submission. Here is what to do and avoid.

Timing: Monitor jeromerobbins.org at minimum quarterly. The foundation has not specified a 2027 reopening date — watch for any announcement on the homepage or contact page. Subscribe to any available newsletter or email list.

First contact during the pause: Send a brief (3-4 paragraph) introductory email to info@jeromerobbins.org. Introduce your organization, name your artistic leadership, and cite your specific connection to dance or theater. Do not ask for a grant in this email — ask to be considered when the application cycle reopens and to receive any future announcements. This establishes a paper trail and demonstrates sustained engagement.

What the foundation actually looks for: Artistic excellence at a recognized professional level, leadership with national or regional name recognition, and a direct connection to the dance/theater disciplines Jerome Robbins cared about. Inside Philanthropy explicitly states this funder is 'challenging unless you are an established, larger arts and culture organization.' Emerging companies or those without professional production history are unlikely to succeed here.

Proposal language to use: Reference choreography as central to your identity. Cite specific works, commissions, or touring history. If your artistic director trained with NYCB, ABT, or other Robbins-adjacent institutions, name that lineage. Use language like 'integral role of choreography in storytelling' and 'artistic excellence at the highest professional level' — these directly mirror the foundation's stated values.

Common mistakes to avoid: Submitting a generic arts grant application without tailoring it to performing arts specifics. Omitting financial statements or funding source disclosures (both are explicitly required). Requesting a grant amount inconsistent with your organizational tier — a regional company asking for $100,000 in a first application will not succeed.

For current grantees: The foundation has specifically asked current grantees to stay in touch. Send a substantive update email twice a year with your season highlights, press coverage, and audience data. This is the single highest-ROI action available during the pause.