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:
The 52nd Street Project, Inc.
$35,000
To help support the "Fund for the Future" Campaign
ArtsConnection, Inc.
$35,000
To help support the Take 5 and Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC) programs
Ballet Hispanico of New York, Inc.
$25,000
To help support its School of Dance and scholarship program for talented and underserved students
Ballet Tech Foundation, Inc.
$35,000
To help support Ballet Tech's program of pre-professional dance training for underserved youth
Bronx Children's Museum
$50,000
To help provide capacity building funds to continue the development of the new children's museum in the Bronx
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corporation
$100,000 (over two years)
To help support the Garden Apprentice program for middle and high school youth
The Carter Burden Center for the Aging, Inc. (aka Carter Burden Network)
$35,000
To provide planning support for an an impact study of Arts Intervention for Seniors in East Harlem
The Center for Arts Education, Inc.
$50,000
To help support CAE's public engagement and advocacy initiative to build support for and expand arts education in the schools
Cool Culture, Inc.
$45,000
To help expand the Family Leaders Program as a component of Literacy Through Culture and Family Explorers Club's efforts to promote emergent literacy, parental involvement, meaningful partnerships between arts and cultural institutions and early education centers, and family visits to those institutions
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
$150,000 (over two years)
To help support DesignPrep, the Cooper-Hewitt's design education and career preparation program for underserved New York City high school students
Dancewave, Inc.
$35,000 (over fifteen months)
To provide capacity building support to design and implement a marketing/outreach campaign in preparation for the creation of the new Dancewave Center in downtown Brooklyn
Friends of the High Line, Inc.
$50,000
To provide capacity building support for the Public Programs department and its initiatives to expand activities for local adults
Governors Island Corporation dba The Trust for Governors Island
$150,000 (over two years)
To help support the new position, Director of OpenHouseGI, to oversee and lead the Trust's public programming department
The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City
$50,000
To help support a new initiative of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Materials for the Arts that will provide professional development for center-based Pre-Kindergarten teachers and access to free materials for their classrooms
The Museum of the City of New York, Inc.
$200,000 (over two years)
To help provide capacity-building support for their new digital department by hiring a Web Developer, a Multi-media Producer, and a Customer Relationship Management Systems Analyst, and to make improvements to their website
The New-York Historical Society
$75,000 (over 18 months)
To help strengthen N-YHS's educational programs through a comprehensive independent evaluation
The New York Public Library
$200,000 (over three years)
To help support the NYPL's Adult Learning Centers (ALCS)
Orchestra of St. Luke's/St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Inc.
$35,000
To help support the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Queens Borough Public Library
$150,000 (over fourteen months)
To help support Kickoff to Kindergarten (K2K) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Queens Council on the Arts, Inc.
$40,000
To provide capacity building support to help Queens Council on the Arts draft a plan to guide its future, increase its impact, strengthen its visual brand, and support the cultural diversity of Queens
Queens Museum of Art (dba Queens Museum)
$100,000
To help support the Art and Literacy for New New Yorkers program
Wave Hill Incorporated
$100,000 (over two years)
To help provide capacity building support for a Strategic Review and Planning process that will result in a Strategic Plan, Site Utilization Plan, and Digital Engagement Strategy
Whitney Museum of American Art
$85,000
To provide capacity building support for the Whitney's community programs
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:
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
$50,000
To help support the Saturday and Outreach Programs for New York City public high school students
Figure Skating in Harlem, Inc.
$100,000 (over two years)
To provide general support for its sports and academic program
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Inc.
$75,000
To help provide both direct service and capacity-building support for the Middle School Jazz Academy for young people from underserved communities in New York City
New Heights Youth, Inc.
$40,000
To help support the College Bound Program
Peter Westbrook Foundation, Inc.
$35,000
To help support the Academic Enrichment Program
Publicolor, Inc.
$90,000 (over two years)
To help support the COLOR Club, Next Steps and Summer Design Studio programs
Rocking the Boat, Inc.
$112,000 (over two years)
$50,000 each year to provide general operating support for this youth development organization; and an additional $12,000 in the first year to upgrade the current data system, migrate data, and train staff
Staten Island Children's Museum
$25,000
To help support the Museum Intern and Ambassador Program