OVERVIEW: The Carl C. Icahn Foundation is one of several charitable outfits directed by billionaire Carl Icahn and his wife, Gail. The foundation conducts much of its grantmaking in New York City. Its areas of interest include health, education and child welfare.
IP TAKE: Carl Icahn signed the Giving Pledge and conducts much of his philanthropy in and around New York City. The foundation itself maintains a low profile, however, and little is known about its specific grantmaking practices. This funder takes a proactive approach to grantmaking and prefers to fund organizations that can bear its name. This is going to be a tough funder to crack unless you can network with the reclusive Icahn directly. Successful grantees have received Icahn support in the past via Bronx education pipeline, the Icahn School of Medicine and Mount Sinai, and a handful of others. To get on this funder’s radar, network with previous grantees at established organizations that have programs that bear the Icahn name. Likely, grant seekers that exist within the same ecosystems that can partner with previous grantees might have an opportunity here with a straightforward approach centered on high-level networking. Otherwise, this is going to be a tough funding nut to crack.
PROFILE: Established in 1981, the Icahn Foundation is headquartered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida and does not maintain a website. However, 990s reflect an interest in medicine education and child welfare. Billionaire Carl Icahn grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens. He studied philosophy at Princeton University in 1957 and medicine at New York University before serving in the U.S. Army. He began his career in the financial industry in 1961, and in 1968 established his own firm, Icahn & Co., through which he became known for establishing controlling interest in many major American corporations, including RJR Nabisco, Texaco, Time Warner, Revlon and Marvel, to name a few.
Grants for Education
Icahn is a major supporter of the charter school movement. Through his Foundation for a Greater Opportunity, he has founded seven charter schools in the Bronx. The schools are modeled after studies showing that small classes in early grades have long-lasting benefits, and they have outperformed neighborhood schools in statewide tests by about 37%.
Icahn has also created the Icahn Scholars Program at the prestigious New England prep school Choate Rosemary Hall, which provides 10 four-year scholarships valued at $160,000 each to promising young students each year. He is a major donor to his alma mater and has given tens of millions of dollars in support of Princeton University’s Institute for Integrated Genomics.
Grants for Medical Research and Diseases
In the past several years, Icahn has donated more than $200 million to Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine in New York. Due to his generosity, the school has been renamed Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It also houses the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology. Between 2011 and 2013, he gave approximately $1 million per year to Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein School of Medicine. This funder has also given to disease-specific causes, such as the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Grants for Human Services, Education and Youth
Through the Children’s Rescue Fund, Carl and his wife, Gail, established the 65-unit Icahn House in the Bronx, which assists with the transition of homeless single women and their families, and the Icahn House East and Icahn House West, which are homeless shelters in New York City.
In the South Bronx, Icahn bankrolled seven Icahn Charter Schools that aim to provide rigorous K-8 education in some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods. Other New York City grantees include the Children’s Rescue Fund, the Hunts Point Alliance for Children, Prep for Prep and the Central Park Conservancy.
Grants for Veterans and Safety
Icahn has donated $500,000 to a variety of veterans groups through the Trump Foundation. The foundation has also funded the NYC Police Foundation, Navy SEAL Foundation, and Green Beret Foundation, among others.
Grants for Jewish Causes, Arts and Culture
While a much smaller area of funding, the foundation gives broadly to established cultural organizations. Previous grantees include the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Museum of Natural History.
Important Grant Details:
The Carl C. Icahn Foundation gives away over a million a year. The average grant size is about $25,000, but some grants are more than $1 million. That said, with over $140 million in assets, funding may grow if the foundation chooses to spend down.
- The Carl C. Icahn Foundation has no web presence and no available guidelines for grantseekers.
- While the Icahn Foundation does not limit grant applications geographically, the bulk of Icahn’s known giving has been directed toward organizations in the New York City area. However, grantmaking stretches across the U.S.
- An address and phone number are provided:
Carl C. Icahn Foundation
767 5th Avenue, Ste. 4700
New York, NY 10153
212-703-4300
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