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.

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 2008

Ballet Hispanico of New York, Inc.
$25,000
To help support the Ballet Hispanico Scholarship Fund for talented, low-income youth

City Lights Youth Theatre, Inc.
$20,000
To expand the Core Program of high-quality theater education and provide scholarship assistance to a diverse group of young people

Cool Culture, Inc.
$25,000
To help expand the Literacy Through Culture program

High 5 Tickets to the Arts, Inc.
$25,000
To help support the Take 5 and Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC) Programs

Mama Foundation for the Arts, Inc.
$20,000
To help support the Gospel for Teens vocal instruction program

Mark Morris Dance Group/Discalced Inc.
$15,000
To help support the Dance for Parkinson's program and the MMDG/NYCHA Partnership community outreach program

The New York Botanical Garden
$300,000 (over three years)
To help support the Children's Education program

New York Hall of Science
$75,000
To help support and evaluate the Hall's programming and exhibition areas for preschool audiences

The New York Public Library
$1,400,000 (over four years)
To help support the “21st Century Library” campaign and to provide general support

The Queens Borough Public Library
$600,000 (over three years)
To help support the Adult Learner Program and the Youth Workforce Development program

Queens Museum of Art New York City Building
$150,000
To help support Literacy and Art with New New Yorkers

Rubin Museum of Art
$35,000
To help support and expand early childhood, after school, and community programs

Young Audiences New York, Inc.
$50,000
To help support the FamilyLink project

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 2008

The 52nd Street Project, Inc.
$35,000
To help support NEW PLATFORMS, a creative and theatrical arts initiative

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc.
$30,000
To help support the High School Fellowship Program and the Ailey Athletic Boys Scholarship Program

Ballet Tech Foundation, Inc.
$40,000
To help support Ballet Tech's program of preprofessional dance training for underserved youth

Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc.
$60,000
To help support the BAM Intern Program

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corporation
$50,000
To help support the Garden Apprentice Program for middle- and high-school youth

Brooklyn Children's Museum
$350,000 (over four years)
To help support PlayNet, a new research, training, implementation, and evaluation initiative focusing on the benefits of play and play facilitation for early childhood development

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
$50,000
To help support the Center's Life Lines Community Arts Project

The CityKids Foundation, Inc.
$35,000
To help support the CityKids Rep performing arts program for inner-city youth

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
$50,000
To help support the Saturday Outreach Programs

Downtown Community Television Center, Inc.
$40,000
To help support PRO-TV, which provides professional media training to inner-city youth

Educational Video Center
$20,000
To help support the YO-TV (Youth Organizers-TV) pre-professional documentary filmmaking program

Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center/Lucy Moses School for Music & Dance
$80,000 (over two years)
To help support pre-professional music classes for talented, underserved students in the Young People's Division

Figure Skating in Harlem, Inc.
$30,000
To help support the sports and academic program

Groundswell Community Mural Project, Inc.
$10,000
To help support the Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship Program

International Center of Photography
$150,000 (over two years)
To help expand the Teen Academy Program

The InterSchool Orchestras of New York, Inc.
$10,000
To help support the ISO Scholarship, Financial Aid, and Partnership Programs

New York Youth Symphony, Inc.
$50,000
To help support the Symphony's work with young people in New York City over the next two years

Peter Westbrook Foundation, Inc.
$35,000
To help strengthen the Academic Enrichment Program

Pratt Institute
$30,000
To help support the Design Initiative for Community Empowerment (DICE) program, which prepares underserved Brooklyn high school students to pursue career and advanced educational opportunities in design

Publicolor, Inc.
$30,000
To help support the COLOR Club and Next Steps programs

Staten Island Children's Museum
$25,000
To help support the Museum Ambassador Program and the Museum Internship Program

TADA! Theatre and Dance Alliance, Inc.
$40,000
To help support the Resident Youth Ensemble theater training and youth development program

Third Street Music School Settlement
$90,000
To help support the Comprehensive Training in Music program over the next two years

The Young People's Chorus of New York City, Inc.
$25,000
To help support the after school choral music education and performance program

?>