The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker New Canaan, CT EIN: 27-0961125

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation is a private foundation based in New Canaan, Connecticut. Its 2025 filing reports $1,134,152 in grants to 10 charitable organizations.

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation at a glance

In short: The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation gave $1.1M across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $113K), top state New York. 70% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$1,134,152
-0.7% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
10
+11.1% vs 2024
Average grant
$113,415
-10.6% vs 2024
Median grant
$29,576
Total assets
$5,282,406
-14.9% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
70% first-time grantees (7 of 10, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
New York (47% 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 Heineman-Russell Family Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation states in its 2024 filing that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.

Contact

Mailing address: 83 Turning Mill Lane, New Canaan, CT 06840
Phone: (212) 773-3000

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

Who The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: $475KMemorial Sloan KetteringCancer Center$475KNorthern University: $255KNorthern University$255KYale Law School: $250KYale Law School$250KSmart Love Center: $40KSmart Love Center$40KPartners for Justice: $34KPartners for Justice$34KIsland Autism: $25KIsland Autism$25KMuseum of Modern Art: $25KMuseum of Modern Art$25KPresident & Fellows of Harvard College: $10KPresident & Fellows of HarvardCollege$10KStillpoint: $10KStillpoint$10KImpact Assets: $10KImpact Assets$10K

The largest 2025 recipient was Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ($475K). Together the top 10 received $1.1M.

Grant Size Distribution

44 grants across all recorded years

24<$50K5$50–100K5$100–250K9$250–500K1$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 24 grants of 44 (55%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, grant dollars were reported as going to recipients in New York (47%), Massachusetts (26%), Connecticut (22%), Illinois (4%), and Wisconsin (1%).

Grant Distribution by State

10states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.

Cities

New YorkChicagoWashingtonCambridgeNew HavenMassachusettsOaklandWest TisburyCorningDistrict of ColumbiaLas VegasNew York CitySacramentoSinsinawaVineyard HavenWalthamWestportWilmington

Is The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation open to new grantees?

70%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 7 of 10 grantees (70%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $88K; repeat grants $173K. How we count

Medians: $25K first-time, $34K repeat.

  • 30% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 53% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 313% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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$500K$1M$1.5M5 grants2019 7 grants2020 9 grants2021 9 grants2022 7 grants2023 9 grants2024 10 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $575K (2019) to $1.1M (2024). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $1.1M.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NYTo support the mission of the organization$475,000
Northern University Massachusetts, MATo support the mission of the organization$255,000
Yale Law School New Haven, CTTo support the mission of the organization$250,000
Smart Love Center Chicago, ILTo support the mission of the organization$40,000
Partners for Justice New York, NYTo support the mission of the organization$34,152
Island Autism West Tisbury, MATo support the mission of the organization$25,000
Museum of Modern Art New York City, NYTo support the mission of the organization$25,000
President & Fellows of Harvard College Cambridge, MATo support the mission of the organization$10,000
Stillpoint Sinsinawa, WITo support the mission of the organization$10,000
Impact Assets Sacramento, CATo support the mission of the organization$10,000
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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$5,282,406$228,566$1,149,830$1,134,15210$1,134,152$212,888$362,539
2024$6,203,670$240,436$1,214,481$1,142,3499$1,142,349$223,304$383,717
2023$7,177,715$1,594,867$1,001,376$972,5467$972,546$1,576,037$453,821
2022$6,584,224$662,380$765,726$740,0009$740,000$636,654$540,930
2021$6,687,570$323,735$785,242$750,0009—$288,493$548,100
2020$7,149,077$-47,633$622,730$584,0007—$168,096$440,812
2019$7,819,440$233,960$598,592$575,0005—$216,868$457,788

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $363K 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 2025 grants went to organizations including a cancer center, universities, a law school, a museum, and organizations working in areas such as justice and autism services. Partners for Justice describes its mission as improving the lives of low-income people by empowering and supporting them to maintain homes, livelihoods, family bonds, property, and access to the social safety net. The Museum of Modern Art describes its mission as fostering public awareness of modern and contemporary art.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 10 grants totaling $1,134,152. Grant amounts ranged from $10,000 to $475,000, with a median of $29,576. The largest grants were $475,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, $255,000 to Northern University, and $250,000 to Yale Law School. Other grants included $40,000 to Smart Love Center and $34,152 to Partners for Justice.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Benjamin W Heineman and Cristine Russel Heineman as trustees.

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Benjamin W Heineman

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    0.3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cristine Russel Heineman

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    0.3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 Heineman-Russell Family Foundation

How much does The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation give each year?

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation gave $1.1M across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.1M across 9 grants.

What is The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's typical grant size?

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $29,576, and its average grant was $113,415, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation that year got $88K on average.

Where does The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation give grants?

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's top state is New York, with 47% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Massachusetts (26%) and Connecticut (22%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (2 grants).

Does The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "To support the mission of the organization" (10 grants).

Who are The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's largest grantees?

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ($475,000), Northern University ($255,000) and Yale Law School ($250,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 86% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation?

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation reported $5.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.1M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $363K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation fund?

No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants went to organizations including a cancer center, universities, a law school, a museum, and organizations working in areas such as justice and autism services. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation?

The foundation states in its 2024 filing 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 The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's EIN?

The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 27-0961125. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does The Heineman-Russell 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 September 2026.

Data update history

(3)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 14, 2020)
  2. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
  3. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 5, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-heineman-russell-family-foundation-morg_b8a85fa3e24c40729eaa83549a415e7c

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_270961125_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{The Heineman-Russell Family Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-heineman-russell-family-foundation-morg_b8a85fa3e24c40729eaa83549a415e7c},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-05. 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 Heineman-Russell 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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