MMF
The Michael Manzella Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1994 that funds Yale undergraduate summer fellowships, a $10,000 annual performing arts scholarship at Yale, grants to children's, cancer, education, and arts nonprofits, and the annual Manzella Award at Yale's Timothy Dwight College, operated entirely by a volunteer board.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersRockville Centre, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What MMF does
The Michael Manzella Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1994 and headquartered at a residential address in Rockville Centre, New York. It was established one year after the death of Michael Manzella (Yale '93), a scholar, musician, and athlete who died of cancer at age 21, and operates in four mission areas: education, children's causes, cancer research, and the arts.
MMF runs four core programs. The Michael Manzella Endowment at Yale is a permanent four-year, $10,000 annual scholarship for Yale students majoring in performing arts. The Summer Fellowship Program awards $3,000-$5,000 grants to Yale undergraduates pursuing summer projects in cancer research, music and performing arts, education, and youth development; since 1996 it has invested more than $311,000 and supported more than 130 young people. MMF Grants to Charitable Organizations directs funding to nonprofits in the foundation's focus areas, with cumulative grants exceeding $100,000. The Michael Manzella Award, given annually at Yale's Timothy Dwight College to the graduating senior who "inspired his/her classmates through kindness, dedication and courage," has honored more than 30 recipients since 1994.
The foundation is governed entirely by a volunteer Board of Directors — no paid staff — and raises funds from individual and institutional donors through online PayPal donations, mail-in checks, employer matching gift programs, and Yale alumni annual dues designations. Recent grantmaking includes $5,000 awards in 2024 to Friends of Karen (childhood cancer support) and Dream Yard Project (Bronx arts education), and an ongoing relationship with Hear Your Song (music therapy for seriously ill children). The foundation has no technology product, no proprietary platform, and no AI components; its digital presence consists of a WordPress website, Facebook page, and annual PDF newsletter.
MMF firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MMF
- Legal name
- The Michael Manzella Foundation
- Website
- https://themichaelmanzellafoundation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Michael Manzella Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1994 that funds Yale undergraduate summer fellowships, a $10,000 annual performing arts scholarship at Yale, grants to children's, cancer, education, and arts nonprofits, and the annual Manzella Award at Yale's Timothy Dwight College, operated entirely by a volunteer board.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MMF industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charitable Foundation
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
Keywords
Where MMF is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rockville Centre
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
MMF business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Others, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: The foundation receives donations from individual donors through online platforms (PayPal) and mail-in checks. Donors can also direct Yale alumni annual dues to the Michael Manzella Scholarship at Yale.
- Institutional Donations: The foundation receives funding from institutional donors and manages these resources responsibly to distribute as charitable grants, scholarships and fellowships.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
MMF product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Michael Manzella Foundation (MMF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides charitable grants, scholarships, and fellowships supporting education, children's causes, cancer research, and the arts. Its core programs include a four-year endowed scholarship for performing arts students at Yale University, a summer fellowship program for Yale undergraduates, grants to qualifying charitable organizations, and the annual Michael Manzella Award at Yale's Timothy Dwight College.
Product overview
The Michael Manzella Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of four distinct programs: The Michael Manzella Endowment at Yale University (a four-year, $10,000 annual scholarship for performing arts students), the Summer Fellowship Program (grants of $3,000-$5,000 for undergraduate summer projects), MMF Grants to Charitable Organizations (distributions exceeding $100,000 to nonprofits in education, cancer research, children's causes, and the arts), and The Michael Manzella Award at Yale's Timothy Dwight College. All programs honor the legacy of Michael Manzella (Yale '93) and are supported by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Michael Manzella Endowment at Yale A four-year endowed scholarship for performing arts students at Yale University, funded and administered by the foundation in memory of Michael Manzella.
- Summer Fellowship Program Summer fellowship grants awarded to Yale University undergraduates to support independent projects and experiential learning opportunities.
- Grants to Charitable Organizations Charitable grants awarded to qualifying nonprofit organizations whose missions align with the foundation's focus areas, including education, children's causes, cancer research, and the arts.
- Michael Manzella Award An annual award presented at Yale University's Timothy Dwight College recognizing outstanding student contributions.
Quantifiable outcome
- More than $311,000 invested in fellowship funding since 1996
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use MMF
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MMF technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
MMF partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Friends of KarenminorFriends of Karen is a nonprofit organization that supports families of children with cancer. MMF made a $5,000 grant to Friends of Karen in 2024, providing critical financial and emotional support services to families facing childhood cancer diagnoses.
- Dream Yard ProjectminorDream Yard Project works to bring Arts programming to youth throughout the Bronx and operates the DreamYard Preparatory School. MMF provided a $5,000 grant in 2024 to support their arts education mission.
- Hear Your SongcoreHear Your Song empowers children and teens with serious illnesses and complex health needs to make their voices heard through collaborative songwriting. MMF has supported two Yale undergraduates with summer fellowships to intern with Hear Your Song over the past two years. The organization was founded in 2014 by Yale undergraduates Dan Rubins and Rebecca Brudner and is based in New York City with chapters at multiple college campuses.
- Yale UniversitycoreMMF maintains a long-standing partnership with Yale University, including the Michael Manzella Endowment (a four-year $10,000 annual scholarship for performing arts students), the Michael Manzella Award at Timothy Dwight College, and the Summer Fellowship program for Yale undergraduates.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
MMF competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation: National childhood-cancer grantmaking foundation; directly comparable to MMF's cancer + children's-causes focus areas, but at significantly larger scale with a multi-million-dollar grantmaking program.
- American Institute for Cancer Research: Established cancer-research grantmaker funding diet/cancer research and education; comparable as a funder in MMF's cancer-research pillar, though with broader public-health framing.
- St. Baldrick's Foundation: Volunteer-driven childhood cancer research grantmaker; comparable volunteer-led operating model and childhood-cancer + research funding overlap with MMF's cancer/children's causes mission.
- Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Cancer-research grantmaker focused on funding early-career investigators; comparable cause alignment with MMF's cancer-research pillar and similar fellowship/grant awards model.
- V Foundation for Cancer Research: Large-scale cancer-research grantmaking foundation, comparable as a cancer-cause funder, but operating nationally with paid staff and a far broader asset base than MMF. Both distribute grants to researchers and cancer-support organizations in cancer research.
Emerging players
- National YoungArts Foundation: Performing-arts scholarship and grantmaking organization for young artists; closely comparable to MMF's Yale performing arts scholarship mission, though operating at national scale.
- Young Concert Artists: Performing-arts career-launch grants and fellowships for classical musicians; comparable in providing talent-development grants to performing artists like MMF does for Yale performing arts students.
- National Children's Cancer Foundation: Pediatric cancer cause funder that combines research grants with family support; comparable mission overlap with MMF's joint emphasis on cancer research and children's causes.
Direct peers
- Live Like Lou Foundation: Small volunteer-led memorial foundation funding disease research and scholarships in honor of an individual; structurally near-identical to MMF — family-memorial 501(c)(3) distributing fellowships and research grants.
- Hear Your Song: MMF grantee that also represents a peer class of small mission-driven nonprofits serving children through arts/music; MMF and Hear Your Song share a recent partnership via summer fellows, making this a directly comparable operating model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MMF social profiles
Digital presenceMMF financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MMF leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
MMF funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MMF M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MMF
What does MMF do?
The Michael Manzella Foundation (MMF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides charitable grants, scholarships, and fellowships supporting education, children's causes, cancer research, and the arts. Its core programs include a four-year endowed scholarship for performing arts students at Yale University, a summer fellowship program for Yale undergraduates, grants to qualifying charitable organizations, and the annual Michael Manzella Award at Yale's Timothy Dwight College.
Is MMF a public or private company?
MMF is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MMF founded?
MMF was founded in 1994. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is MMF based?
MMF is headquartered in Rockville Centre, United States, in the North America region.
How does MMF make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are institutional Donations.
Who are MMF's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, American Institute for Cancer Research, St. Baldrick's Foundation, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and V Foundation for Cancer Research. Emerging players are National YoungArts Foundation, Young Concert Artists and National Children's Cancer Foundation. Direct peers are Live Like Lou Foundation and Hear Your Song.
Does MMF have an API?
No public API is recorded for MMF.
What industry is MMF in?
MMF's product category is Charitable Foundation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAA, Private Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211.