Randolph Foundation

The Randolph Foundation operates as the primary personal philanthropic vehicle of Heather Richardson Higgins — CEO of Independent Women's Voice and board chair of Independent Women's Forum — whose family wealth derives from Richardson-Vicks (makers of Vicks VapoRub). The foundation traces its origins to a 1972 charitable trust established under H. Smith Richardson's will, becoming an independent New York non-profit corporation in 2002-2003. This heritage means the foundation is ideologically coherent and mission-driven in a way that few foundations of similar size are: it funds center-right and libertarian public policy, constitutional advocacy, healthcare freedom, education reform, and values-aligned media.

Organizations that receive Randolph Foundation support almost universally share its worldview: limited government, free markets, originalist legal interpretation, individual liberty in healthcare, parental rights in education, and opposition to regulatory overreach. Think tanks such as the Manhattan Institute, Hoover Institution, and Claremont Institute have received $100,000–$400,000. Legal advocacy organizations like Public Interest Legal Foundation and Project on Fair Representation have received $95,000–$100,000. Patient rights advocate organizations have received $545,000+. This is not a diversified portfolio — it is a tightly curated slate of ideologically aligned partners.

The official application process is "written proposal along with IRS exemption letter," confirming the foundation will review unsolicited proposals. However, examining the grant purpose language reveals three distinct funding tracks that define how money actually flows: Presidential grants (personally initiated by Heather Higgins), Director Allocated grants (initiated by individual trustees — JoAnn Beyer, James E. Higgins, Polly Jackson Friess), and Board Approved grants (full board consideration for larger, multi-year commitments). The Presidential and Director Allocated grants together account for a substantial share of the total grant count, meaning the board acts as a collection of individual philanthropists rather than a consensus grantmaking committee.

First-time applicants without any existing relationship to a trustee face a significantly higher bar. The most effective entry strategy is to identify which trustee has the strongest alignment with your mission, cultivate that individual relationship — through shared events, introductions from mutual grantees, or engagement with their specific interests — and position an initial ask as a Presidential or Director Allocated grant before seeking full Board Approval for larger multi-year commitments.

The Randolph Foundation's grantmaking exhibits a pronounced long-term decline in external grant dollars: direct grants paid have dropped from a 2012 peak of $2.54 million to approximately $944,000 in 2024. Over the same period, "total giving" in IRS filings has ranged from $3.25M (2020) to $5.08M (2014), but these figures include substantial officer compensation ($475,000 annually for Heather and James Higgins) coded as program-service expenses under the foundation's stated mission of "providing advice to grantee organizations." The net result is that actual cash reaching outside nonprofits is considerably smaller than IRS totals suggest.

From 397 tracked grants in the Granted database totaling $5.43 million, the average grant is $13,672 and the median is $4,000 — a sharply right-skewed distribution where a handful of large, multi-year commitments dominate. The top five cumulative recipients account for roughly 50% of total tracked giving: Independent Women's Forum/Voice combined ($1,025,000), Patient Rights Advocate ($545,000), Hoover Institution ($400,000), Tholos Foundation/Americans for Tax Reform Foundation ($376,000), and Manhattan Institute ($321,000).

By program area, roughly 70% of external grants support free-market and center-right public policy: think tanks and advocacy organizations, legal advocacy, healthcare freedom, and values-aligned media and film. Classical/traditional education (Jackson Hole Classical Academy, Yale University scholarship fund) and international policy (Legatum Institute) account for the remainder.

Geographically, New York leads with 94 of 397 tracked grants (24%), followed by DC (46, 12%), Connecticut (39, 10%), Massachusetts (31, 8%), North Carolina (28, 7%), and Virginia (25, 6%). Wyoming receives 8 grants — disproportionate relative to its size — reflecting trustee Polly Friess's personal connections to Jackson Hole.

Typical grant ranges by tier: major think tanks $75,000–$250,000 per year; mid-tier advocacy groups $20,000–$50,000 per year; media/film projects $20,000–$75,000; classical education programs $5,000–$25,000; first-time grantees $5,000–$20,000. The foundation receives no outside contributions and depends entirely on returns from its approximately $51 million endowment.

The following foundations were identified as asset-matched peers in the Granted database, all holding approximately $51 million in assets and classified under the NTEE Philanthropy & Grantmaking category:

What distinguishes the Randolph Foundation from its asset peers is the unusual transparency of its ideological focus and the degree to which trustee compensation ($475,000 annually) is coded as program-service expense rather than administration. Among foundations of similar size, this practice inflates the "total giving" metric while the actual cash reaching external nonprofits (~$944K in 2024) represents a modest 1.9% grantmaking-to-assets ratio. Most peer foundations at this asset level target 5% distribution under IRS payout rules, suggesting Randolph's operating cost structure absorbs a significant portion of its required minimum distribution. Grant seekers should therefore target the smaller but real pool of direct grant dollars rather than the headline total giving figure.

The most recent complete tax data (2024 fiscal year, reported via ProPublica and CauseIQ) shows approximately 72 grants totaling roughly $944,000 distributed by the Randolph Foundation. This represents a significant reduction from the 2022–2023 range of $1.53M–$1.57M in grants paid. Top 2024 recipients include the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research ($250,000), Tholos Foundation ($105,000), National Center for Public Policy Research ($100,000), Independent Women's Forum ($50,000), and Claremont Institute ($40,000).

The foundation's total assets have stabilized near $51 million after declining from a 2021 peak of $63.5 million — a drop driven by investment market performance rather than drawdown from grants. In 2024, total revenue was $2.95 million, of which $2.47 million came from asset sales (realized gains) and $370,855 from dividends. No outside contributions were received.

No leadership changes were identified in available 2025 public records. Heather R. Higgins continues as President/Trustee at $340,000 annual compensation, James E. Higgins as Treasurer/Trustee at $135,000, and Pamela Franco as Operations Manager at $141,000. No new program announcements, RFP releases, or formal application portal launches were found in 2025–2026 sources. The foundation has maintained its posture as a relationship-driven, non-public grantmaker with no official communications infrastructure.

The single most important factor for securing Randolph Foundation support is confirmed ideological alignment with free-market conservatism, constitutional originalism, or individual liberty advocacy. Organizations working in regulatory reform, healthcare freedom, traditional education, legal advocacy (elections, redistricting, anti-DEI), or center-right media are the natural applicant pool. Proposals from organizations with progressive missions, DEI programming, or regulatory advocacy orientation will not align with the foundation's documented grantmaking history.

The official application requirement is a written proposal accompanied by your current IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter. No online portal exists. Contact Heather R. Higgins directly at Randolph Foundation, 255 East 49th Street, New York, NY 10017, phone (212) 752-7148.

The grant purpose data reveals actionable intelligence about how to frame a request. Grants are frequently described as "General Operating Support" — the foundation does not require project-specific earmarking, though it does fund specific projects (e.g., Niall Ferguson's multi-year fellowship at Hoover, Edward Blum's work at Project on Fair Representation, the American Mind Podcast at Claremont). Reference these precedents to signal familiarity with the portfolio.

The three funding tracks require different approaches: for a Presidential grant, gain direct visibility with Heather Higgins at events she participates in (IWF convenings, Manhattan Institute dinners, Council for National Policy gatherings); for a Director Allocated grant, identify which trustee aligns with your mission — JoAnn Beyer (IWF-adjacent organizations), Polly Jackson Friess (Wyoming/classical education), or James Higgins (general policy) — and cultivate that specific relationship; for Board Approved status, demonstrate a track record of impact and stewardship.

Practical framing tips: use language referencing individual liberty, constitutional principles, limited government, and free markets; cite intellectual mentors whose work the foundation has funded — Niall Ferguson, Richard Epstein, Shelby Steele; propose a 2–3 year commitment rather than a single-year grant; and set a realistic initial ask of $10,000–$25,000 as a first engagement rather than targeting six-figure amounts. Multi-year pledges dominate the portfolio for trusted organizations, so framing your initial ask as a stepping stone to a longer relationship is appropriate.