St Giles Foundation

The St. Giles Foundation traces its origins to the House of St. Giles the Cripple, founded in 1891 as one of America's first children's orthopedic hospitals. After more than a century of direct patient care, the organization transitioned to a grantmaking model, formally incorporating as a private foundation in 1979. This institutional history is not mere backstory — it defines the foundation's entire operating philosophy. With only six presidents across 130-plus years and a current leadership team anchored by the Arkwright family (President Richard T. Arkwright and Trustee Jill Ann Arkwright Harvey), this is a legacy family foundation with deeply held, long-standing giving relationships.

The 28 grants tracked in the database tell a consistent story: four institutions — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Memorial Sloan Kettering — have received repeat, multi-year grants that together account for approximately 88% of all tracked giving. These are not competitive awards; they are ongoing institutional partnerships built over years of relationship and trust. The foundation favors named programs that embed the St. Giles identity in lasting institutional structures, such as the St. Giles Research Fellowship at HSS and the St. Giles Young Investigator Fund at Cold Spring Harbor.

First-time applicants face a fundamental barrier: there is no public application process, no RFP, no published deadline, and no online portal. Grant decisions are made exclusively by the board's five officers. The foundation employs no program staff. This means the primary pathway for new grantees is a personal introduction through an existing institutional partner or trustee network connection.

The one structured exception is the POSNA St. Giles Young Investigator Award, administered through the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. This merit-based competition is the most accessible entry point for external researchers without a pre-existing board relationship.

Organizations best positioned to succeed here are New York-based academic medical centers or research hospitals working on specific pediatric conditions. Framing your request around a named endowment, fellowship, or research award — rather than a project grant — aligns closely with how the foundation has historically structured its most significant gifts.

The St. Giles Foundation holds $37.9M in assets (FY2025) and generates annual revenue primarily from investment returns, with net investment income of $1.13M in FY2023 and $997K in FY2020. Total annual giving has ranged from $471,518 (FY2019, an outlier year) to a high of $2,259,516 (FY2021), with a typical band of $1.4M–$2.0M in recent years. Charitable disbursements for FY2025 came in at $1,835,711, a moderate recovery from the recent low of $1,396,908 in FY2023.

The typical grant size data from the database captures five documented grants: median $267,000, average $261,400, with a range of $40,000 to $470,000. Across the broader 28-grant dataset, the average drops to $229,443, reflecting a mix of large institutional grants and several smaller one-time awards. The lowest documented grant is $10,000 (St. Hildast Hughs, reading support) and the highest confirmed recent grant is $600,000 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, FY2025).

Grant concentration is extreme by any measure. Three institutions account for 73% of all tracked cumulative giving: - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: $1,800,000 across 3 grants (~28%) - Columbia University: $1,480,500 across 7 grants (~23%) - Hospital for Special Surgery: $1,437,500 across 4 grants (~22%)

Memorial Sloan Kettering adds another $975,000 (15%), bringing the top four to 88% of total documented giving. The remaining 12% is distributed among five smaller grantees.

By program area, pediatric medical research dominates: orthopedic, rheumatic, rare/rhabdoid tumor, and immunological disease research account for roughly 85–90% of all giving. Visual impairment education (Lavelle School for the Blind, plus Columbia ophthalmic work) represents approximately 6%. Religious/small community grants (Congregation of the Infant Jesus) account for under 2%.

Geography is exclusively New York: all 28 tracked grants went to New York institutions. Grant frequency by partner ranges from 7 awards (Columbia, suggesting near-annual support) to single grants for smaller recipients.

The database returned no peer foundations for St. Giles. The comparison below draws on publicly available IRS filings and foundation directories for comparable New York-based private foundations with pediatric health or medical research focuses.

St. Giles is the smallest of this peer group by both assets and annual giving, yet it is comparably exclusive in its approach — joining the Altman, Samuels, and Achelis foundations as invitation-only funders. Unlike the Pinkerton Foundation, which operates an open LOI process enabling any qualified NYC nonprofit to apply, St. Giles has no public submission mechanism whatsoever. Its defining distinction is thematic depth: while peers fund across broad social service and education portfolios, St. Giles concentrates almost exclusively on pediatric medical research, creating a highly specialized niche with very few competing funders at this scale.

The most recent 990-PF filing (fiscal year ending March 2025) confirms the foundation is active and modestly expanding its grantmaking. Total charitable disbursements of $1,835,711 represent a 31% increase over FY2023's $1,396,908, driven in part by a $3.99M revenue year fueled by 84% asset sales — likely a portfolio rebalancing rather than new contributions.

Two grants are confirmed for FY2025: $600,000 to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (St. Giles Young Investigator Fund for Pediatric Disease) and $200,000 to Hospital for Special Surgery (St. Giles Research Fellowship). Both continue long-standing named programs. The Cold Spring Harbor relationship now totals $1.8M over at least three grant cycles.

President Richard T. Arkwright's compensation increased to $229,449 in FY2025, up significantly from approximately $60,000 reported in FY2019–2021 filings, suggesting formalization of an operational role. All other officers — James Hamerschlag (Secretary), Henry A. Braun (Treasurer), Robert B. Mackay (Vice President), and Jill Ann Arkwright Harvey (Trustee) — receive $13,000 annually, consistent with prior years.

No press releases, media coverage, leadership changes, or new program announcements were identified in web searches for 2025–2026. The foundation maintains an extremely low public profile consistent with its century-long operating model. Its website (stgilesfoundation.org) provides minimal public-facing information, and no philanthropic press coverage of its grantmaking was found. The POSNA Young Investigator Award partnership remains the foundation's only publicly documented external-facing program.

Because St. Giles Foundation operates without any public application process, the following tips address the specific relationship-based approach this funder requires.

Map the board before anything else. The five officers — Richard T. Arkwright (President), Robert B. Mackay (Vice President), James Hamerschlag (Secretary), Henry A. Braun (Treasurer), and Jill Ann Arkwright Harvey (Trustee) — are the decision-makers. Identify whether any current colleague, department chair, or institutional leader has a connection to these individuals before initiating any outreach. LinkedIn, institutional directories, and medical conference attendee lists at orthopedic and pediatric research events are productive starting points.

Pursue the POSNA pathway if eligible. The St. Giles Young Investigator Award through POSNA is the only structured, merit-based competition. Eligibility is limited to pediatric orthopedic researchers with five or fewer years of POSNA membership and five or fewer years in practice. Visit posna.org to monitor award cycles; LOI submission typically opens in fall with full applications due in winter.

Propose a named legacy gift. The foundation has endowed both a named fellowship (HSS) and a named fund (Cold Spring Harbor). Any concept paper should frame the ask as creating a lasting 'St. Giles'-branded program — an endowed research position, a named award cycle, or a multi-year fellowship fund — rather than project support.

Anchor proposals in specific pediatric conditions. Every documented grant targets a named condition: pediatric rheumatic disease, rhabdoid tumors, ophthalmic conditions, immunological/rare diseases, orthopedic disorders. Do not submit proposals focused on general children's health, adult populations, direct social services, advocacy, or policy.

Initiate contact by phone, not mail. The listed number — (212) 338-9001 — is the best first contact to confirm the appropriate person for grant inquiries. Avoid sending unsolicited written proposals before verbal contact.

Target grant amounts between $150,000 and $600,000. The median documented grant is $267,000 and average is $261,400. Smaller asks under $40,000 are outliers and typically tied to specific existing relationships or award stipends.

Start the cultivation process 12–18 months before needed funding. There is no known annual deadline; the board decides on its own schedule. Relationship-building with an existing grantee institution is the prerequisite for any direct approach.