The J. M. Kaplan Fund is a New York-based family foundation. The four children and seven grandchildren of Jacob M. Kaplan constitute the Fund’s Board of Trustees. Assets as of March 2009 are approximately $120 million. Three-fifths of the annual grants budget is awarded by the trustees acting in common.

I. COMMON GRANTS

There are four official Fund grant programs:

• City Life
• Environment
• Historic Preservation
• Migrations

City Life Program.

The City Life Program concentrates on public spaces and public services throughout the five boroughs of New York City. It focuses particularly on parks and streets.

• Parks. Projects to: assure public access to well-maintained parks and greenery in all neighborhoods; enhance public uses of harbor and shoreline; and promote community participation in parks governance and operations.

• Streets. Projects to: advocate more and better rail, bus, and water transport; expand pedestrian zones and bikepaths; and regulate truck and automobile traffic.

Environment Program.

The Environment Program concentrates on marine conservation, especially in ocean waters that lie beyond the jurisdiction of a single national government. The program currently supports grantees working to: create international protections for species and ecoregions of the High Seas; educate scientists and the public about the value and vulnerability of the ocean as a world system; and foment civil society movements to protect Arctic waters and Arctic coastal communities.

Historic Preservation.

The Operating Board is currently reviewing proposals for the preservation and protection of major archaeological sites in North Africa and Southwest Asia. In addition, the Fund also supports: development of a movement to inventory and protect North American industrial architecture; zoning protections for twentieth century architecture in Miami and Havana; and the rescue of particularly valuable / particularly threatened buildings in New York City.

Migrations.

The Fund aims to support: a) comprehensive immigration policy reform for the United States; and b) the integration of immigrants into local and national communities. The former aim is pursued through grants for public education and advocacy. The latter is pursued by efforts, initiated by the Fund, to: bolster local immigrant-friendly policies and programs; highlight immigrant contributions to the commonweal; and establish, with the Migration Policy Institute, a new award – the E Pluribus Unum Prize – intended to honor government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and individuals who have succeded in integrating recent immigrants and adding value to the larger community.

Application Procedures.

The great majority of projects funded through the four Common Grant programs are solicited by Kaplan Fund staff. Unsolicited written inquiries are welcome, however. Organizations should submit a brief letter – no more than two pages – describing their work and its relevance to the specific program interests of the Fund. Send to: Angela Carabine, Grants Manager, JM Kaplan Fund, 261 Madison Avenue 19th Floor, New York NY 10016. Telephone inquiries are discouraged.

II. FURTHERMORE

In addition to these principal efforts, the Fund also sponsors Furthermore grants in publishing, a program directed by president emeritus Joan K. Davidson. Furthermore supports books on art, architecture, and design; conservation; cultural history; and public issues. More information about Furthermore can be obtained from the program’s office at PO Box 667, Hudson NY 12534, telephone 518-828-8900.

III. DISCRETIONARY GRANTS

Approximately two-fifths of the Fund's annual grants budget is distributed to organizations selected by individual trustees on the basis of their own investigations. These discretionary grants support a wide variety of activities, including:

• art, architecture, publishing, and design;
• conservation of land and buildings;
• policy analysis and discussion of civic issues;
• human rights and social justice.

Most discretionary grants support groups or activities in New York City and New York State, the traditional focus of Kaplan Fund philanthropy. Discretionary grant proposals are by invitation only.