our story

The Pennywise Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity, born out of a family’s passion to make significant and lasting improvements in the lives of people who are challenged by forces around them – natural or human-made. Subin siblings, Laura and Liz, bonded together to honor the legacy of their father, Harry Subin- a lifelong proponent of criminal legal system reform- to create a charitable organization that would support and inspire innovative pathways to systemic change.
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One of the reasons we built Pennywise was because we were frustrated by traditional patterns of giving in the nonprofit sector. Too often, even with the best intentions, a one time infusion of financial support gets a project going but that project falters when the money runs out. We think there are better approaches. Pennywise prioritizes programming that has self-sufficiency and sustainability, for both the work and its beneficiaries, at the heart of its design. We envision our grants as investments that will be leveraged to create impacts that grow and last over time.

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​At Pennywise, we recognize that support comes in many forms and offer a variety of services for our grantees and project partners.

We Make Grants.
Pennywise embraces the principle that small scale giving and small organizations can have big impacts when resources are allocated creatively and effectively. We make modest grants to nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated exceptional ability to do more with less. Our grants support innovative, collaborative, sustainable programming around the world.

We Offer Collaborative Support
Pennywise recognizes that some of the freshest, most exciting ideas about how to tackle tough problems come from new and developing organizations. We support innovative program planning consistent with our mission and priorities. We help launch exciting projects and support their development.