Schwarz Foundation

The Schwarz Foundation is a tightly held private family foundation operated exclusively by Henryk Schwarz (President) and Elan Schwarz (Secretary) from Mountainside, New Jersey (EIN 22-2430208). With $59.4 million in assets and zero officer compensation, the foundation functions as a direct expression of the Schwarz family's philanthropic priorities rather than an institution with open grant cycles or a professional program staff.

The giving philosophy rests on three pillars: Jewish and Israeli institutional philanthropy, elite medical research, and local New Jersey community support. Every one of the 54 documented grants carries identical purpose language — "unrestricted grant to support the organization's exempt purpose" — indicating the foundation makes only unrestricted operating support gifts to a pre-selected roster of relationships. There are no project grants, no capital campaign gifts, and no restricted-purpose awards in the documented history.

The grantee roster is strikingly stable. Every organization in the top-50 list received exactly two grants in the tracked period, suggesting a consistent annual or biennial giving cycle with a fixed group of approximately 27 organizations. The top five grantees — PEF Israel Endowment Funds ($2.51M), American Associates Ben Gurion University ($1.2M), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ($1M), BIDMC ($1M), and American Friends of the Hebrew University ($600K) — account for 88% of all tracked giving.

First-time applicants must understand that this foundation has no published application process, no grants portal, no stated deadlines, and no RFP cycle. The preselected_only flag is confirmed true in foundation databases, and application instructions return none. There is no program officer or staff intermediary. The appropriate pathway is a warm personal introduction through existing grantee networks. Organizations already embedded in the Jewish nonprofit ecosystem — particularly those affiliated with Israeli universities, Jewish federated giving vehicles, or major academic medical centers in Boston or New York — are best positioned to be introduced to the Schwarz principals over time. New entrants should plan for multi-year relationship cultivation, not a transactional application cycle.

Total documented giving stands at $7,599,952 across 54 grants to 27 distinct organizations (each received exactly 2 grants in the database period). The database-reported average grant is $140,740, while the median is $10,000 — a spread that reflects extreme concentration at the top of the portfolio.

The top five grantees account for $6.71 million, or 88% of all tracked giving: - PEF Israel Endowment Funds: $2,510,140 (33% of total) - American Associates Ben Gurion University: $1,200,000 (16%) - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: $1,000,000 (13%) - BIDMC (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center): $1,000,000 (13%) - American Friends of the Hebrew University: $600,000 (8%)

The remaining 22 grantees share only $889,812 (12%), ranging from $197,812 (Jewish Family Service) down to $2,000 (Springfield PBA Local 76, Mountainside Rescue Squad, National Jewish Health).

Annual giving trend over 13 years: - FY2012: $1.62M | FY2014: $1.70M | FY2019: $2.52M | FY2020: $2.65M - FY2021: $2.69M | FY2022: $3.83M | FY2023: $4.28M | FY2025: $5.31M

By focus area (estimated from grantee identities): - Jewish/Israeli institutional philanthropy: ~68% (PEF Israel, Ben Gurion, Hebrew University, United Jewish Appeal, Jewish Family Service, Holocaust Resource Foundation, Jewish Broadcasting Service, World Jewish Congress, Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, Children's Village of Jerusalem, Keren Or, General Israel Orphan Home for Girls, Magen David Adom) - Medical research and healthcare: ~27% (Dana-Farber, BIDMC, Columbia University Ophthalmology, NY Presbyterian, Overlook Foundation, National Jewish Health) - Military/veterans support: ~3% (Semper Fi & America's Fund: $200K total) - Local NJ civic and first responders: ~2% (Springfield First Aid Squad, Mountainside Rescue Squad, Springfield PBA Local 76, New York Public Radio)

Geographically: New York (24 grants), New Jersey (22 grants), Massachusetts (4 grants — driven by Boston academic medical centers), Colorado (2), California (2). Total assets have grown from $26.7M in FY2012 to $59.4M in FY2024, nearly doubling over 12 years through contributions and investment returns averaging $1.1M–$2.7M annually in net investment income.

The table below compares the Schwarz Foundation to four peer grantmakers with overlapping focus areas or comparable asset profiles:

The Schwarz Foundation occupies a mid-size position among Jewish-focused private foundations, with assets ($59.4M) and annual giving ($4.3M–$5.3M) well above the median private foundation but far below major national Jewish philanthropies. Its most distinctive characteristic is extreme giving concentration — 88% of tracked dollars flow to just five organizations — far more concentrated than comparably sized foundations. Unlike the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest NJ, which provides accessible donor-advised fund infrastructure open to new nonprofit relationships, the Schwarz Foundation operates entirely on a personally directed invitation-only model. The 27% allocation to medical research distinguishes it from pure Jewish-identity funders like PEF Israel and the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute, opening a secondary pathway for elite academic medical centers.

The Schwarz Foundation maintains no public communications presence and has issued no press releases, program announcements, or public statements in 2025 or 2026. The foundation operates without a dedicated website, a public contact point, or a grants page.

Important note on website attribution: The URL schwarzfoundation.com, listed in several external databases for this organization, belongs to a separate Munich-based arts foundation (Schwarz Foundation, Munich) led by Dr. Kurt Schwarz and Chiona Xanthopoulou-Schwarz. That organization runs the Art Space Pythagorion exhibition venue and the Samos Young Artists Festival on the Greek island of Samos. It is entirely unrelated to the NJ family foundation (EIN 22-2430208).

The most meaningful recent development is financial: the most recent 990-PF filing (fiscal year ending June 2025) records $5,313,648 in charitable disbursements — a 24% increase over FY2023's $4.28M and a 39% increase over FY2022's $3.83M. This sustained acceleration in grantmaking follows the FY2021 receipt of $26M in new contributions, which doubled the asset base from approximately $37M to over $61M. Assets have since stabilized at $59.4M (FY2024/25).

Leadership is unchanged: Henryk Schwarz remains President and Elan Schwarz continues as Secretary, both without compensation. No board expansion, staff hires, or governance changes are documented in any public filing. With assets stable and contribution inflows of $1–2M annually, grantmaking is expected to remain in the $5–6M range through 2026.

Because the Schwarz Foundation is a private, invitation-only grantmaker with no published application process, conventional grant application strategies do not apply. The following tips are specific to this foundation's documented behavior:

Understand the relationship model first. Every grantee in the documented history received exactly two grants. The foundation has maintained a stable roster of approximately 27 organizations across multiple fiscal years. New entrants are rare and almost certainly arrive through personal introductions to Henryk or Elan Schwarz — not through unsolicited outreach or online portals.

Map your board against the Schwarz network. Research Henryk Schwarz and Elan Schwarz via LinkedIn, Jewish federation leadership directories, and board recognition lists at PEF Israel Endowment Funds, American Associates Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and BIDMC. A shared board member or institutional trustee relationship is the most credible introduction vehicle.

Request only unrestricted operating support. The foundation has never documented a project grant, capital gift, or restricted award. Any approach — even informal — should frame the ask as general operating support for your mission. Language mirroring the foundation's own grant descriptions ('to support the organization's exempt purpose') is most appropriate.

Do not use schwarzfoundation.com as a contact point. That website belongs to the Munich arts foundation. The NJ Schwarz Foundation's registered address is 200 Central Ave Ste 201, Mountainside, NJ 07092, but there is no confirmed public-facing contact channel.

Time relationship cultivation for the second half of the fiscal year. The foundation's fiscal year appears to end June 30, based on ProPublica filing data. Relationship development in January through April may align with internal grantmaking discussions before year-end closing.

Align to both Jewish identity and medical excellence if possible. Organizations that span two of the three giving pillars — such as a Jewish-affiliated academic medical center or an Israeli medical research institution — are exceptionally well-positioned relative to single-pillar organizations. Semper Fi & America's Fund ($200K total) demonstrates the foundation will also support military and veteran causes when a personal connection exists.