Niarchos Foundation, Revson Foundation, & Heckscher Foundation Are Crowdsourcing Ideas to Help NYC Public Libraries
Ask an average American to name a big accomplishment of philanthropy and they may well cite Andrew Carnegie's famous support for building libraries around the country. These days, though, library giving isn’t exactly a hot area of giving. As we’ve noted in the past, most big donors overlook libraries. Although the promising role of modern libraries can easily intersect the interests of funders around the country, many wealthy donors don’t feel the same sense of connection to their local libraries as say, to hospitals and arts organizations around town.
But as we've reported, some funders in New York City and elsewhere remain deeply dedicated to libraries. This spring, we looked at a $20 million gift to the New York Public Library by Merryl Tisch and her husband, James, to help the library expand its educational programming.
Also notable is an effort by a trio of funders who've come together to support New York's libraries. The three funders we’re talking about here are the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, and the Heckscher Foundation for Children. In the past, we’ve highlighted Stavros’ and Revson’s library support, but not so much on Heckscher yet. . .