Cultural Engagement, Youth Development, and the Arts

The Foundation has had a longstanding interest in the arts, reflecting Benjamin Altman’s personal commitment and our belief in the essential role that cultural engagement and the arts play in enriching the lives of New Yorkers and creating new avenues of exploration and opportunity for the city’s young people. Given our particular focus on issues of access and inclusion, the Foundation invests in organizations, programs, and projects that achieve results aligned with the objectives outlined below. As a general rule, the programs that we support take place outside of the public schools. Please note that the "Results Sought" reflect the specific outcomes of interest to us.

2025

Objective 1

Promote access to arts and culture for all New Yorkers, with a special focus on people from underserved communities

Results Sought:

  1. Increase sustained engagement and participation of underserved populations in high-quality programming at established arts and cultural organizations
  2. Strengthen the arts infrastructure in the city and build capacity at critical junctures for organizations providing high-quality arts and cultural programming
Grants 2025

Bronx Children's Museum
$125,000 (over two years)
For general support

Bronx Council on the Arts
$120,000 (over two years)
To provide capacity building support

Cool Culture, Inc.
$100,000 (over two years)
For general support

The Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island, Inc.
$100,000 (over two years)
For general operating support

The Flea Theater Inc.
$100,000 (over two years)
For capacity building support

Harlem Stage, Inc. FKA Aaron Davis Hall, Inc.
$125,000 (over two years)
To provide operating support for its New York activities

Kings Majestic Corp. dba 651 ARTS
$120,000 (over two years)
For capacity building as it expands the subsidized rental facilities program and fully operationalizes its new permanent space

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC)
$150,000 (over two years)
To provide capacity building support

Museum Hue, Inc.
$100,000 (over two years)
To implement and support Museum Hue’s strategic priorities

SoHarlem, Inc.
$50,000
For general support

Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences
$100,000 (over two years)
For capacity building support

Visual Arts Research and Resource Center Relating to the Caribbean dba Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute
$200,000 (over two years)
To support the NEXT 50: Succession and Sustainability Planning Initiative

Objective 2

Promote positive youth development among underserved youth through engagement in arts, cultural, and other unique programs that provide sequential opportunities to participate over an extended period of time.

Results Sought:

  1. Significantly increase mastery of program-specific competencies and developmentally appropriate life skills
  2. Prepare participants to transition successfully to post-secondary and/or professional opportunities, including employment in the creative economy
Grants 2025

The ArtsConnection, Inc.
$150,000 (over two years)
To support out-of-school programs for teens

Beam Center Inc.
$140,000 (over two years)
To support the expansion of the Project Leaders Enterprise program

The Brooklyn Queens Conservatory of Music
$70,000 (over two years)
To provide capacity building support for the Community Music Center Initiative

Casita Maria Inc.
$50,000
For general support

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
$150,000 (over two years)
For organizational capacity building, and support of the Life Lines Community Arts youth development program

CitySquash
$80,000 (over two years)
To support its comprehensive youth development program

The Harlem School of the Arts, Inc.
$125,000 (over two years)
To support the Career Pathways to the Creative Economy Project

Hudson River Community Sailing
$100,000 (over two years)
To support Sail Academy, a multi-year youth development program

Mama Foundation for the Arts, Inc.
$40,000
For general support

The Noel Pointer Foundation
$100,000 (over two years)
To support the On-Campus Strings Program

Publicolor, Inc.
$100,000 (over two years)
To support Publicolor’s COLOR Club, Next Steps, Summer Design Studio, and Design Studio programs

Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, Inc. (AKA RISE Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity)
$100,000 (over two years)
For general operating support

Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
$80,000 (over two years)
For capacity building support