The Edwin J and Barbara R Berkowitz
Bryn Mawr, PA · EIN 23-7978506. Reported 279 grants totalling $3,722,499 to 94 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The Edwin J and Barbara R Berkowitz did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $6,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $20,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $130,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | $432,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Metzad Congregation | Hollywood, FL | $186,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| The Womens Law Project | Pittsburgh, PA | $165,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Philadelphia Mural Arts Program | Philadelphia, PA | $150,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Bike Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $137,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Congregation Beth Am Israel | Narberth, PA | $133,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| After School Activities Partnership | Philadelphia, PA | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Equal Justice Initiative | Montgomery, AL | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Congregation Beth Sholom | San Francisco, CA | $124,999 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Congregation Beth Shalom | Pittsburgh, PA | $107,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Har Zion Temple | Penn Valley, PA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Philabundance | Philadelphia, PA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friendship Circle of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Gan Israel Day Camp | Wynnewood, PA | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Jewish Relief Agency | Bala Cynwyd, PA | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Jaffa Institute | Bergenfield, NJ | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| American Jewish World Service | Etna, NH | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh, PA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Aish Hatorah | Clifton, NJ | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Crib - Efrat | Brooklyn, NY | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| City of Asylum | Pittsburgh, PA | $58,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Caskey Torah Academy | Wynnewood, PA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Gems Program | Bala Cynwyd, PA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc | New York, NY | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Politz Hebrew Academy | Philadelphia, PA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Midwife Center for Birth & Women's Health | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Highmark Caring Place | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Natal | New York, NY | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Colel Chabad | Brooklyn, NY | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Jewish Assistance Fund | Pittsburgh, PA | $36,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Paws & Affection | Narberth, PA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Magen David Adom | New York, NY | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends Yad Eliezer | Jackson, NJ | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Viking Wrestling Boosters | Upland, CA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Hillel at Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hillel at Temple | Philadelphia, PA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Kenyon College Hillel | Gambier, OH | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| St Jude's Children's Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Urban Tree Connection | Philadelphia, PA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Jaffa Institute | Flushing, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Jewish World Service | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bnei David Foundation | Teaneck, NJ | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Interact Theatre Company | Philadelphia, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Meor Foundation | Silver Spring, MD | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Congregation Bais Yisroel | Brooklyn, NY | $18,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Haverford College | Haverford, PA | $17,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Hashevaynu | Flushing, NY | $16,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Congregation Dor Hadash | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Friends of Itamar | Brooklyn, NY | $15,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| American Friends Mercaz Harav | Brooklyn, NY | $14,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Talmudical Yeshiva Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | $14,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Shuvu Return | Brooklyn, NY | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Torah Schools for Israel | Lakewood, NJ | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem | New York, NY | $12,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Taharat Hamishpache | Brooklyn, NY | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Friends of Yeshivas Meharash | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Chabad-Lubavitch of the Main Line | Merion Station, PA | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of Nachal Haredi Inc | Teaneck, NJ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Hilel Academy of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| New Horizons Senior Center | Narberth, PA | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Lower Merion Synagogue | Bala Cynwyd, PA | $9,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Combatants for Peace | Pasadena, CA | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Emily's Entourage | Merion Station, PA | $7,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pathways Vermont | South Burlington, VT | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Congregation Eizer L Bracha | Monsey, NY | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| National Council of Jewish Women (ncjw) | Pittsburgh, PA | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Mosdos Boston | Brooklyn, NY | $6,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Israel Democracy Coalition | Wynnewood, PA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Philadelphia Community Kollel | Merion Station, PA | $6,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Beatcancerorg | Wynnewood, PA | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Kosloff Torah Academy | Bala Cynwyd, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Meor Foundation at Upenn | Pomona, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Destiny Foundation | Lakewood, NJ | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thorncroft Therapeutic Riding | Malvern, PA | $5,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ukraine Jewish Relief Fund Co Fjc of Cis | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Zaka Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| American Friends of Yeshiva Meor Hatalmud | Flushing, NY | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hearing Loss Association of America | Bethesda, MD | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of American Inc | Washington, DC | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Social Good Fund | Richmond, CA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| National Council of Jewish Women (ncjw) | Washington, DC | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wesa Pittsburgh's NPR News Station | Pittsburgh, PA | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| World Central Kitchen Inc | Washington, DC | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Central Fund Israel | Cedarhurst, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History | Philadelphia, PA | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| American Red Cross | Boone, IA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rabbi Without Walls | Bala Cynwyd, PA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Congregation Eizer Lbracha | Monsey, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Eizer L Bracha | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | |
| National Museum of American Jewish History | Philadelphia, PA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Yad Eliezer Beit Shemesh | Beit Shemesh | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
64 of 94 (68%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 85%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 157 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | $576,000 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 53 | $568,500 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 51 | $578,500 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 56 | $634,333 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 68 | $1,365,166 | $10,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
65% of its giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $6,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Pennsylvania.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Edwin J and Barbara R Berkowitz's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 439 Garden Lane, Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 23-7978506 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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