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:
ArtsConnection, Inc.
$25,000
To help support the Take 5 and the 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 this new children's museum in the Bronx
The Center for Arts Education, Inc.
$25,000
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 support Literacy Through Culture, which offers professional development to early childhood educators and free access to the arts for families from low-income communities
International Center of Photography
$40,000
To help support Teen Academy and the advanced-level Imagemakers program
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
$50,000
To help support the HD in the Libraries one-year feasibility study
Mama Foundation for the Arts, Inc.
$40,000 (over two years)
As a final grant to help support the Gospel for Teens program
Mark Morris Dance Group/Discalced Inc.
$20,000
To help support the Dance for PD program for individuals living with Parkinson's disease
Mark Morris Dance Group/Discalced Inc.
$20,000
To help support the Dance for Parkinson's program
New York Hall of Science
$75,000
To support early childhood program initiatives and to strengthen community outreach aimed at increasing participation by families in surrounding multi-ethnic Queens communities
The New York Public Library
$300,000 (over three years)
To provide general support for activities reaching New York City's most underserved communities
The Queens Borough Public Library
$50,000
As a special one-time contribution to QBPL as it responds to the needs of families in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and restores library services in affected south Queens branch libraries
Queens Museum of Art (dba Queens Museum)
$325,000 (over 3 yrs)
To help support Art and Literacy for New New Yorkers, plan for the nation's first-ever public library in an art museum, and implement Collaborative Action Research assessment results to improve teaching practice and enhance student impact
Third Street Music School Settlement
$45,000
To help support the Comprehensive Training in Music Program
Young Audiences New York, Inc.
$25,000
As a final grant to help support the FamilyLink program for families in underserved communities
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:
Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy, Inc.
$150,000 (over two years)
To help support the Choral Music Education and Performance Program, and provide a capacity building grant to help develop their Artistic and Audience Development Initiative
Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
$50,000
To help support the Center's Life Lines Community Arts project for underserved youth
The CityKids Foundation, Inc.
$40,000
To help support the CityKids performing arts program for inner-city youth
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
Coro New York Leadership Center
$25,000
As a final grant to help support Exploring Leadership, a program to promote meaningful civic leadership among inner-city high school youth
Downtown Community Television Center, Inc.
$90,000 (over two years)
To help support PRO-TV, which provides professional media training to inner-city youth
Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center/Lucy Moses School for Music & Dance
$60,000
To support need-based scholarships and community outreach programs for Young People's Division students who come from low-income families in underserved communities (over 18 months)
Groundswell Community Mural Project, Inc.
$20,000
To help support afterschool and summer programming for underserved youth
Hunts Point Alliance for Children
$50,000
To help support HPAC's academic Youth Development Initiative
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Inc.
$75,000
To help support and expand the Middle School Jazz Academy for young people from underserved communities
Peter Westbrook Foundation, Inc.
$40,000 (over 15 months)
To help support the Academic Enrichment Program
Publicolor, Inc.
$30,000
To help support the COLOR Club, Next Steps, and Summer Design Studio programs
Riverdale Neighborhood House, Inc.
$25,000
To help support the Youth Internship Program
Row New York, Inc.
$80,000 (over two years)
To provide general operating support for rowing and academic programs in New York City
Staten Island Children's Museum
$25,000
To help support the Museum Intern and Ambassador Program
StreetSquash, Inc.
$60,000 (over two years)
To help support the College Access and Beyond Program
The Young People's Chorus of New York City, Inc.
$25,000
To help support the after-school choral music education and performance program