Gerson Family Foundation
The Gerson Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Troy, Michigan. In its 2025 filing, it reported 23 grants totaling $255,800, including support for organizations in the Detroit area working in arts and culture, community services, education, and animal welfare.
Gerson Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Gerson Family Foundation gave $256K across 23 grants in 2025 (avg $11K), mostly in Michigan. 26% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $255,800
- -13.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 23
- -11.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $11,122
- -2.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $2,021,041
- +44.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 26% first-time grantees (6 of 23, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Michigan (86% 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 Gerson Family 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: 305 W Big Beaver Road 200, Troy, MI 48084
Phone: (248) 244-3000
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Gerson Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit ($50K). Together the top 10 received $214K.
Grant Size Distribution
103 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 97 grants of 103 (94%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 86% of grant dollars went to recipients in Michigan, 10% to Illinois, and 4% to Connecticut. The filing also reports 0% for New York and Utah.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 23 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Gerson Family Foundation open to new grantees?
26%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 6 of 23 grantees (26%) were first-time recipients. With only 23 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 4 points. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $14K. How we count
Medians: $2K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 52% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−14%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 350% 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 $92K (2020) to $298K (2022). In 2025 it made 23 grants totaling $256K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit Bloomfield Hills, MI | General Support | $50,000 |
| Detroit Symphony Orchestra Detroit, MI | General Support | $37,500 |
| Cranbrook Center for Collections & Research (House Party) Chicago, IL | General Support | $25,000 |
| The Children's Foundation Detroit, MI | General Support | $25,000 |
| Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit, MI | General Support | $16,000 |
| The Zekelman Holocaust Center Farmington Hills, MI | General Support | $15,000 |
| Yeshiva Beth Yehudah Southfield, MI | General Support | $15,000 |
| Wdet - Colors of Detroit Detroit, MI | General Support | $10,000 |
| Yale University New Haven, CT | General Support | $10,000 |
| Michigan Humane Society Detroit, MI | General Support | $10,000 |
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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 | $2,021,041 | $893,861 | $274,639 | $255,800 | 23 | $267,347 | $88,327 | $76,486 |
| 2024 | $1,401,819 | $101,344 | $313,024 | $295,900 | 26 | $307,065 | $95,405 | $81,745 |
| 2023 | $1,613,499 | $52,097 | $279,427 | $261,100 | 23 | $272,022 | $45,712 | $86,808 |
| 2022 | $1,840,829 | $97,012 | $317,725 | $297,800 | 18 | $308,487 | $90,274 | $98,402 |
| 2021 | $2,061,542 | $141,907 | $183,420 | $166,000 | 13 | $176,513 | $135,000 | $112,103 |
| 2020 | $2,103,055 | $50,039 | $108,774 | $92,000 | 10 | — | $47,052 | $105,984 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Gerson Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $76K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided in the available information. Its 2025 grants went to organizations including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, whose mission is to strengthen the human spirit and community through music; the Detroit Institute of Arts, which creates experiences for visitors to find personal meaning in art; and the Michigan Humane Society, which works to improve and save lives through care, community engagement, and animal advocacy. Other recipients included Jewish, educational, health, and cultural organizations.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 23 grants totaling $255,800. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $50,000, with a median of $5,000. Its largest awards included $50,000 to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, $37,500 to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, $25,000 to Cranbrook Center for Collections & Research (House Party), and $25,000 to The Children’s Foundation. These grants were listed for general support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Ralph J Gerson as director and president; Erica A Ward as director, vice president, and treasurer; and Heather Hood as director and secretary.
Gerson Family Foundation is led by Ralph J. Gerson, Director & President on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Ralph J. Gerson
Director & President
On filings since 2020
0.8 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Erica A. Ward
Director, Vice President & Treasurer
On filings since 2020
0.8 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Heather Hood
Director & Secretary
On filings since 2020
0.8 hrs/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 Gerson Family Foundation
How much does Gerson Family Foundation give each year?
Gerson Family Foundation gave $256K across 23 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $296K across 26 grants.
What is Gerson Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Gerson Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $11,122, across 23 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Gerson Family Foundation that year got $4K on average.
Where does Gerson Family Foundation give grants?
Gerson Family Foundation gives mostly in Michigan: 86% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Detroit, MI (7 grants), Bloomfield Hills, MI (4 grants) and Southfield, MI (4 grants).
Does Gerson Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Gerson Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (23 of 23) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Gerson Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Gerson Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit ($50,000), Detroit Symphony Orchestra ($37,500) and Cranbrook Center for Collections & Research (House Party) ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 44% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Gerson Family Foundation?
Gerson Family Foundation reported $2.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $267K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $76K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Gerson Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided in the available information. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Gerson Family 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 Gerson Family Foundation's EIN?
Gerson Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 46-1519949. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Gerson Family 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 October 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 July 26, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 30, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS July 28, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS June 17, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 4, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 10, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Gerson Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Gerson Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/gerson-family-foundation-morg_bb133f1a414341a3af19a9ba36769f0c
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_461519949_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Gerson Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/gerson-family-foundation-morg_bb133f1a414341a3af19a9ba36769f0c},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. 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 Gerson Family 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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