The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation is a private foundation based in New York, New York. It supports research and related activities that examine the causes, manifestations, and control of violence in the contemporary world.
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation at a glance
In short: The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation gave $1.2M across 62 grants in 2024 (avg $19K), top state New York. 43% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $1,199,290
- +10.4% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 62
- -7.5% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $19,343
- +19.3% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $19,415
- Total assets
- $73,545,042
- +4.8% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 43% first-time grantees (15 of 35, 2024)
- Primary geography
- New York (23% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for support. Its Emerging Scholar process begins with an online Letter of Interest questionnaire; approved applicants are invited to submit a full application. The 2024 filing refers applicants to Attachment B for forms, materials, and award restrictions.
- Review Cycle
- The 2024 filing lists February 1 and August 1. For Emerging Scholar Awards, the stated Letter of Interest deadline is February 1 and the full application deadline for invited applicants is March 15.
- Deadline
- The 2024 filing lists February 1 and August 1.
- Contact
Application contact: Joel Wallman
Mailing address: 120 West 45Th Street 25Th Floor, New York, NY 10036
Phone: (646) 428-0971
Website: https://www.hfg.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation: African Fellow Awards Grant
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
Amount
US $10,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
HFG Emerging Scholar Awards Grant
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
Amount
Up to US $25,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Who The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Salzburg Global ($125K). Together the top 10 received $511K.
Organizations only. It also paid 27 grants to individuals ($473,080), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
408 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 394 grants of 408 (97%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Foundation supports research on violence in the United States and abroad. Its African Fellow Awards require projects to relate directly to the African continent. The 2024 grant list includes recipients in multiple U.S. states and outside the United States, including Tel Aviv University and the University of Kent.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 62 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation open to new grantees?
43%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 15 of 35 grantees (43%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $27K; repeat grants $16K. How we count
Medians: $30K first-time, $1K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $903K (2020) to $1.2M (2022). In 2024 it made 62 grants totaling $1.2M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Salzburg Global Washington, DC | Salzburg Global Seminar 2023 | $125,000 |
| John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY | Justice at the Crossroads | $50,000 |
| Boston University Boston, MA | Assessing mental distress, relative loneness, ideology, and leakage in the parents4peace dataset | $45,000 |
| Clark University Worcester, MA | Erasing refugees: how camps became killing fields in the first congo war | $44,950 |
| Washington State University Pullman, WA | At the root of lethal violence: the french death investigation system and the accuracy of mortality statistics in violence prevention | $44,818 |
| Arizona State University Tempe, AZ | Pre- and post-resettlement drivers of intimate partner violence among afghan refugees in the united states | $44,515 |
| Teachers College New York, NY | 2024 National Research Conference on Firearm Injury Prevention | $40,000 |
| TEL Aviv University | Economic opportunities, criminal activity, and deterrence: evidence from the palestinian-arab minority in israel | $39,791 |
| University of Texas Austin, TX | Police collusion and drug violence: what is the relationship? | $39,000 |
| Rutgers the State University Newark, NJ | "Never Again! and the Problem of Prevention | $37,761 |
Ready to take the next step with The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $73,545,042 | $3,498,184 | $5,188,350 | $1,199,290 | 62 | $4,308,110 | $2,985,815 |
| 2023 | $70,151,428 | $3,638,140 | $4,685,606 | $1,086,495 | 67 | $3,699,283 | $2,089,060 |
| 2022 | $65,673,847 | $1,363,091 | $4,285,754 | $1,208,786 | 60 | $3,377,135 | $280,446 |
| 2021 | $82,593,602 | $8,819,344 | $3,687,777 | $964,642 | 110 | $2,860,511 | $8,308,956 |
| 2020 | $72,360,041 | $2,414,036 | $3,396,444 | $902,520 | 109 | — | $1,905,132 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Foundation describes its mission as creating and disseminating knowledge about the origins and consequences of violence, including human aggression, crime, and war, and how best to reduce it. Its priority is research on urgent, present-day problems: what produces violence, how it operates, and what prevents or reduces it. Topics of interest include war, crime, terrorism, family and intimate-partner relationships, climate instability and natural-resource competition, racial, ethnic and religious conflict, and political extremism and nationalism. The Foundation gives priority to work that makes a case for how its findings could inform policies and approaches to reducing violence.
The Foundation supports research by scholars and commissions research. Its 2024 grants included awards to universities and other organizations. For example, John Jay College of Criminal Justice received $50,000 for a project described in the grant purpose as “Justice at the Crossroads”; the college’s own stated mission is to support educational, social, cultural, and recreational activities among its students, faculty, and staff. Arizona State University received $44,515 for research on intimate-partner violence among Afghan refugees; the university’s stated mission includes advancing the university and serving its alumni, students, and friends. New York University received $30,000; NYU describes its primary missions as education, research and scholarship, and patient care.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the Foundation reported 62 grants totaling $1,199,290. Grant amounts ranged from $50 to $125,000, with a median of $19,414. Examples of larger grants include $125,000 to Salzburg Global for “Salzburg Global Seminar 2023”; $45,000 to Boston University for research on mental distress, relative loneliness, ideology, and leakage in the Parents4Peace dataset; and $44,950 to Clark University for research on refugees and the First Congo War.
The Foundation’s research awards include the Distinguished Scholar Awards, which generally provide $15,000–$75,000 per year for one or two years, and Emerging Scholar Awards, which provide $25,000 for one year to support a doctoral candidate in the final year of dissertation writing. The African Fellow Awards recognize emerging scholars whose proposed research relates directly to the African continent. They are offered for two years and include mentoring and support such as fieldwork research grants and publication assistance.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Daniel F. Wilhelm as president. Officers and directors listed include Andre Davis, Brogann Bowden, Carol Langstaff, Deirdre Hamill, Donald C. Hood, Jacqueline Jones, Jeremiah Milbank III, Joel Wallman, and Matthew Duveneck.
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation is led by Daniel F. Wilhelm, President on every filing since 2020; 3 of 18 officers listed in 2024 are compensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Daniel F. Wilhelm
President
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$365K (2020) → $635K (2024)
Peter Lawson-Johnston II
Chairman
Director → Chairman, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Deirdre Hamill
Director of Finance
Finance Director → Director of Finance, 2024
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$249K (2020) → $349K (2024)
Joel Wallman
Director of Research
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$272K (2022) → $341K (2024)
Brogann Bowden
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Carol Langstaff
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Donald C. Hood
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeremiah Milbank III
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matthew Duveneck
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Patricia L. Rosenfield
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tania McCleery
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Thomas L. Piper III
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tina Bennett
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
William G. Bardel
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tucker McNeil
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andre Davis
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jacqueline Jones
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter Lawson-Johnston
Chairman Emeritus
Chairman → Chairman Emeritus, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (4)
- Former: H. Kirk Unruh Jr. (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Reeve Lindbergh (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Thomas McNeil Jr. (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Karen Colvard (2020) — Program Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $635K, to Daniel F Wilhelm (President). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
How much does The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation give each year?
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation gave $1.2M across 62 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $1.1M across 67 grants.
What is The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's typical grant size?
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $19,415, and its average grant was $19,343, across 62 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation that year got $27K on average.
Where does The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation give grants?
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's top state is New York, with 23% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were District of Columbia (11%) and Massachusetts (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (7 grants), Washington, DC (3 grants) and Huntington, NY (2 grants).
Does The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation give general operating support?
Occasionally: 3% of The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (2 of 62) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Matching Gift Program" (17 grants).
Who are The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's largest grantees?
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Salzburg Global ($125,000), John Jay College of Criminal Justice ($50,000) and Boston University ($45,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 27 grants to individuals ($473,080), which are not listed by name. Together they received 18% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation?
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation reported $73.5M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $3.5M.
What does The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation fund?
The Foundation describes its mission as creating and disseminating knowledge about the origins and consequences of violence, including human aggression, crime, and war, and how best to reduce it. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation?
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for support. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's EIN?
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-6043471. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does The Harry Frank Guggenheim 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
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-harry-frank-guggenheim-foundation-morg_5350c2b8987a45e19fedfbb5170103a2
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_136043471_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-harry-frank-guggenheim-foundation-morg_5350c2b8987a45e19fedfbb5170103a2},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18. 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 Harry Frank Guggenheim 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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