The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation is a private foundation based in New York City. The foundation was founded in 1955, initially supporting cultural programs, education, healthcare, and Jewish and Israeli charitable organizations. ¹ The foundation also donates to left-leaning policy groups including chapters of Planned Parenthood. ²

Background

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation was created in 1955 by Horace Ward Goldsmith, a businessman who bought a seat on the New York stock exchange in 1927, founding the brokerage firm H. W. Goldsmith and Company. ³

Many of Goldsmith’s initial donations were to educational and Jewish institutions, such as endowments given to the New York University Scholarship Foundation, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. Goldsmith also funded the construction of Israel’s first swimming pool at the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in Jerusalem. ³

In 1988, the foundation and former senior director of Goldman Sachs Richard L. Menschel started the Horace W. Goldsmith fellowship at Harvard. The fellowship is for MBA students who have committed to working in the nonprofit sector. ⁴

The Foundation was maintained by Goldsmith’s stepson, Robert R. Slaughter, who was its chairman until his passing in 1992. ⁵ As of 2024, the Foundation’s board of directors is primarily made up of members of the Slaughter family. ²

People

William A. Slaughter is the foundation’s CEO. He also sits on the board of the National Constitution Center and the Wistar Institute. ⁶

Charles L. Slaughter is the foundation’s Chief Financial Officer and founder of the international health nonprofit, Living Goods. He is also a board member of Tidepool, Reach Digital Health, and the Yale School of Management. ⁷

Financials

According to the foundation’s 2022 tax returns, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation had total revenue of $28,832,763, total expenses of $40,177,248, and net assets of $650,924,619. ²

Funding

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation donates to domestic and international health, education, and Jewish nonprofits. Between 2020 and 2022, the Foundation gave $650,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, $500,000 to the Opera Company of Philadelphia, $400,000 to The End Fund, $350,000 to Noora Health, and $275,000 to the San Francisco Food Bank. ^{8 9 2}

Between 2020 and 2022, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation gave $2,250,000 to the National Constitution Center, where William Slaughter is a board member, and $2,000,000 to Living Goods, which was founded by Charles Slaughter.  ^{8 9 2}

Between 2020 and 2022, the foundation donated large sums of money to left-of-center nonprofits. This included $750,000 to Democracy Works, $550,000 between two arms of Planned Parenthood, $400,000 to the Juvenile Law Center, $350,000 to the Aspen Institute, $300,000 to Recidiviz, $300,000 to the Sierra Club Foundation, and $200,000 to Earthjustice. ^{8 9 2}

In 2024, the Foundation gave money to the Girl Scouts Troop 6000, which operates in homeless and migrant centers around New York City. The troop has received criticism for its linkage to New York City’s rise in asylum seekers during the city’s affordable housing crisis.  ¹⁰

1. Pitchbook. Accessed June 4, 2024. https://pitchbook.com/profiles/limited-partner/53159-14#overview.
2. “Horace W Goldsmith Foundation, Full Filing 2022 – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136107758/202343179349102704/full.
3. “Obituary for Horace W. Goldsmith (Aged 85).” Arizona Republic Obituary Newspapers.com, February 7, 1980. https://azcentral.newspapers.com/article/arizona-republic-obituary-for-horace-w/100590872/?locale=en-US.
4.  “Additional Harvard Funding.” Goldsmith Fellowship – MBA – Harvard Business School. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.hbs.edu/mba/financial-aid/tuition-assistance/additional-harvard-funding/Pages/goldsmith-fellowship.aspx.
5. “Robert R. Slaughter, Lawyer, 67.” The New York Times TimesMachine, February 29, 1992. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1992/02/29/618692.html?pageNumber=30.
6.  “William A. Slaughter.” National Constitution Center . Accessed June 5, 2024. https://constitutioncenter.org/about/board-of-trustees/william-a-slaughter.
7. “Charles Slaughter LinkedIn .” LinkedIn. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesslaughter/details/experience/.
8. “Horace W Goldsmith Foundation, Full Filing 2020 – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136107758/202113089349101871/full
9. “Horace W Goldsmith Foundation, Full Filing 2021 – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136107758/202243119349100429/full
10. Herschander , Sara. “They Live in Shelters. They Earn Badges by Helping Migrants. Meet NYC’s Girl Scouts.” The Christian Science Monitor, March 26, 2024. https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2024/0326/They-live-in-shelters.-They-earn-badges-by-helping-migrants.-Meet-NYC-s-Girl-Scouts.