Burstein Charitable Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker New York, NY EIN: 26-6700274

Burstein Charitable Foundation is a private foundation based in New York, NY. It supports charitable organizations through grants; its 2025 recipients included organizations working in literacy, eye care, conservation, cancer research, arts, and Jewish communal life.

Burstein Charitable Foundation at a glance

In short: Burstein Charitable Foundation gave $53K across 26 grants in 2025 (avg $2K), top state New York. 38% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$53,448
+18.2% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
26
+18.2% vs 2024
Average grant
$2,056
-0.0% vs 2024
Median grant
$1,000
Total assets
$1,128,998
+6.2% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
38% first-time grantees (10 of 26, 2025)
Primary geography
New York (32% 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 Burstein Charitable 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: 10 West 15Th Street 612, New York, NY 10011
Phone: (917) 539-3985

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Burstein Charitable Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Literacy Partners: $6KLiteracy Partners$6KHimalayan Cataract Project: $5KHimalayan Cataract Project$5KAfrican Parks Foundation: $5KAfrican Parks Foundation$5KWilmot Cancer Institute: $5KWilmot Cancer Institute$5KArts Council of Mongolia: $5KArts Council of Mongolia$5KNorthwestern University Hillel: $3KNorthwestern University Hillel$3KKol Rinah Synagogue: $3KKol Rinah Synagogue$3KUJA Federation New York: $2KUJA Federation New York$2KAnti-Defamation League: $2KAnti-Defamation League$2KHillels of FL Suncoast: $2KHillels of FL Suncoast$2K

The largest 2025 recipient was Literacy Partners ($6K). Together the top 10 received $37K.

Grant Size Distribution

113 grants across all recorded years

113<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 113 grants of 113 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, recipients in New York received 32% of grant dollars, followed by recipients in Washington, DC (14%), New Jersey (9%), Vermont (9%), and Washington state (9%).

Grant Distribution by State

16states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 26 itemized grants.

Cities

New YorkSt. LouisTampaCouncil BluffsDes MoinesEvanstonHillsideSummitWaterburyEast HanoverPhoenixSeattleWashingtonEast DennisLaguna HillsLos AngelesMemphisBurlingtonDennisPasadena

Is Burstein Charitable Foundation open to new grantees?

38%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 10 of 26 grantees (38%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $2K. How we count

Medians: $1K first-time, $1K repeat.

  • 62% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 29% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 104% 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

$0$20K$40K$60K$80K24 grants2020 25 grants2021 22 grants2022 18 grants2023 22 grants2024 26 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $34K (2023) to $64K (2020). In 2025 it made 26 grants totaling $53K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Literacy Partners New York, NYGeneral$6,100
Himalayan Cataract Project Waterbury, VTGeneral$5,000
African Parks Foundation Washington, DCGeneral$5,000
Wilmot Cancer Institute Rochester, NYGeneral$5,000
Arts Council of Mongolia Seattle, WAGeneral$4,848
Northwestern University Hillel Evanston, ILGeneral$3,000
Kol Rinah Synagogue St. Louis, MOGeneral$3,000
UJA Federation New York New York, NYGeneral$2,000
Anti-Defamation League New York, NYGeneral$2,000
Hillels of FL Suncoast Tampa, FLGeneral$1,500
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$1,128,998$123,114$59,119$53,44826$53,448$77,443$51,210
2024$1,063,511$229,368$54,892$45,22822$45,228$189,396$47,801
2023$889,035$162,151$51,707$34,29018$34,290$114,491$42,717
2022$778,591$73,082$64,777$41,30022$43,400$36,851$46,038
2021$770,286$290,371$51,935$46,82525$49,317$243,036$43,074
2020$531,850$39,972$73,530$64,01824—$37,574$40,802

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Burstein Charitable Foundation reported a distributable amount of $51K 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. Its grants include support for organizations with varied missions. Literacy Partners says it advances literacy for adults, parents, caregivers, and children. Himalayan Cataract Project says it develops eye care in underserved areas to help countries address avoidable blindness. The Anti-Defamation League describes its work as fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate. Other 2025 recipients included Ocean Conservancy, whose mission is to protect the ocean, and SAGE Eldercare, which provides community-based programs and services for older adults and family caregivers.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 26 grants totaling $53,448. Grants ranged from $500 to $6,100, with a median of $1,000. Notable grants included $6,100 to Literacy Partners; $5,000 each to Himalayan Cataract Project, African Parks Foundation, and Wilmot Cancer Institute; and $4,848 to Arts Council of Mongolia.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Nancy C Burstein, Sanford C Burstein, and Stephen S Burstein as trustees.

Burstein Charitable Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Nancy C. Burstein

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sanford C. Burstein

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Stephen S. Burstein

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    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 Burstein Charitable Foundation

How much does Burstein Charitable Foundation give each year?

Burstein Charitable Foundation gave $53K across 26 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $45K across 22 grants.

What is Burstein Charitable Foundation's typical grant size?

Burstein Charitable Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $2,056, across 26 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Burstein Charitable Foundation that year got $2K on average.

Where does Burstein Charitable Foundation give grants?

Burstein Charitable Foundation's top state is New York, with 32% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were District of Columbia (14%) and New Jersey (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (5 grants) and Washington, DC (4 grants).

Does Burstein Charitable Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Burstein Charitable Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (26 of 26) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Burstein Charitable Foundation's largest grantees?

Burstein Charitable Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Literacy Partners ($6,100), Himalayan Cataract Project ($5,000) and African Parks Foundation ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 30% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Burstein Charitable Foundation?

Burstein Charitable Foundation reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $53K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $51K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Burstein Charitable Foundation fund?

No foundation mission statement is provided. Its grants include support for organizations with varied missions. Literacy Partners says it advances literacy for adults, parents, caregivers, and children. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Burstein Charitable 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 Burstein Charitable Foundation's EIN?

Burstein Charitable Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-6700274. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Burstein Charitable Foundation 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

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 4, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 2, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 28, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 9, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 11, 2025)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 30, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Burstein Charitable Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/burstein-charitable-foundation-morg_6f2b819cc8bb44d8b488cff4e0e8af4a

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_266700274_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Burstein Charitable Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/burstein-charitable-foundation-morg_6f2b819cc8bb44d8b488cff4e0e8af4a},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Burstein Charitable 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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