The Gilder Foundation is a private charitable foundation established by Richard Gilder, founder of New York City-based brokerage firm, Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Company. ^[1] The foundation contributes to a wide array of charitable causes, including museums,^[2] medical research, arts, humanities,^[3] public policy, academia,^[4] historical education, school choice, and community nonprofits. ^[5]

Foundation Giving

The Gilder Foundation distributed $27,484,385 in charitable grants in 2017; $22,253,453 in 2016; and $9,282,062 in 2015. ^{[6] [7] [8]} GF was listed as the seventh largest funder of arts, culture and media in the United States in 2014 by Grantmakers in the Arts. ^[9] Recent GF funding is mostly earned through stock market investment returns. ^[10]

The foundation supports a number of charitable organizations, a handful of which are public policy organizations. While a number of the public policy groups supported by Gilder Foundation, including the Manhattan Institute, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and National Review Institute are right-leaning, others including Environmental Defense Fund and Human Rights Watch are left-leaning. ^[11]

People

Richard Gilder

Richard Gilder graduated from Yale University in 1954 with a degree in history and started a brokerage firm with $25 million in assets in 1968. ^{[12] [13]} That brokerage firm became Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Company and now manages $9.4 billion in assets on behalf of over 7,000 clients. ^[14]

Gilder created the Gilder Foundation in 1965, but his philanthropic involvement extends far it; ^[15] he has contributed over $125 million to the American Museum of Natural History and bequeathed substantial gifts to the New York Historical Society. ^{[16] [17]}

In 1994, Gilder cofounded the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which provides extensive resources for teachers, educators and students of American history. ^[18] The Institute annually awards cash prizes to students for winning history-centered essay contests and awards a $25,000 prize for best book published on the subject of slavery or abolition each year. ^[19]

Gilder was recognized by President George W. Bush and the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2005 when he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for contributions to the study of American history. The award noted Gilder’s gifts to fund the creation of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale. ^[20]

Gilder has been active in the policy arena and in politics. He is chairman emeritus of the center-right Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a think tank focusing on urban policy and New York City affairs that is a member of the free-market State Policy Network. ^[21]

In 2015, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) government worker union attacked Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co. on a “watch list” of fund management firms. AFT opposed the Gilder Foundation’s contributions to the Manhattan Institute for Public Policy, which supports public employee pension reforms opposed by the union. ^[22]

Gilder played a lead role in founding the New York Club for Growth, which became the national Club for Growth, and served as chairman emeritus. ^{[23] [24] [25]} Club for Growth coordinates a network of donors to fiscally conservative Republican candidates for public office. ^[26]

Patrick Duff

Patrick Duff is a partner at the investment firm of Dunham Partners, LLC and is director of the Sealed Air Corporation. He is active in philanthropy outside his role with Gilder Foundation, having previously served as a director for the Association to Benefit Children, as a chairman for the New Community Organization, and is a board member of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  He and his wife oversee the LFH Foundation Family Trust which primarily gives to education, health, community development, human services, and Catholic charities. ^[27]

Richard Schneidman

Richard Schneidman is a certified public accountant. ^[28] In addition to his work with the Gilder Foundation, Schneidman is co-manager of the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust, which supports community theater, the New York Public Library, Central Park Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, Nature Conservancy, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and other cultural, conservation, and community causes. ^[29]

Howard Berkowitz

Howard Berkowitz is a former hedge fund founder and manager. ^[30] In addition to his work with the Gilder Foundation, Berkowitz and his wife run the the Judy & Howard Berkowitz Foundation, which supports the performing arts, education, health and human services, and Jewish charities. ^[31] He is also a major supporter of the New York Historical Society Museum and Library. ^[32]