Achelis & Bodman Foundation

The foundation was established on November 25, 2015, through the merger of The Achelis Foundation, founded in 1940 by Elisabeth Achelis, and The Bodman Foundation, founded in 1945 by George and Louise Bodman. The two predecessor entities had operated independently for over 70 years before combining operations. The merger consolidated their grantmaking into a single, more efficient vehicle focused on New York City and northern New Jersey.

The foundation does not publicly disclose its investment committee structure. Chairman John N. Irwin III, a co-founder of Brookside Capital Partners, and Trustee George McCabe, the founder and CIO of Portolan Capital Management, bring significant institutional investment management experience to the board. The foundation operates a manager-selection model, committing to external funds-of-funds and direct co-investments rather than running a large internal investment staff.

The foundation's endowment portfolio spans early-stage venture capital, buyout, growth equity, mezzanine, distressed debt, and secondaries. It also maintains direct positions in natural resources and commercial real estate, including holdings in Digital Realty Trust and MCR Hotels. The allocation is implemented entirely through external managers, fund-of-funds, and direct passive holdings.

The Achelis & Bodman Foundation restricts its grantmaking almost exclusively to organizations operating in New York City and northern New Jersey. This hyper-local focus has been a defining characteristic of both predecessor foundations since the 1940s. The investment portfolio, in contrast, is global in scope through its external manager relationships.

The grantmaking program is managed by President Russell P. Pennoyer and Executive Director John B. Krieger, while the endowment is overseen at the board level, with Trustees Irwin, McCabe, and Crary drawing on their Wall Street and institutional investment backgrounds. The foundation commits programmatic grants from annual distributions while the corpus is invested across venture capital, buyout, real estate, and distressed strategies to preserve intergenerational purchasing power.

The foundation does not publish an explicit exclusion list. However, its published grantmaking focuses exclusively on Arts & Culture, Education, Employment, Health, Public Policy, and Youth & Families. Organizations outside these six program areas and those not serving New York City or northern New Jersey rarely receive funding.

The endowment operates primarily as a limited partner in external funds. Its known commitments include TIFF Private Equity Partners and Private Advisors Secondary Fund, indicating a preference for accessing private markets through established institutional fund-of-funds platforms. It complements these with direct holdings in public securities, as evidenced by its stake in Digital Realty Trust.