Contents
History and Program Areas
The Pinkerton Foundation was founded in 1966 by Robert Allan Pinkerton, chairman and CEO of the security company Pinkerton’s, Inc. 2 The mission of the foundation was to prevent juvenile delinquency. 3
The foundation primarily funds direct service programs for the youth of New York City, 2 with a focus on providing the consistent presence of adults and supportive relationships in the lives of young people. 4
The Pinkerton Foundation has four main program areas. 1 The first is after-school and summer learning, where it supports community programs focused on recreational activities, mentoring, and skills building for children. 5
The second program area is career readiness, where the Pinkerton Foundation supports internship opportunities, industry certification programs, job-training programs, as well as programs to help children attain “soft” career skills. 6
The third program area is education, where the Pinkerton Foundation supports general education, life-skills programs, and college access and retention efforts, with a special focus on single mothers and youth in the foster care system. 7
The fourth program area is youth and family justice, where the Pinkerton Foundation supports prisoner reentry programs, employment training, and alternatives to incarceration. 8
Additionally, the foundation created the Pinkerton Advanced Leadership Network, accessible only to ethnic minorities, to cultivate future non-white community leaders. 9
Grantmaking
The Pinkerton Foundation only awards grants to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. Applicants are required to submit a brief letter of inquiry describing their organization, the project needing funding, the program budget, and a list of board members. Those organizations that pass an initial review process will then receive a site visit from the Pinkerton Foundation and a request for further materials. 10
In 2021, major grants from the Pinkerton Foundation included $850,000 for Good Shepherd Services; $600,000 for the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School; $550,000 for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Prisoner Reentry Institute; $425,000 for the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club; $300,000 for Community Connections for Youth Inc.; $300,000 for Friends of the Children of New York; $300,000 for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City; $275,000 for Legal Outreach Inc.; $260,000 for Cypress Hills Local Development; $260,000 for Futures and Options Inc; $250,000 for the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park; $246,000 for career readiness programs at the American Museum of Natural History in New York; and many more. 11
People
The president and CEO of the Pinkerton Foundation is Richard M. Smith. Smith is the former editor-in-chief, chairman, and CEO of Newsweek. Smith has been a member of the board of the Pinkerton Foundation since 1995 and became the president in 2010. Smith is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an invitation-only think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. 12
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
Expenses Detail
Employee Compensation
Highest Earning Employees
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $2,100,800
- Number of Grants: 3
- Number of Funders: 2
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:
| Amount | Year | Funder | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| $800 | 2021 | M K King Foundation | Support |
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $381,011,152
- Number of Grants: 4,503
- Number of Recipients: 1,096
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years: