Tikvah Fund
New York philanthropic foundation and education and publishing organisation funding Jewish, Zionist and Western-civilisation programmes
| Tikvah Fund
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| Type | 501(c)(3) foundation (files Form 990-PF) |
| Founder(s) | Zalman C. Bernstein |
| Registration ID | EIN 13-3676152 (Internal Revenue Service) |
| Headquarters | 165 East 56th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022, United States |
| Location | New York, with programmes in Israel |
| Area served | United States and Israel |
| Services | Schools, fellowships, publications, podcasts and conferences; grants to Shalem College and other institutions |
| Registration | United States |
| Key people | Elliott Abrams (chairman); Eric Cohen (president and chief executive); Roger Hertog (chairman emeritus) |
| Website | tikvah.org |
The Tikvah Fund (also written Tikvah or The Tikvah Fund) is a New York foundation and education and publishing organisation that funds and runs programmes in what it calls "Jewish excellence and Western civilization". Its tax number is EIN 13-3676152, and it files Form 990-PF returns with the Internal Revenue Service.[1] Tikvah describes its work as "shaping the rising generation of Jewish, Zionist, and American leaders" through schools, fellowships, summer institutes, publications, podcasts and conferences.[2]
The organisation was set up by the investor Zalman C. Bernstein, founder of the investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein and Company, who died in 1999.[3] Its chairman since 2021 is Elliott Abrams, who also served in the Trump administration as State Department Special Representative for Iran and for Venezuela.[4] It is not the same body as Tikva UK or Tikva Corp.
History
Tikvah says that Zalman C. Bernstein "established Tikvah—and other important Jewish institutions" after his commitment to Judaism and Israel deepened; he changed his name to Zalman Chaim Bernstein and made his home in Israel.[3] Roger Hertog, a partner in Sanford C. Bernstein, was chairman of Tikvah when the Shalem grants of 2011 and 2017 were announced, and is now chairman emeritus.[4] In 2022 Tikvah gave him its highest honour, the Herzl Prize.[4]
The Form 990-PF filed for 2020 names Hertog as chairman, and the return for 2021 names Elliott Abrams as chairman.[5][6] William Kristol, listed as a trustee in the 2020 return, does not appear in the returns for later years.[5][7]
Programmes and publications
Tikvah's website lists educational programmes from middle school to young professionals, including the Emet Classical Academy (which its report calls "America's First Classical Jewish Prep School"), the Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education, summer and gap-year fellowships, and the annual Jewish Leadership Conference.[2] Its 2025 "Strategic Overview" report lists 87 partner Jewish day schools in the academic year 2024, more than 59,000 Tikvah Online University enrolments and more than 91,000 Mosaic newsletter subscribers.[8]
Media
Tikvah publishes Mosaic, an online monthly magazine of Jewish ideas, and The Tikvah Podcast.[8] Its president, Eric Cohen, is described on the Tikvah website as the publisher of Mosaic; its chief programming officer, Jonathan Silver, is the editor.[9]
In February 2010 The Forward reported that the new quarterly Jewish Review of Books was funded by the Tikvah Fund, with a five-year commitment according to its editor, Abraham Socher. The paper wrote that the fund's board was "dominated by such neoconservative figures as William Kristol, Roger Hertog and Jay Lefkowitz", while Socher said the magazine "will range broadly from the center left to the center right".[10]
Israel
Tikvah says it helped found Shalem College in Jerusalem, "the first-ever Israeli BA program with a dedicated core Great Books curriculum", and helped launch the Jerusalem think tank Herut Center, which it describes as now independent under Amiad Cohen.[8] In 2011 the Shalem Center announced a $12.5 million challenge grant from Tikvah for the planned college, and on 1 November 2017 the college announced a further five-year, $16 million challenge grant. The college's announcement described Hertog as chair of the Tikvah Fund.[11][12][11]
Trustees and officers
Tikvah's website lists these trustees, among others: Elliott Abrams (chairman), Gary Rosenthal (vice chairman, a partner in the private equity firm The Sterling Group), Tomas Ackerman, Raanan Agus, Mem Bernstein, Terry Kassel, Shelly Kassen, Jay Lefkowitz, and Steven Price. Roger Hertog is chairman emeritus and Arthur Fried (deceased) is also listed as an emeritus trustee.[4]
| Name | 2020 return | 2022 return | 2024 return | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Hertog | Chairman/member | – | – | [5] |
| William Kristol | Trustee | – | – | [5] |
| Elliott Abrams | – | Chairman/member/trustee ($125,000) | Chairman/member/trustee ($140,000) | [7][1] |
| Gary Rosenthal | – | Vice chairman/trustee | Vice chairman/trustee | [7][1] |
| Raanan Agus | – | Trustee | Trustee | [7][1] |
| Mem Bernstein | Member | Member/trustee | Member/trustee | [5][7][1] |
| Arthur Fried | Member | Member/trustee | – | [5][7] |
| Moshe Koppel | Trustee | Trustee | Trustee | [5][7][1] |
| Jay Lefkowitz | Trustee | Member/trustee | Member/trustee | [5][7][1] |
| Steven Price | – | Trustee | Trustee | [7][1] |
| Terry Kassel | – | – | Trustee | [1] |
| Shelly Kassen | – | – | Trustee | [1] |
The president and chief executive, Eric Cohen, has led Tikvah since 2007, according to its website. He founded The New Atlantis and serves on the boards of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the Hertog Foundation and National Affairs.[9] Other senior staff listed on the website include Rabbi Hershel Lutch (senior vice president and chief financial and administrative officer, formerly chief operating officer of Aish HaTorah), Silver (chief programming officer) and Malka Groden (chief development officer).[9]
| Name | Title on return | Compensation | Employee benefits | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Cohen | President/CEO | 881,060 | 47,620 | [1] |
| Rabbi Hershel Lutch | Senior vice president/CFO | 425,000 | 47,620 | [1] |
| Rabbi Mark Gottlieb | Chief educational officer | 363,182 | 47,620 | [1] |
| Sean Clifford | Chief educational officer | 350,000 | 12,396 | [1] |
| Jonathan Silver | Chief programming officer | 240,000 | 8,600 | [1] |
| Rabbi Abraham Unger | Head of school, Emet | 225,000 | 0 | [1] |
| Alan Rubenstein | Senior director of university (title truncated on the return) | 204,000 | 9,680 | [1] |
| Elliott Abrams | Chairman/trustee (about 3 hours a week) | 140,000 | 0 | [1] |
| Amiad Cohen | Director-General, Israel | 71,830 | 0 | [1] |
The same return lists the highest-paid independent contractors, including a programme caterer ($313,150), a venue (The Glasshouses, $186,312), Rabbi Meir Soloveichik as programme and education consultant ($150,000) and Ruth Wisse as programme and education consultant ($140,000).[1]
Finances
Tikvah files Form 990-PF, the return used by private foundations. The IRS data summarised by ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer gives the following totals (no data are shown for 2016 to 2018):[13]
| Year | Total revenue | Total expenses | Total assets at year end | Total liabilities at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10,004,299 | 14,011,626 | 152,351,355 | 3,616,181 |
| 2012 | 11,336,605 | 13,482,264 | 152,777,561 | 1,258,761 |
| 2013 | 17,220,394 | 13,041,698 | 167,837,078 | 218,101 |
| 2014 | −446,117 | 14,466,314 | 163,665,626 | 181,125 |
| 2015 | 8,159,843 | 14,329,078 | 149,001,016 | 232,844 |
| 2019 | 6,810,406 | 17,204,530 | 113,452,257 | 519,042 |
| 2020 | 6,270,985 | 16,380,353 | 103,047,859 | 800,111 |
| 2021 | 13,540,052 | 19,786,892 | 97,893,500 | 2,523,941 |
| 2022 | 19,881,947 | 21,069,673 | 87,364,382 | 2,689,823 |
| 2023 | 14,843,995 | 22,841,569 | 86,056,647 | 3,049,094 |
| 2024 | 18,771,688 | 25,736,010 | 87,030,381 | 3,878,360 |
In 2024, the return shows contributions received of $14,935,781, dividends of $1,067,455, net gains on asset sales of $427,542 and other income of $2,340,910. Compensation of officers, directors and trustees was $1,517,890, other salaries and wages $6,486,330 and grants paid $6,987,001.[1] Tikvah's own report projects "over $17,000,000" of donation revenue for fiscal year 2024 from "more than 4,000 visionary partners, foundations, and philanthropists", and projects global expenditures of $28,600,000. It says that annual fundraising revenue rose from $800,000 to more than $17 million over six years.[8]
Grants
Part XV of the returns lists the grants Tikvah paid:
| Year | Recipient | Purpose | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Shalem College | General support | 2,360,000 | [5] |
| 2021 | Shalem College | General support | 2,400,000 | [6] |
| 2022 | Shalem College | General support | 3,200,000 | [7] |
| 2023 | Shalem College | General support | 3,100,000 | [14] |
| 2024 | Jewish Communal Fund | General support | 4,319,625 | [1] |
| 2024 | Shalem Foundation (New York) | General support | 2,825,000 | [1] |
The 2023 return records $750,000 approved for future payment to Shalem College, and the 2024 return $575,000 approved for the Shalem Foundation.[14][1] Smaller 2020 to 2022 grants went to organisations including Bar-Ilan University, the Combat Hate Foundation, Hiechal Hatorah and the Maimonides School.[5][6][7]
Donors
Tikvah's 2025 report lists its supporters by gift size, as of 4 November 2024. Those giving $1 million or more were an anonymous donor, the Adelson Family Foundation, Lenore Broughton, the Edelman Family Foundation, the Marcus Foundation, Jennifer and David Millstone, and the Paul E. Singer Foundation. Those giving $500,000 to $999,999 were the Robert M. Beren Family Foundation and Judy and David Lobel. Among donors of $100,000 or more are trustees Raanan Agus, Mem Bernstein and Susan and Roger Hertog.[8]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 The Tikvah Fund, Form 990-PF for the year ending 31 December 2024 (IRS e-file XML, object ID 202523139349100212, EIN 13-3676152), IRS TEOS archive 2025_TEOS_XML_11C, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tikvah, About Tikvah, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tikvah, Our Founder, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Tikvah, Board of Trustees, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 The Tikvah Fund, Form 990-PF for the year ending 31 December 2020 (IRS e-file XML, object ID 202210419349100406, EIN 13-3676152), IRS TEOS archive 2022_TEOS_XML_01A, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Tikvah Fund, Form 990-PF for the year ending 31 December 2021 (IRS e-file XML, object ID 202213199349104386, EIN 13-3676152), IRS TEOS archive 2022_TEOS_XML_02A, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 The Tikvah Fund, Form 990-PF for the year ending 31 December 2022 (IRS e-file XML, object ID 202343189349106459, EIN 13-3676152), IRS TEOS archive 2023_TEOS_XML_11A, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Tikvah, Strategic Overview 2025 (Impact Report), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Tikvah, Executive Leadership, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Jordan Michael Smith, A Jewish Journal of Ideas Is Born, The Forward, 10 February 2010, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Shalem College, Shalem Announces $16 Million Challenge Grant from the Tikvah Fund, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, $12.5 for 'Shalem College', Israel National News, 4 May 2011, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ ProPublica, The Tikvah Fund, Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 13-3676152), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Tikvah Fund, Form 990-PF for the year ending 31 December 2023 (IRS e-file XML, object ID 202423199349106477, EIN 13-3676152), IRS TEOS archive 2024_TEOS_XML_11A, accessed 10 November 2026.