Max Kade Foundation

The Max Kade Foundation operates as a deliberately focused, relationship-driven funder with an 80-year institutional history and one clear mandate: strengthening the academic and cultural bridge between the United States and German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland). Unlike broadly scoped foundations, Max Kade does not dilute its grant-making across adjacent themes. Every dollar goes to Germanic studies and transatlantic exchange — this clarity is both an asset and a filter for prospective applicants.

The foundation favors established academic institutions over newer nonprofits. Its 35 current Max Kade House partnerships span elite research universities (Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Michigan) and strong liberal arts colleges (Middlebury, Dartmouth), signaling a preference for institutions with existing German-language infrastructure and demonstrated student engagement. First-time applicants at schools without active German departments or study-abroad pipelines face a steeper climb; applicants at institutions with tenured Germanists, active exchange agreements, or prior foundation relationships hold a natural advantage.

There is no letter of intent process — the foundation proceeds directly to a written proposal submitted by mail. The board reviews larger proposals twice yearly; smaller programmatic grants may be acted upon between board meetings. Submitting in January or early July puts your proposal in the review cycle; a September submission may sit until the spring meeting. While applications are formally accepted at any time, savvy applicants plan around board rhythms.

The foundation is not a transactional grantmaker. It has funded the same institutions for decades — Max Kade Houses at Concordia (since 1997), Middlebury, Colorado, and Valparaiso reflect long-term capital commitments. For first-time applicants, the implicit ask is to demonstrate that a partnership with this foundation would be durable. Letters that frame the proposal as the beginning of a sustained institutional relationship — and that feature named faculty or program coordinators with Germanic-studies academic credentials — consistently outperform generic grant requests.

A critical leadership change entered in 2026: Anne Doering (previously a Director) assumed the presidency after Lya Friedrich Pfeifer's 22-year tenure, and Karin Gerbavsits moved from Administrator to Executive Director. New leadership transitions represent openings for first-time applicants, as incoming presidents often seek to place their own stamp on the grant portfolio. Proposals arriving in 2026 with a fresh programmatic angle — while firmly honoring the Germanic studies mission — may receive unusually attentive consideration during this window.

The Max Kade Foundation distributes $3.1M–$6.5M annually in grants, with the FY2019–FY2023 average running approximately $4.1M in grants paid per year. Total giving figures (which include program-related disbursements beyond direct grant checks) have ranged from $4.28M (FY2021) to $6.48M (FY2019). FY2024 charitable disbursements reached $5.98M — the highest recorded figure in at least five fiscal years — despite a declining asset base, suggesting the foundation is intentionally accelerating deployment.

The foundation's $52.3M asset base (FY2024) is entirely endowment-driven: 100% of revenue comes from investments (81.7% from asset sales, 14.8% dividends, 2.9% interest in FY2024). The foundation receives zero in contributions or donations, making it a pure grantmaking operation. This also means grant budgets are tied directly to investment performance — FY2021 revenue spiked to $5.69M while FY2022 fell to $1.68M, directly reflecting equity market volatility.

Over 12 years, assets have declined from $72.1M (FY2012) to $52.3M (FY2024) — a 27.5% reduction — indicating charitable disbursements have structurally exceeded investment returns in most years. The foundation was clearly sized to distribute over time, but the trajectory suggests moderate long-term tightening.

Individual grant sizes are not publicly disclosed, but the foundation's four program categories and partner network permit reasonable inference. Postdoctoral research exchange grants likely run $30,000–$150,000 per visiting scholar placement, covering stipends and travel for German and Austrian researchers at U.S. universities. Visiting faculty / Distinguished Visiting Professorships are challenge grants, likely $50,000–$250,000 matching institutional contributions. Language teacher training, study-abroad support, and international conference grants are the smallest category, likely $15,000–$75,000 per award. Max Kade Language Center capital grants for physical facility construction or renovation represent the largest individual awards, historically $250,000–$1M+ for major center builds.

With 35 U.S. university partners and 22 international residence locations, the portfolio likely comprises 50–100+ active grants per year. At $4M average annual grants paid, this implies a median grant in the $40,000–$80,000 range. Geographically, funding is concentrated in the Northeastern U.S. and Midwestern research university corridor — consistent with where established German Studies programs have historically flourished.

The table below compares Max Kade Foundation to four foundations with overlapping missions in transatlantic academic exchange and European cultural philanthropy.

Max Kade Foundation occupies a distinctive niche: smaller and more focused than the German Marshall Fund (which emphasizes policy and governance rather than academic programs), less competitive and more direct than DAAD (which runs government-funded competitive fellowships with numerical quotas), and far more accessible than Fritz Thyssen (which operates primarily through German institutions by invitation only). The American-Scandinavian Foundation offers the closest structural analog — similar endowment size, similar academic exchange model, similar rolling written-application process — though it serves a different regional linguistic community.

Max Kade's comparative advantage is its dual infrastructure: both a grantmaking apparatus for programs and a physical network (35 Max Kade Houses) that embeds the foundation's brand into campus culture. Applicants who can tie their proposal to this existing network — or propose to extend it to an underserved institution — have a natural alignment advantage that distinguishes them from pure grant-seekers.

The most consequential development in the foundation's recent history is its 2026 leadership transition. Lya Friedrich Pfeifer, who served as President and Treasurer from 2003 through 2025 — a 22-year tenure that defined the modern Max Kade grant-making era — departed. Anne Doering, CFA, previously a Director and board member, assumed the presidency. Simultaneously, Karin Gerbavsits, who had served as Administrator (earning $162,409 annually as of FY2024) was elevated to Executive Director. This paired transition suggests deliberate succession planning rather than an abrupt departure and implies meaningful operational continuity from Gerbavsits, who holds institutional knowledge of the grant portfolio.

Financially, the FY2024 Form 990 (filed November 13, 2025) reveals the strongest giving year in recent memory: $5,982,633 in charitable disbursements, up substantially from $5,394,406 in FY2023 and the $4.2–4.3M range of FY2021–2022. Total assets recovered modestly to $52.26M from $49.56M in FY2023, supported by $8.95M in total revenue driven by strong investment-asset sales ($7.31M) and dividends ($1.32M).

No major new program launches or public press releases were identified for 2025–2026. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its mail-only application model. The 35 Max Kade House partnerships at U.S. universities — including Allegheny, Case Western, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Indiana, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, Middlebury, Ohio State, Penn, Penn State, Virginia, and Vanderbilt — remain the most visible ongoing programmatic commitment, with 22 corresponding German-speaking residence partnerships active in cities including Berlin, Dresden, Heidelberg, Munich, and Tübingen.

Address all correspondence to the new President. As of 2026, submit written proposals to Anne Doering, CFA, Max Kade Foundation, Inc., 6 East 87th Street, Suite 5, New York, NY 10128. Do not email. There is no online portal. The foundation has operated on a mail-only model for decades and there is no indication this has changed.

Mirror the foundation's stated four-part proposal structure exactly. The foundation explicitly requires proposals to set forth: (1) objectives and methods for implementation, (2) qualifications of the institution, (3) academic qualifications of persons involved, and (4) estimated cost. Open your letter with a one-paragraph summary, then address each of these four elements in sequence. Deviation from this structure signals unfamiliarity with the funder.

Lead with personnel credentials — not institutional prestige. Max Kade is deeply academic in orientation. The 'academic qualifications of persons involved' requirement is not a formality — name the lead faculty member, list their German-language publications, note any prior DAAD or Humboldt fellowships, and specify the visiting scholar's home institution and research focus. A proposal featuring a tenured Germanist with peer-reviewed publications significantly outperforms one framed in administrative language.

Align explicitly with one of the four program categories. Identify your category in the opening paragraph: postdoctoral research exchange, visiting faculty / distinguished professorships, language teacher training and study abroad, or Max Kade Language Center development. Proposals that blend categories or fit none of them cleanly tend to confuse reviewers.

Time submissions strategically. Mail proposals to arrive by January 15 for spring board consideration or by early July for fall board consideration. While the foundation accepts applications year-round, the board convenes twice yearly for larger grants; missing a window risks a six-month delay.

Build a zero-overhead budget. The foundation explicitly disallows indirect costs, administrative overhead, and fringe benefits. Any overhead or facilities-and-administrative line will be flagged. Structure the budget around direct program costs only: stipends, international airfare, accommodation, materials, and event costs.

Frame the proposal as the beginning of an enduring relationship. Although the foundation makes no multi-year commitments, it funds the same institutions repeatedly for decades. Describe how the proposed program will grow, why your institution is positioned to sustain it, and what metrics you will track. If your institution has any prior Max Kade grant history or hosts a Max Kade House, reference it explicitly — continuity is among the most compelling signals you can send.