The Ahava Foundation

The Ahava Foundation operates as a tightly controlled family philanthropy rooted in the Eisenreich family's deep commitment to Orthodox Jewish communal life. Formerly known as The Eisenreich Family Foundation — renamed using the Hebrew word for 'love' (ahava) — this trust-structured grantmaker has operated since its July 1997 founding with a single consistent mandate: discretionary giving to preselected organizations chosen solely by its trustees. There is no public application portal, no RFP cycle, and no formal submission process of any kind.

All grantmaking decisions rest with two uncompensated Trustees: Toby Eisenreich and David Sussman. David Sussman serves as the designated contact person, accessible at the registered address (175 Belgrove Dr, Kearny, NJ 07032) and phone number (201) 216-9500. No program officers, executive directors, or communications staff appear in any IRS filing.

The foundation's grantee universe is composed almost exclusively of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish institutions in the New York metropolitan area. Congregations, kollelim (Torah study fellowships), gemachs (free-loan societies), Hatzolah emergency medical networks, women's religious academies (Bais Yaakov), fertility assistance organizations, and national Orthodox advocacy bodies collectively define the giving landscape. Of 72 documented grantee records, 58 (81%) are in New York and 8 (11%) are in New Jersey.

The dominant relationship is with Cong Kollel Kaminetz, which received $8,975,000 across four grants — representing 70.6% of total documented giving of $12,718,231. This concentration is extraordinary and signals a founding-era institutional commitment rather than competitive grant selection. The second tier — Prospect Park Gmach Fund ($1,085,000), Tov V'Chesed Foundation ($165,000), Central United Talmudical Academy ($100,000) — reinforces the pattern of deep, long-standing relationships.

First-time prospective grantees must understand that entry into The Ahava Foundation's giving circle almost certainly requires an introduction through existing trustees or established grantees. The foundation's website (theahava.org), built on Wix, renders no grants section, application portal, or news feed. Relationship cultivation within the Orthodox Jewish philanthropic community — particularly through Agudath Israel, OU Advocacy, Hatzolah network leadership, or Bonei Olam — represents the most viable indirect pathway to trustee attention.

Annual giving has grown steadily from $2,616,417 in 2012 to $4,554,192 in 2023, a 74% increase over eleven fiscal years. Grants paid (the narrower cash-disbursement measure) rose from $2,338,195 in 2012 to $4,018,212 in 2023. Total assets grew from $43.6 million in 2012 to $74.6 million in 2024, driven by investment returns and consistent annual family contributions averaging $2.1–2.8 million per year.

Individual grant sizes span an extreme range: minimum $36 to maximum $1,415,000, with a median of $1,450 and an average of $60,924 across 46 documented individual transactions. This bimodal distribution reflects two distinct giving tiers: (1) major institutional grants of $100,000–$9 million concentrated in a handful of anchor relationships, and (2) a long tail of small token disbursements ($500–$10,000) spread across 30+ community organizations for congregational maintenance, ritual supplies, and emergency needs.

By dollar concentration: Cong Kollel Kaminetz dominates at $8,975,000 (70.6%); the next tier — Prospect Park Gmach Fund ($1,085,000), Tov V'Chesed ($165,000), Central United Talmudical Academy ($100,000), American Friends of Yeshiva D'Mir ($50,000), OU Advocacy ($50,000) — represents institutional education and chesed support. The remaining ~$318,000 across 45+ recipients covers emergency services, women's education, fertility assistance, congregational operations, and national advocacy.

Estimated program-area breakdown by grant dollars: - Religious congregational/kollel support: ~75% (dominated by Cong Kollel Kaminetz) - Gemach/free-loan/charitable funds: ~12% (Prospect Park Gmach Fund, Gemach Zichron Moshe, Kimpoturin Aid) - Torah education (yeshivas, seminaries): ~5% (Central United Talmudical Academy, Meohr Bais Yaakov, Torah Ohr Seminary, Binyan Hatorah) - Emergency medical/first response: ~3% (Hatzolah of Flatbush, Hatzolah Air, Hatzolah EMS) - Fertility and family formation: ~2% (Bonei Olam, NYMHB Fertility Services, Surrogacy and Fertility Escrow, Puah Institute) - Advocacy and communal services: ~3% (OU Advocacy, Agudath Israel, Misaskim, Amudim, Chai Lifeline)

Revenue fluctuates substantially with investment performance: FY2021 saw $13.5M in total revenue (including $9.9M net investment income during the post-COVID market surge); FY2022 fell to $2.9M ($870K net investment income). The payout rate of approximately 5.5–6.5% of assets annually is consistent with a multigenerational wealth-preservation strategy rather than a spend-down model.

The following table compares The Ahava Foundation to four asset-comparable peers in the Philanthropy & Grantmaking category, all holding approximately $74–75 million in assets:

Among foundations in the $74–75 million asset tier classified under Philanthropy & Grantmaking, The Ahava Foundation is distinctive for its transparent 70%+ concentration in a single institutional grantee and its unusually high public disclosure of individual grantee names and amounts via IRS filings. Most asset-comparable peer foundations at this tier publish minimal information; The Ahava Foundation's 990-PF filings offer more grantee detail than most peers provide voluntarily. Aven Foundation (Washington) is the only listed peer with an active grants-facing website, suggesting more programmatic openness to external applicants. The Pallottine Foundation of Huntington follows a comparable faith-based institutional model — though in the Catholic charitable-healthcare tradition. For grant seekers, the peer group confirms that $74.6M in assets is sufficient to support individual gifts of $500K–$2M+, but The Ahava Foundation's preselected-only model means asset scale is relevant only for organizations already within the trustee network.

No public announcements, press releases, or media coverage of The Ahava Foundation were found in searches covering 2025–2026. The foundation maintains an extremely low public profile consistent with its preselected-only, trustee-directed model and its minimal web presence.

The most concrete recent data point is a November 2025 IRS Form 990-PF filing for fiscal year 2024, which reported total assets of $74,638,648 and total revenue of $7,211,730. Revenue sources for FY2024 included an estimated $2.37M in proceeds from asset sales, $2.95M in contributions received, $1.51M in dividends, and $361K in interest income. Grants paid in FY2024 have not yet been made publicly available through ProPublica or Candid as of April 2026.

In FY2023 — the most recent complete year — the foundation distributed $4,554,192 total (grants paid: $4,018,212), its highest documented annual giving on record. This surge corresponds to strong investment performance: $5,104,208 in net investment income in FY2023, the second-highest investment return in the documented history after FY2021's $9,939,406.

No leadership changes were identified. David Sussman and Toby Eisenreich remain the sole uncompensated trustees as of the most recent filings. The formal name change from The Eisenreich Family Foundation to The Ahava Foundation (EIN 13-7118478 unchanged) predates the available filing window; the foundation operates under both names in various databases. The foundation's theahava.org website was active but rendered no substantive programmatic content during research in April 2026.

Understanding that The Ahava Foundation is a preselected-only family grantmaker is the single most important piece of intelligence for any prospective applicant. The foundation's IRS filings explicitly record application instructions as 'none,' and the foundation is flagged as preselected-only across multiple grant databases. There is no application portal, no published cycle deadline, and no staff contact.

Tip 1 — Orthodox Jewish alignment is a threshold requirement. Every documented grantee is an Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox Jewish institution. Organizations outside this community have zero documented pathway to Ahava funding. Eligible applicants must be serving the halacha-observant Jewish community in New York, New Jersey, or through nationally recognized Orthodox bodies.

Tip 2 — Map trustee and grantee networks first. The entire grantmaking framework rests on trustee relationships. Toby Eisenreich and David Sussman make all decisions. Map existing Ahava grantees — particularly Cong Kollel Kaminetz, Agudath Israel, OU Advocacy, Bonei Olam, Amudim, and Hatzolah networks — as potential introduction sources. A warm introduction from a sitting grantee is worth more than any written proposal.

Tip 3 — Align with the three giving pillars. The foundation's grantmaking clusters around Torah study (kollelim, yeshivas), chesed (gemachs, Hatzolah, Misaskim, social services), and family formation (fertility assistance, mikvah, women's education). Frame your mission in relation to one or more of these pillars, using culturally resonant Hebrew/Yiddish terminology where natural.

Tip 4 — Initial outreach via postal mail. Send a one-page letter to Trustee David Sussman, 175 Belgrove Dr, Kearny, NJ 07032. Include your EIN, a brief mission statement, the specific Orthodox community need your work addresses, your years of operation, and any rabbinic or communal endorsements. Do not request a specific dollar amount in first contact.

Tip 5 — Secure rabbinic endorsement. A supporting letter from a recognized Rosh Yeshiva, posek, or community rav is standard currency in the Orthodox philanthropic community and substantially elevates credibility with trustees of this foundation type.

Tip 6 — Be patient and non-pressuring. With two volunteer trustees and no staff, grant decisions follow personal timelines. Follow up no more than once after initial outreach, and only after 60–90 days. Pushiness is counterproductive in relationship-based family philanthropy.