Three New Grantmakers With $1.8 Billion Are Entering Philanthropy

Three foundations with combined endowments exceeding $1.8 billion have entered the philanthropic landscape, each backed by a fortune made outside traditional philanthropy — and each still defining what it will fund.

For grant seekers, these are names worth watching now, before giving strategies calcify.

The Elisabeth C. Deluca Foundation — $644 Million

Funded by the widow of Subway co-founder Frederick Deluca, this Pompano Beach, Florida-based foundation has focused early giving on nursing education and healthcare workforce development. Major grants include $18 million to the University of Connecticut's nursing school and $1.6 million to Futuro Health for health career training. Despite its Florida headquarters, most awards have concentrated in Connecticut.

Puffin Bay Foundation — $679 Million

Founded by Brewster Kahle, the creator of the Internet Archive, this Biddeford, Maine foundation is the least transparent of the three. Its entire $90 million in first-year grants went to a donor-advised fund at Morgan Stanley, making it impossible to trace actual recipients. Kahle built his fortune from the $250 million sale of Alexa Internet to Amazon.

George and Beverly Rawlings Endowment Foundation — $530 Million

Based in La Grange, Kentucky, this foundation grew from the sale of The Rawlings Company, a medical claims cost-reduction firm. Early grants suggest interest in animal welfare ($1 million to Crab Orchard Animal Sanctuary) and faith-based philanthropy ($23 million to The Rawlings Foundation).

What Grant Seekers Should Know

New mega-foundations often spend their first two to three years building infrastructure and refining focus areas. Organizations whose missions align with these emerging priorities — healthcare workforce, digital preservation, animal welfare — should begin building relationships now. The Granted blog tracks emerging funders and foundation strategy shifts.