Milbank Memorial Fund

The Milbank Memorial Fund is a fundamentally different animal from the typical grantmaking foundation, and misreading its structure is the most common mistake grant seekers make. Classified as an operating foundation with $96.3 million in assets (2024), the Fund deploys its resources primarily through its own programs — fellowships for state government officials, policy convenings, and The Milbank Quarterly peer-reviewed journal — rather than by distributing grants to outside organizations. Actual grants paid to external organizations were only $310,545 in FY2023 and a typical $175,000–$350,000 in most years. Even the 2022 spike to $2.3 million likely reflects a single collaborative project payment, not a structural shift toward traditional grantmaking.

The Fund's giving philosophy centers on state health policy infrastructure: developing the knowledge, skills, and networks of state executive and legislative officials who can advance population health improvements. Rather than funding advocacy organizations, service providers, or community nonprofits, Milbank invests in the decision-makers themselves. Their mission statement — 'identify, inform, and inspire state health policy leaders' — is taken literally.

For organizations hoping to engage with Milbank resources, the path is not through a grant application portal (none exists) but through positioning as a knowledge partner. The Fund seeks out research organizations and academic health centers that can produce credible, actionable evidence useful to state health officials. Collaborative research arrangements are invitation-driven, emerging from existing relationships forged at Milbank convenings and through the state leadership networks.

Documented grantees in their 990 filings include Southern University & A&M College ($100,000), George Washington University ($25,000), Yale School of Public Health ($15,000), and Harvard ($5,000) — confirming that university-affiliated research centers with strong state policy relevance represent the most realistic external partner profile. The remaining documented grants ($100–$5,000 to churches, community schools, and civic organizations) appear to be board member-directed discretionary contributions rather than a signal of program focus.

New president Debra Lubar took office December 1, 2025, bringing CDC-scale operational experience. Her background in directing $40 billion in federal COVID-19 emergency funding to states gives her a particular lens on federal-state coordination. Organizations working at that interface — Medicaid waiver implementation, state public health emergency infrastructure, workforce data systems — have unusual relevance to the Fund's evolving priorities in 2026.

Milbank's funding architecture has three distinct tiers that grant seekers must understand separately. Program expenditures (the largest tier) reflect the Fund's operating foundation character: in FY2023, the Fund spent $697,408 on state health leadership programming; $1,586,310 on evidence synthesis and state policy support; $719,194 on The Milbank Quarterly editorial and communications; and $684,117 on program development — totaling approximately $3.7 million in direct program spending.

External grants paid (the smallest tier) tell a different story: $310,545 in FY2023, $2,296,646 in FY2022 (anomalous), $175,350 in FY2021, $188,815 in FY2020, $217,191 in FY2019, $352,220 in FY2015. The 2022 figure is almost certainly a one-time collaborative project payment; the structural run-rate for external grants is $175,000–$350,000 annually.

Among the 16 documented external grantees, grant sizes range from $100 to $100,000. Median grant: approximately $1,875. Average grant: $10,522 (skewed by the $100,000 outlier). The top four grants by dollar value — $100,000 (Southern University), $25,000 (GWU), $15,000 (Yale SPH), $5,000 (Georgetown Day School/Harvard) — all flow to academic institutions. The remaining 12 grants ($100–$2,500) appear to be board-directed charitable gifts to churches, community schools, and civic nonprofits, not program grants.

Asset trajectory confirms steady endowment growth: $71.7M (2011) → $85.8M (2013) → $88.1M (2014) → $95.3M (2020) → $84.4M (2022) → $90.7M (2023) → $96.3M (2024). Investment income is the primary revenue driver at $15.8M in FY2023. Total giving reported on the 990-PF ($6.2M in 2023, $8.4M in 2022, $5.5M in 2021) includes program expenses as 'charitable disbursements' per IRS treatment of operating foundations — not grantmaking to outside organizations.

Geography: Documented grantees concentrate in New York (6), Rhode Island (3), Illinois (2), and DC (2), consistent with the Fund's stated geographic focus. No grantees in the South (except Louisiana, 1), Mountain West, or West Coast appear in the dataset. For a realistic collaboration ceiling, plan for $100,000–$250,000 for a university or research center partnership, available only through an invited relationship.

The Milbank Memorial Fund occupies a uniquely narrow position in health philanthropy — a small, endowment-driven operating foundation focused exclusively on state government health leadership. Comparing it to conventional health grantmakers illuminates both its distinctiveness and the alternatives available to grant seekers.

Milbank's closest functional peer is the Commonwealth Fund — both focus on state health systems, publish influential research, and operate primarily through invited collaborations rather than open grant cycles. However, the Commonwealth Fund is ten times larger and distributes genuine grants of $300,000–$2M+ to research institutions; Milbank's external grantmaking is a fraction of that scale. New York Health Foundation is the most accessible alternative for New York-focused health policy work, with published RFP cycles, open applications, and grants in the $50,000–$250,000 range. RWJF offers the broadest access for health equity and primary care work. For organizations whose primary asset is the ability to translate research for state officials specifically, Milbank's fellowships and convenings remain uniquely valuable even without traditional grant revenue.

The dominant development at Milbank since late 2025 is the leadership transition to Debra Lubar, PhD, who became the Fund's 11th president on December 1, 2025, succeeding Christopher F. Koller. Lubar was recruited through a national Korn Ferry search and brings CDC-scale credentials: COO of a $19 billion federal agency, director of CDC's Office of Policy, Performance, and Evaluation, and lead on distributing over $40 billion in COVID-19 emergency testing and laboratory funds to states. Board Chair John M. Colmers emphasized her capacity to guide the organization through 'health challenges affecting communities nationwide,' signaling both continuity and potential broadening of scope.

In terms of publications and policy engagement, 2025-2026 has seen Milbank take more assertive public stances: a January 2026 critique of HHS childhood immunization changes, a December 2025 letter to Congress supporting Medicaid payment efficiency adjustments, and a March 2026 submission to the U.S. Department of Education on graduate degree definitions. The Milbank Quarterly's top-read 2025 articles included state behavioral health strategies and AI in the overdose crisis — indicating growing emphasis on behavioral health alongside the core primary care agenda.

Financially, assets grew from $90.7M (2023) to $96.3M (2024) per ProPublica data, with program disbursements stable at approximately $5.5M annually. Christopher Koller's reported 2024 compensation was $430,137 — his final year — while the transition to Lubar represents the first major leadership change in a decade. The 2025-2026 Milbank Fellows Program and Emerging Leaders Program cohorts launched normally, confirming program continuity through the leadership change.

Because Milbank is an operating foundation with no open grant portal, effective 'application strategy' is really engagement strategy. The following tips are specific to how this funder actually works:

Know the access points. There are exactly three legitimate pathways into the Milbank ecosystem: (1) formal fellowship application for state government officials, (2) academic submission to The Milbank Quarterly, and (3) invitation-based research collaboration with Fund program staff. Cold grant proposals do not have a review process — they have no destination.

For state officials — apply to the fellowship programs. The Milbank Fellows Program accepts up to 24 senior state executive and legislative officials per cohort for a 10-month program covering all costs. The Emerging Leaders Program targets rising officials at state, large-county, and large-city levels. Applications open annually (typically fall), require a resume and recommendation letter, and are completed in a single online session. The 2025-2026 cohort is closed; monitor milbank.org for 2026-2027 windows opening in summer or fall 2026.

For researchers — lead with The Milbank Quarterly. The journal publishes health policy and population health research with direct implications for state decision-makers. Acceptance is competitive and peer-reviewed, not influenced by funder relationships. A published article, however, is the clearest signal to Fund program staff that your research meets their evidentiary standards.

Align to the new president's priorities. Debra Lubar's CDC background creates specific resonance in 2026: federal-state Medicaid coordination, state public health infrastructure, health workforce data systems, and emergency preparedness. Frame research or collaboration pitches around what state officials need to navigate the current federal policy environment.

Relationship-building timeline. Milbank-invited collaborations typically emerge from 12–24 months of relationship development through convenings and informal contact. Attend Milbank-affiliated state health policy meetings. Connect with Fund program staff on LinkedIn after substantive interactions. Share relevant published work — not a pitch deck — as an introduction.

What to avoid. Do not position your organization as a service provider or advocacy group seeking operating support — Milbank funds knowledge production and state government capacity. Do not reference the small grant amounts in their 990 (median $1,875) as benchmarks for an ask. Do not cold-email the president or chairman; reach program officers first. Do not send a multi-page grant proposal without a prior conversation.