Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky is a private foundation based in New York, NY. Its IRS filings report grants to charitable organizations, including arts and cultural organizations, journalism and media organizations, and organizations working on immigration, legal, and policy issues.
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky at a glance
In short: Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky gave $332K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $15K), mostly in New York. 55% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $331,917
- +113.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 22
- +37.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $15,087
- +55.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $1,827,805
- -12.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 55% first-time grantees (12 of 22, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- New York (73% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: Barsky Ventures 156 W 56 St 3Rd, New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 803-5200
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Studio Museum in Harlem ($70K). Together the top 10 received $261K.
Grant Size Distribution
114 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 110 grants of 114 (96%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, New York recipients accounted for 73% of grant dollars, followed by California (11%), Arizona (6%), Washington, DC (5%), and Florida (3%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky open to new grantees?
55%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 12 of 22 grantees (55%) were first-time recipients. With only 22 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $11K; repeat grants $20K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 27% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 22% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 328% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $147K (2023) to $492K (2019). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $332K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Studio Museum in Harlem New York, NY | General | $70,000 |
| The World Around Brooklyn, NY | General | $45,000 |
| Marshall Project New York, NY | General | $35,717 |
| Women Donor Network San Francisco, CA | General | $25,000 |
| Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project Tucson, AZ | General | $20,000 |
| CUNY School of Law Foundation Long Island City, NY | General | $15,000 |
| J Street Education Fund Washington, DC | General | $15,000 |
| Ola of Eastern Long Island Sagaponack, NY | General | $15,000 |
| Greater NY New York, NY | General | $10,000 |
| New Israel Fund New York, NY | General | $10,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,827,805 | $110,334 | $344,731 | $331,917 | 22 | $331,917 | $107,172 | $101,089 |
| 2024 | $2,097,257 | $182,962 | $176,553 | $155,342 | 16 | $155,342 | $179,546 | $104,247 |
| 2023 | $2,089,612 | $867,985 | $156,335 | $146,735 | 17 | $146,735 | $864,598 | $106,783 |
| 2022 | $1,460,821 | $37,494 | $329,734 | $273,000 | 28 | $273,000 | — | $137,673 |
| 2021 | $1,773,362 | $27,315 | $327,313 | $324,110 | 31 | $324,110 | $27,315 | $150,866 |
| 2020 | $2,067,446 | $-324,270 | $290,943 | $281,370 | 35 | — | $15,275 | $153,456 |
| 2019 | $2,802,389 | $564,268 | $500,350 | $491,550 | 35 | — | $18,117 | $197,648 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky reported a distributable amount of $101K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No foundation mission statement is provided. The grantees’ own descriptions illustrate some of the work supported: Alliance of Families for Justice says it supports people and families impacted by the criminal justice system; New York Live Arts describes its work as supporting dance and movement-based artists; and the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project is among the foundation’s 2025 grantees. These are grantee descriptions, not stated foundation priorities.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 22 grants totaling $331,917. Grant amounts ranged from $200 to $70,000, with a median of $10,000. The largest reported grants included $70,000 to the Studio Museum in Harlem, $45,000 to The World Around, $35,717 to the Marshall Project, $25,000 to Women Donor Network, and $20,000 to the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. The listed purposes for these grants were general.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Neil Barsky is listed as an officer on the 2025 filing.
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's only listed officer is Neil Barsky, Officer on every filing since 2019 (uncompensated).
Officers on the 2025 filing
Neil Barsky
Officer
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky
How much does Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky give each year?
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky gave $332K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $155K across 16 grants.
What is Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's typical grant size?
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $15,087, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky that year got $11K on average.
Where does Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky give grants?
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky gives mostly in New York: 73% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were California (11%) and Arizona (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (8 grants), San Francisco, CA (2 grants) and Washington, DC (2 grants).
Does Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (22 of 22) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's largest grantees?
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's largest 2025 grantees include Studio Museum in Harlem ($70,000), The World Around ($45,000) and Marshall Project ($35,717), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 45% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky?
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky reported $1.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $332K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $101K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's EIN?
Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-8113017. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 9, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 26, 2026)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 13, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS June 4, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 21, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 5, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 7, 2024)
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/alson-foundation-fka-the-neil-barsky-morg_2f54be8de7544e738294acfc2037463f
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_208113017_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/alson-foundation-fka-the-neil-barsky-morg_2f54be8de7544e738294acfc2037463f},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-05. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Alson Foundation FKA the Neil Barsky's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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