Prospect Hill Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Prospect Hill Foundation’s current areas of grantmaking are nuclear nonproliferation and youth development. The foundation also supports the philanthropic activities and interests of its directors via its sponsored grants program.
IP TAKE: This 60-year-old funder revised its philanthropic approach in the late 2010s and currently focuses on nuclear disarmament and youth funding. The Prospect Hill Foundation also supports causes in which members of the Beinecke Family are involved via its sponsored grants program. Biographies of the foundation’s directors, including information about their interests, are available at the foundation’s website.
The Prospect Hill Foundation does not traditionally accept applications for funding, but youth organizations working in its geographic areas of interest should check its site frequently for RFPs.
PROFILE: The Prospect Hill Foundation was established in 1959 by William S. Beinecke and his wife, Elizabeth G. Beinecke. William Beinecke was the president and chair of the Sperry Hutchinson Company, which ran the S&H Green Stamps rewards program and catalog. Based in New York City, the foundation is run by descendants of the Beinecke family. Its mission is to “advance the human experience while ensuring the well-being of the earth.” Its current grantmaking programs are nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation and youth.
The foundation also runs a sponsored grants program to support the interests and activities of members of the Beinecke family and a 2:1 matching gift program for family members and employees of the family office. Grantmaking prioritizes the Northeast and, to a lesser degree, the Bay Area of California.
Grants for Global Security
Prospect Hill’s global security grants focus on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, with grants supporting policy analysis, public education, advocacy and the strengthening of existing nonproliferation agreements. Recent areas of specific interest include research on how nuclear explosions would impact the environment and the “societal costs” of nuclear proliferation. Grantees include the Arms Control Association, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the Federation of American Scientists and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which used funding to promote the concept of nonproliferation as an important environmental issue.
The foundation also recently launched its Nuclear Fellowship Program to “support recent college graduates in their exploration of the nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation field.” Through the fellowship, the foundation hopes to support research, activism and artistic expression that explores issues surrounding nuclear arms and nuclear war through the program.
Grants for Immigrants and Refugees
The Prospect Hill Foundation supports immigrants’ and refugees’ causes through its youth funding program, which was launched in 2020 in response to “the rise of xenophobia; unfettered displays of racism and white supremacy; and the unfolding of the Me Too movement” in the U.S. The program supports community-led youth organizations in New York City, Rhode Island and the Bay Area of California that “create and offer programming to uplift the power of young people to dismantle and overcome systems of racial, gender and economic oppression.” Grantees involved with immigrants and refugees include California’s Asian Refugees United, the New York State Youth Leadership Council, Desis Rising Up and Moving and New York City’s Mekong, which supports immigrants from Southeast Asia in the Bronx.
Grants for Racial Justice, Indigenous Rights and LGBTQ Causes
The foundation supports racial justice via its youth program, which was established in 2020 and aims to support the involvement of young people in the struggle to “overcome systems of racial, gender and economic suppression.” Racial justice funding overlaps significantly with grants for women’s, girls’ and immigrant organizations. One recent grantee, New York City’s FIERCE, aims to build leadership skills of LGBTQ youth of color. Another grantee, the Bronx-based B.R.E.A.T.H.E., is an organization of women and girls of color that aims to foster community connections through food, peacemaking circles and mentorship programs.
Grants for Women and Girls
Prospect Hill conducts grantmaking for women’s and girls’ causes through its youth funding initiative, which overlaps significantly with its support of youth programs for racial justice and immigrants. In Rhode Island, the foundation has supported Sista Fire, an organization of women of color that builds solidarity for “social, economic and political transformation,” and Coyote RI, an organization that advocates for the health and safety of sex workers and the protection of young people from exploitation. Another grantee, New York’s Alex House Project, supports young mothers as they transition to parenthood with mentoring and career counseling.
Important Grant Details:
This funder made about $3.3 million in grants in a recent year, with grants usually ranging from $1,000 to $200,000. Its average grant size is about $20,000. The Prospect Hill Foundation’s global security grants tend to go to organizations with a national presence, but its youth grants often support small, community-led organizations working in its areas of interest. Youth funding is limited to organizations operating in New York City, Rhode Island and the Bay Area of California. For additional information about past grantees, see the foundation’s recent grants page.
The Prospect Hill Foundation’s nuclear disarmament grants go to preselected organizations. The youth program is not currently accepting applications but may RFPs on the foundation’s website at a future date; prospective grantees should check the website’s youth program page periodically for updates. Application for sponsored grants is by invitation only. General inquiries about grantmaking may be directed to the foundation’s staff via email.
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