Alexander Wood voicing hope that U.S. will support the International Convention on Disability being drafted by the Ad-Hoc Committee at the United Nations

One of the first foundations in the United States, the New York Foundation was established in 1909 with a gift of $1 million from Alfred M. Heinsheimer, part of a bequest he had received from his brother Louis. Its founding documents list general philanthropic purposes, but its name has always signaled a special concern for New York City. This first philanthropic gift was augmented by two additional gifts: one, of $2.4 million from Lionel J. Salomon, restricted broadly to the benefit of the young and the elderly; the second even larger bequest of $6 million from the estate of Alfred M. Heinsheimer in 1929.

Today we do not limit our grants to specified issue areas, although under the terms of a restricted endowment, half our grants are reserved for projects involving youth or the elderly. Instead, we look at the characteristics of the organization or project applying. Because we believe in a pluralist, inclusive democracy, we support programs emerging from communities where existing services and institutions do not reach, neighborhoods taking action for their own improvement, and groups organizing to create a collective voice where they have not been heard.

To read more about the Foundation’s early history, click here.