The Paula and William Bernstein Family

Private foundation · Grantmaker Denver, CO EIN: 74-2351575
Arts and culturePerforming artsMusicPhilanthropyNonprofits

The Paula and William Bernstein Family is a private foundation based in Denver, Colorado. Its 2025 grants supported organizations with purposes listed as education, religion, cultural arts, medical, and civic and community activities.

Key facts about The Paula and William Bernstein Family

In short: The Paula and William Bernstein Family gave $1.1M across 82 grants in 2025 (avg $14K), top state Massachusetts. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
74-2351575
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$1,114,260
Grants made (2025)
82
Average grant
$13,589
Median grant
$1,000
Total assets
$9,059,852
Primary geography
Massachusetts (46% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$9.1M

-2.0% YoY

Annual Giving

$1.1M

-8.4% YoY

Grant Count

82

-4.7% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$14K

-3.9% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Paula and William Bernstein Family reported a distributable amount of $560K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

How The Paula and William Bernstein Family gives

  • 91% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 96% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 200% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for education, religious organizations, cultural arts, medical organizations, and civic and community initiatives. The grantees describe their own work in varied ways: Wellesley College says it provides a liberal arts education for women; Denver Children’s Choir describes its work as developing children’s musical talents and friendships; and Food Bank of the Rockies says it nourishes people facing food insecurity. Conservation Colorado describes work advancing climate action and environmental justice.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 82 grants totaling $1,114,260. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $500,000, with a median of $1,000.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, grant dollars went primarily to recipients in Massachusetts (46%), Colorado (34%), and Minnesota (18%). Recipients in Washington, DC, and Illinois each received 1% of grant dollars.

Grant Distribution by State

18states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 82 itemized grants.

Cities

DenverWashingtonAspenMerrifieldBoulderWellesleyAuroraLafayetteEtnaCentennialHagerstownMinneapolisNashuaBaltimoreMontgomeryNew YorkPrincetownSan RafaelAshlandBasalt

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$500K$1M$1.5M21 grants2020 84 grants2021 82 grants2022 84 grants2023 86 grants2024 82 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $401K (2020) to $1.2M (2024). In 2025 it made 82 grants totaling $1.1M.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Wellesley College: $500KWellesley College$500KUniversity of Minnesota: $200KUniversity of Minnesota$200KTemple Emanuel: $77KTemple Emanuel$77KCleo Parker Robinson Dance: $50KCleo Parker Robinson Dance$50KDenver Institute for Psychoanalysis - Peacs: $35KDenver Institute forPsychoanalysis - Peacs$35KColorado Symphony Orchestra: $30KColorado Symphony Orchestra$30KCongregation HAR Hashem: $28KCongregation HAR Hashem$28KJewish Colorado: $27KJewish Colorado$27KColorado Public Radio: $25KColorado Public Radio$25KBoulder Jewish Community Center: $18KBoulder Jewish CommunityCenter$18K

The largest 2025 recipient was Wellesley College ($500K). Together the top 10 received $990K.

Grant Size Distribution

418 grants across all recorded years

402<$50K7$50–100K7$100–250K$250–500K2$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 402 grants of 418 (96%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Wellesley College Wellesley, MAEducation$500,000
University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MNEducation$200,000
Temple Emanuel Denver, COReligion$76,800
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Denver, COCultural Arts$50,000
Denver Institute for Psychoanalysis - Peacs Aurora, COMedical$35,000
Colorado Symphony Orchestra Denver, COCultural Arts$30,000
Congregation HAR Hashem Boulder, COReligious$28,000
Jewish Colorado Denver, COReligious$26,800
Colorado Public Radio Centennial, COCivic and Community$25,000
Boulder Jewish Community Center Boulder, COCivic and Community$18,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Grants reported Grant count
2025 $1,114,260 82
2024 $1,216,250 86
2023 $565,150 84
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$1M$2M$3M2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$9,059,852$9,249,120$9,949,811
Revenue$1,027,515$603,084$270,072
Expenses$1,216,783$1,303,775$647,502
Qualifying Distributions$1,118,710$1,220,700$583,748
Net Investment Income$940,452$520,009$181,563
Distributable Amount$559,806$558,893$548,550

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 13, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS February 14, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 26, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 13, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 17, 2025)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 16, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Paula Bernstein as president and director, and Erik Bernstein as secretary and director.

The Paula and William Bernstein Family is led by Paula Bernstein, President & Director since 2024 (on filings since 2020); none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Paula Bernstein

    President & Director

    President → President & Director, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Erik Bernstein

    Secretary & Director

    Secretary → Secretary & Director, 2024

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: William Bernstein (2020–2023) — Secretary

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.

Contact

Mailing address: 16 Polo Club Dr, Denver, CO 80209-3310
Phone: (303) 722-4765

Frequently asked questions about The Paula and William Bernstein Family

How much does The Paula and William Bernstein Family give each year?

The Paula and William Bernstein Family gave $1.1M across 82 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.2M across 86 grants.

What is The Paula and William Bernstein Family's typical grant size?

The Paula and William Bernstein Family's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $13,589, across 82 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does The Paula and William Bernstein Family give grants?

The Paula and William Bernstein Family's top state is Massachusetts, with 46% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Colorado (34%) and Minnesota (18%). The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (36 grants), Washington, DC (16 grants), Merrifield, VA (3 grants) and Wellesley, MA (2 grants).

Does The Paula and William Bernstein Family give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 82 grants with a stated purpose on The Paula and William Bernstein Family's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Civic and Community" (46 grants), "Medical" (15 grants) and "Cultural Arts" (11 grants).

Who are The Paula and William Bernstein Family's largest grantees?

The Paula and William Bernstein Family's largest 2025 grantees include Wellesley College ($500,000), University of Minnesota ($200,000) and Temple Emanuel ($76,800), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 70% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Paula and William Bernstein Family?

The Paula and William Bernstein Family reported $9.1M 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 $560K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Paula and William Bernstein Family fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for education, religious organizations, cultural arts, medical organizations, and civic and community initiatives. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Paula and William Bernstein Family?

The foundation 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 Paula and William Bernstein Family's EIN?

The Paula and William Bernstein Family's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 74-2351575. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does The Paula and William Bernstein Family 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.

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