Bennack Polan Foundation
Bennack Polan Foundation is a private foundation based in New Canaan, Connecticut. Its 2025 filing reports 14 grants totaling $289,000 to organizations with purposes including medical research, cancer-related programming, flood relief, education, and community and international aid.
Bennack Polan Foundation at a glance
In short: Bennack Polan Foundation gave $289K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $21K), top state Connecticut. 67% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $289,000
- +14.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- +40.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $20,643
- -18.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $20,000
- Total assets
- $3,779,278
- +17.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 67% first-time grantees (8 of 12, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Connecticut (32% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Bennack Polan Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 339 Indian Rock Road, New Canaan, CT 06840
Phone: (203) 966-8157
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Bennack Polan Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Yale School of Medicine ($68K across 2 grants). Together the top 10 received $268K.
Grant Size Distribution
54 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 53 grants of 54 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, grant dollars went to recipients in Connecticut (32%), Texas (29%), New York (24%), North Carolina (7%), and New Hampshire (7%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Bennack Polan Foundation open to new grantees?
67%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 12 grantees (67%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $20K; repeat grants $32K. How we count
Medians: $18K first-time, $23K repeat.
- 17% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 186% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 122% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $101K (2022) to $544K (2020). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $289K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Yale School of Medicine New Haven, CT | RPL Study | $40,000 |
| Yale School of Medicine New Haven, CT | Gene Therapy | $28,000 |
| Curtain up Cancer Foundation San Antonio, TX | The Six Performance | $25,000 |
| Community Foundation Texas Hill Kerrville, TX | Flood Relief Fund | $25,000 |
| St Aloysius Parish New Canaan, CT | Building Campaign | $25,000 |
| Deer Run & Brookwoods Camp Alton, NH | Equipment | $20,000 |
| USA for Unfpa New York, NY | Children in Lebanon | $20,000 |
| USA for Unfpa New York, NY | Training App for Midwives in Afghanistan | $20,000 |
| The Marbridge Foundation Manchaca, TX | Benevolent | $20,000 |
| Ek Powe Elementary Durham, NC | Literary Tutoring Program | $15,000 |
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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 | $3,779,278 | $841,792 | $307,570 | $289,000 | 14 | $289,000 | $841,664 | $237,014 |
| 2024 | $3,206,365 | $187,622 | $273,808 | $253,042 | 10 | $253,042 | $187,622 | $221,480 |
| 2023 | $3,269,941 | $211,115 | $190,197 | $170,880 | 9 | $170,880 | $212,015 | $170,167 |
| 2022 | $3,214,694 | $139,723 | $123,418 | $101,000 | 6 | $101,000 | $172,115 | $214,710 |
| 2021 | $3,216,213 | $311,867 | $276,542 | $256,620 | 15 | — | $294,147 | $159,023 |
| 2020 | $3,273,240 | $190,702 | $565,037 | $544,000 | 31 | — | $175,190 | $119,899 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Bennack Polan Foundation reported a distributable amount of $237K 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 mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for Yale School of Medicine’s RPL study and gene therapy, a literary tutoring program, flood relief, and children in Lebanon and midwife training in Afghanistan.
USA for UNFPA describes its own mission as promoting the health, dignity, and rights of women and girls around the world through support for UNFPA. That is the grantee’s stated mission, not the foundation’s.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave 14 grants totaling $289,000. Grants ranged from $6,000 to $40,000, with a median of $20,000.
Notable 2025 grants included $40,000 and $28,000 to Yale School of Medicine; $25,000 to Curtain Up Cancer Foundation for “The Six Performance”; $25,000 to Community Foundation Texas Hill for its flood relief fund; $25,000 to St Aloysius Parish for a building campaign; and $20,000 each to Deer Run & Brookwoods Camp for equipment and USA for UNFPA for work concerning children in Lebanon and a training app for midwives in Afghanistan.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Frank A Bennack Jr as president, Mary Lake Polan as vice president, and Shelley McCullough as secretary.
Bennack Polan Foundation is led by Frank A. Bennack Jr., President on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Frank A. Bennack Jr.
President
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Mary Lake Polan
Vice President
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Shelley McCullough
Secretary
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "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 Bennack Polan Foundation
How much does Bennack Polan Foundation give each year?
Bennack Polan Foundation gave $289K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $253K across 10 grants.
What is Bennack Polan Foundation's typical grant size?
Bennack Polan Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $20,000, and its average grant was $20,643, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Bennack Polan Foundation that year got $20K on average.
Where does Bennack Polan Foundation give grants?
Bennack Polan Foundation's top state is Connecticut, with 32% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Texas (29%) and New York (24%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (3 grants), New Haven, CT (2 grants) and Kerrville, TX (2 grants).
Does Bennack Polan Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 14 grants with a stated purpose on Bennack Polan Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.
Who are Bennack Polan Foundation's largest grantees?
Bennack Polan Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Yale School of Medicine ($68,000 across 2 grants), USA for Unfpa ($40,000 across 2 grants) and Curtain up Cancer Foundation ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 46% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Bennack Polan Foundation?
Bennack Polan Foundation reported $3.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $289K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $237K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Bennack Polan Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for Yale School of Medicine’s RPL study and gene therapy, a literary tutoring program, flood relief, and children in Lebanon and midwife training in Afghanistan. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Bennack Polan Foundation?
The foundation states that it 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 Bennack Polan Foundation's EIN?
Bennack Polan Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-3981786. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Bennack Polan Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 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 2020 (received by the IRS April 15, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 12, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 26, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 10, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Bennack Polan Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/bennack-polan-foundation-morg_f91fe752b89c4b7e807671ffefcceb2e
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_203981786_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Bennack Polan Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/bennack-polan-foundation-morg_f91fe752b89c4b7e807671ffefcceb2e},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Bennack Polan Foundation'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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