What New York Life Foundation does

The New York Life Foundation is a private corporate foundation and the charitable arm of New York Life Insurance Company, a mutual (policyholder-owned) insurer. Founded in 1979 and headquartered in New York, NY, the foundation's mission is to strengthen individuals, families, and communities through charitable giving focused on two principal areas: bereavement support and youth coaching and mentoring. Since inception, the foundation has distributed more than $470M to nonprofits, with $31.6M in total philanthropic giving in 2025 split between $19.2M in strategic partner grants and $12.4M in grants directed through the New York Life workforce.

The foundation's core offerings are programmatic initiatives rather than commercial products. These include the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (GSSI), launched through the Coalition to Support Grieving Students to equip educators and youth-serving staff with bereavement-support tools; the Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative (GSWI), which provides employers with training, policy recommendations, and practical tools for supporting grieving employees; and the Coaching the Future initiative, launched in 2026 to invest in nonprofit programs that train, equip, and uplift coaches and mentors for young people. Free bereavement resources, developed with experts and partner organizations, are distributed via the foundation website and through partner networks serving families, schools, workplaces, and communities.

The foundation operates a grant-based, non-commercial revenue model: it does not sell products or services, and pricing is not applicable. Its go-to-market is built around strategic nonprofit partnerships (including Coalition to Support Grieving Students, Sesame Street, and Judi's House), leveraging the New York Life parent company's marketing infrastructure, social media channels, and agent network for awareness and resource distribution. All foundation activity is funded by New York Life Insurance Company, making the foundation entirely dependent on its parent for capital. The foundation operates on a national (U.S.) footprint with no disclosed international presence.

Name

New York Life Foundation

Legal name

New York Life Foundation

Website

https://newyorklifefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The New York Life Foundation is the charitable arm of New York Life Insurance Company, distributing grants and free resources in bereavement support and youth coaching since 1979, with $31.6M in philanthropic giving in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Philanthropy Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Bereavement, Grief & Family Support Services (Hospice-Linked) (HLAFAEAO)

Keywords

• Youth mentoring programs
• Bereavement support services
• Corporate philanthropic foundation
• Nonprofit grant funding
• Community impact initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The New York Life Foundation is a nonprofit corporate foundation that channels philanthropic funding from New York Life Insurance Company into bereavement support and youth coaching/mentoring programs. It distributes grants to nonprofit partners, provides free bereavement resources to families, schools, and workplaces, and operates initiatives such as the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative, the Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative, and the Coaching the Future program.

Product overview

The New York Life Foundation is a philanthropic organization that has contributed over $470M to nonprofits since 1979. Its primary offerings are grant programs supporting bereavement support and education initiatives, including the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (GSSI) which equips educators to support grieving students, the Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative (GSWI) providing workplace bereavement training and resources, the Coaching the Future initiative for youth development, and free bereavement resources for families, schools, and communities. In 2025, the Foundation provided $31.6M in total philanthropic giving.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (GSSI): An initiative through the Coalition to Support Grieving Students that equips educators, after-school staff, and youth-serving organizations with tools to support grieving students.
• Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative (GSWI)
• Coaching the Future

Products and services

• Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (GSSI) A national initiative equipping educators, after-school staff, and youth-serving organizations with tools and knowledge to support grieving students, delivered through the Coalition to Support Grieving Students.
• Grief-Supportive Workplace Initiative (GSWI) A program that empowers companies to foster compassionate, resilient workplace cultures by providing free access to expert-designed training, policy recommendations, and practical tools to support employees through loss.
• Bereavement Resources Free, accessible expert-developed resources that help people navigate grief, supporting families, schools, workplaces, and communities.
• Coaching the Future A foundation initiative investing in nonprofit programs that train, equip, and uplift coaches and mentors to help young people build confidence, character, and purpose.
• Foundation Grants Program Financial support for nonprofits in the areas of bereavement, education, workplace, and local community initiatives, providing millions in annual grants to strategic partners and workforce-directed programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 11 U.S. children will experience the death of a parent or sibling in 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Coalition to Support Grieving StudentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-organization coalition focused on expanding awareness and access to grief resources nationwide. Through this coalition, the Foundation launched the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative (GSSI) which equips educators, after-school staff, and youth-serving organizations with tools and knowledge to support grieving students.
• Sesame StreetflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership featuring Sesame Street puppets in Foundation marketing materials. Images show collaboration between New York Life Foundation representatives and Sesame Street characters to promote community support and bereavement awareness.
• Judi's HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner providing CBEM (Child Bereavement Estimation Model) data derived from CDC Data 2009-2023. Judi's House research is cited as the source for statistics on childhood bereavement (1 in 11 U.S. children will experience the death of a parent or sibling).
• Nonprofit Partner OrganizationscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerStrategic framework partnering with nonprofits nationwide through the Coaching the Future initiative and bereavement support programs. These partnerships drive local impact guided by local community and nonprofit leaders, strengthening communities, expanding opportunities, and creating lasting change.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Alliance for Children's Grief: Membership organization advancing awareness and resources for children grieving a loss. Direct peer in the childhood-bereavement field; both organizations sit in the same coalition-level ecosystem for grieving students.
• The Compassionate Friends: National nonprofit supporting families after the death of a child. Direct peer in the bereavement-support field serving overlapping family and community segments; both compete for visibility as a trusted bereavement content/resource provider.
• Dougy Center: Pioneer nonprofit providing peer-support grief programs for children, teens, and families. Direct peer in delivering bereavement support to bereaved children and families — same beneficiary population and content/capability area.
• Judi's House: National nonprofit providing direct bereavement services to grieving children and families. Directly comparable as a peer in the childhood-bereavement support space and is already a research partner of the Foundation (CBEM data).

Broad incumbents

• MetLife Foundation: Corporate foundation of MetLife, another major U.S. life insurer. Directly comparable as a peer insurance-industry foundation with similar scale, grantmaking model, and focus on youth and workforce-related giving. Annual giving and endowment in a comparable range.
• State Farm Foundation: Corporate foundation of State Farm. Comparable large corporate foundation with a national footprint and parallel grantmaking focus on education and community resilience; useful scale benchmark even if product category differs.
• Prudential Foundation: Corporate foundation of Prudential Financial. Comparable as a peer large-insurer foundation with a national grant footprint focused on education, economic mobility, and community resilience. Similar operating model and stakeholder geography.
• MassMutual Foundation: Foundation of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, also a mutual insurer. Direct peer: same mutual-insurer structure, similar youth-and-education grantmaking focus, and similar regional-to-national reach.
• Northwestern Mutual Foundation: Corporate foundation of Northwestern Mutual. Comparable large U.S. life/disability insurer foundation with childhood-cancer and youth-focused grantmaking, similar scope and operating model.
• Allstate Foundation: Philanthropic arm of Allstate. Comparable insurance-industry foundation with comparable annual giving scale and focus on youth empowerment, domestic violence prevention, and community resilience. Same corporate-foundation structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NewYorkLife
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/newyorklife
• Facebookfacebook.com/newyorklife
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newyorklife
• Instagraminstagram.com/newyorklife

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about New York Life Foundation