Overbrook Foundation

Organizational profile:
The Overbrook Foundation is a progressive family foundation established in New York in 1948 by Helen and Frank Altschul. The Foundation currently advances its mission through two programs: Environment and Human Rights. 

The Environment Program provides support to environmental organizations in the United States and in Latin America. 

• The Foundation’s Environment Program seeks out initiatives, primarily in the United States, that tackle some of today’s biggest environmental challenges, including corporate and consumer practices, climate change, and waste. 
• In Latin America, the Program funds initiatives that advance biodiversity conservation and sustainable community development, with a specific focus on the Mesoamerican region, where globally important species and ecosystems face a wide range of threats. The Foundation seeks out projects that create practical solutions to these threats, particularly those that promote sustainable livelihoods and engage local communities in conservation efforts. The Foundation’s 2021 grantees through its Biodiversity Conservation portfolio include Rainforest Alliance, the Association of Forest Communities of Petén – ACOFOP, Amazon Conservation Team and Amazon Watch which all have a focus on protecting tropical forests.

Financing Instrument: Grants

Project scale: Most grants range from US$20 thousand to US$100 thousand.

Recipient countries regions/country groups: US, Latin America

Recipient categories: NPOs, governments

Eligibility Criteria:
The Foundation makes grants only to organizations that meet Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) requirements as non-profit, tax-exempt organizations or to qualified governmental units or agencies. The Foundation does not make grants to individuals and rarely for endowments, building campaigns, direct services, deficit financing, or religious purposes.

Grant funds may not be used to participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or to conduct, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive (within the meaning of Section 4945(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code). Grants are not made for debt reduction. Funding for conferences, publications and media is limited to projects directly related to priorities in the Foundation’s program areas.

Application guidelines:
The Overbrook Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for support from organizations not currently funded by the Foundation. However, they remain committed to their primary fields of interest and are eager to hear news from organizations working in those areas of human rights and the environment presently of priority to the Foundation. Please contact +1 212.603.9996 for more information.