The Geist Foundation
The Geist Foundation is a private foundation based in West Orange, New Jersey. Its 2025 filing reports 16 grants totaling $96,711 to charitable organizations.
The Geist Foundation at a glance
In short: The Geist Foundation gave $97K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in New Jersey. 38% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $96,711
- -8.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 16
- +14.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $6,044
- -20.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $2,500
- Total assets
- $2,284,013
- +5.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 38% first-time grantees (6 of 16, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- New Jersey (56% 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 The Geist 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. No special form is required; the filing lists no restrictions on awards.
- Review Cycle
- None is listed.
- Deadline
- None is listed.
- Contact
Application contact: Jeff Bloom
Mailing address: 148 South Valley Rd, West Orange, NJ 07052
Phone: (973) 879-1500
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Geist Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Jerusalem Fellowships ($35K). Together the top 10 received $94K.
Grant Size Distribution
86 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 84 grants of 86 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 56% of grant dollars went to recipients in New Jersey and 36% to recipients in New York. Connecticut and Washington, DC each accounted for 4%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Geist Foundation open to new grantees?
38%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 6 of 16 grantees (38%) were first-time recipients. With only 16 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $1K; repeat grants $9K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $4K repeat.
- 50% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 26% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 89% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. 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 $97K (2025) to $723K (2020). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $97K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem Fellowships Airmont, NY | General Grant | $35,000 |
| Gemach Zichron Moshe Passaic, NJ | General Grant | $30,000 |
| NCJW Essex Livington, NJ | General Grant | $5,903 |
| Chabad at Short Hills Short Hills, NJ | General Grant | $5,580 |
| Yeshiva K'tana of Waterbury Waterbury, CT | Genral Grant | $4,000 |
| The Center for Responsible Travel Washington, DC | General Grant | $3,583 |
| Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Livingston, NJ | General Grant | $3,450 |
| JCC Metrowest West Orange, NJ | General Grant | $3,000 |
| Millburn Police Department Millburn, NJ | General Grant | $2,000 |
| Metro YMCA Livingston, NJ | General Grant | $1,530 |
Ready to take the next step with The Geist Foundation?
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 | $2,284,013 | $93,623 | $130,750 | $96,711 | 16 | $96,886 | $59,759 | $108,611 |
| 2024 | $2,160,320 | $64,130 | $151,709 | $105,723 | 14 | $105,898 | $18,283 | $100,083 |
| 2023 | $1,914,292 | $49,024 | $120,886 | $100,999 | 19 | $101,560 | $31,721 | $91,490 |
| 2022 | $1,818,947 | $58,694 | $160,077 | $130,859 | 22 | $131,077 | $34,682 | $100,016 |
| 2021 | $2,262,185 | $150,423 | $181,969 | $155,730 | 15 | — | $9,692 | $111,602 |
| 2020 | $2,275,357 | $2,764,051 | $744,191 | $722,916 | 23 | — | — | $9,181 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Geist Foundation reported a distributable amount of $109K 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. Its 2025 grantees include organizations with religious, educational, charitable, and human-services purposes. For example, The Jerusalem Fellowships says it works to build Jewish pride on college campuses through education, trips to Israel, and campus programs. Gemach Zichron Moshe says it provides short-term loans and grants to people experiencing economic hardship. Mikvah Chana describes its purposes as religious, educational, and charitable.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 16 grants totaling $96,711. Grants ranged from $200 to $35,000, with a median of $2,500. The largest grants were $35,000 to The Jerusalem Fellowships in Airmont, New York, and $30,000 to Gemach Zichron Moshe in Passaic, New Jersey. Other grants included $5,903 to NCJW Essex, $5,580 to Chabad at Short Hills, and $4,000 to Yeshiva K’tana of Waterbury.
The foundation also gave $500 to Cure Breast Cancer Foundation and $200 to Mikvah Chana in 2025.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Shari Kaufman, Laurie Baum, and Jeffrey Bloom as trustees.
The Geist Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Jeffrey Bloom
Trustee
Trustee → President, 2022
President → Trustee, 2023
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Laurie Baum
Trustee
On filings since 2022
No compensation reported
Shari Kaufman
Trustee
On filings since 2022
No compensation reported
Former officers (2)
- Former: Alan R. Bloom (2020–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Madeline R. Bloom (2020) — Trustee
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 The Geist Foundation
How much does The Geist Foundation give each year?
The Geist Foundation gave $97K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $106K across 14 grants.
What is The Geist Foundation's typical grant size?
The Geist Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $6,044, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Geist Foundation that year got $1K on average.
Where does The Geist Foundation give grants?
The Geist Foundation gives mostly in New Jersey: 56% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (36%). The most frequent recipient cities were Livingston, NJ (3 grants).
Does The Geist Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 94% of The Geist Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (15 of 16) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Geist Foundation's largest grantees?
The Geist Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Jerusalem Fellowships ($35,000), Gemach Zichron Moshe ($30,000) and NCJW Essex ($5,903), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 73% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Geist Foundation?
The Geist Foundation reported $2.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $97K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $109K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does The Geist Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees include organizations with religious, educational, charitable, and human-services purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Geist Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Geist Foundation's EIN?
The Geist Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 22-6059859. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does The Geist 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Geist Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Geist Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-geist-foundation-morg_9e341feb11084023b9c8412756471aef
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_226059859_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Geist Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-geist-foundation-morg_9e341feb11084023b9c8412756471aef},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-13. 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 The Geist 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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