Jane Bagley Lehman

According to a newspaper obituary published after her death in 1988, Lehman was “very active in the Democratic Party, both nationally and locally.” The obituary also notes that Lehman became “involved in national politics” during John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960. Lehman also worked for Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, and Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaigns, and was also involved in the early campaigns of Jerry Brown for governor of California. ³

Lehman also helped create the Tides Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking organization and pass-through funder for other left-of-center nonprofits. Tides was founded by Drummond Pike, a left-of-center political activist who has since retired from the organization, with the help of seed funding from Lehman in 1976. She was the chair of the board at the Tides Foundation until her death in 1988, and was also the president of the Arca Foundation from 1970 until 1980. ^{1 4 5 6}

Family

Jane Bagley Lehman, also known simply as Jane Lehman, was a businesswoman and philanthropist. She died of lung cancer in 1988. ¹

Lehman was a granddaughter of R. J. Reynolds, the founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and the daughter of Nancy Susan Reynolds, the founder of the Arca Foundation, formerly known as the Nancy Susan Reynolds Foundation. ²

Reynolds was involved in numerous charitable activities, donating 710 acres of her father’s childhood farm to Virginia Tech in 1969, with another 7 acres in 1980. Reynolds also provided $1.7 million to the surrounding community to run a forestry research center on the site and to fund a scholarship program for the local high school. Reynolds edited Washington Life magazine, a position that is now held by Nancy R. Bagley, a granddaughter of Reynolds and member of the Arca Foundation’s board of directors. ^{7 8 9}

Jane Lehman was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, but attended the Knox School in Cooperstown, New York, and the Carnegie-Mellon Institute of Technology. She married Orin Lehman, the nephew of former New York Governor Herbert H. Lehman (D). ¹⁰

Orin Lehman was appointed to the advisory board of the Economic Cooperation Administration, an American agency that administered aid to Europe, in 1950 by President Harry S. Truman. He also served as the United States delegate to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He unsuccessfully ran for New York City comptroller in 1965 and for Congress in 1966. ¹¹

Affiliations

According to a newspaper obituary, Jane Bagley Lehman was “very active in the Democratic Party, both nationally and locally.” The obituary also notes that Lehman became “involved in national politics” during John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960. Lehman also worked for Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, and Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaigns, and was also involved in the early campaigns of Jerry Brown for governor of California. ³

According to a New York Times obituary, Jane Lehman was on the board of directors at the Save the Children Federation, also known as Save the Children USA, from 1962 until 1978. Save the Children USA is a humanitarian organization that provides health and education programs to support at-risk children and their families. ^{1 12 13}

Lehman was also the president of the Arca Foundation from 1970 until 1980. ⁶

Lehman also helped create the Tides Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking organization and pass-through funder for other left-of-center nonprofits. The organization supports nonprofits through grants, fiscal sponsorship, donor-advised funds, and more. Tides was founded by Drummond Pike, a left-of-center political activist who has since retired from the organization, with the help of seed funding from Lehman in 1976. ^{1 4 5}

She was the chair of the board at the Tides Foundation until her death in 1988. The Tides Foundation created the Jane Bagley Lehman Awards, which were created to recognize individuals whose work “demonstrates innovative approaches to social change.” The organization also states that the awards have “recognized individuals who exhibit a deep and exceptional commitment to social justice.” ¹⁴

According to the organization’s website, its 2024 Jane Balgey Lehman Awards recognized “Heroes of Immigrant Rights,” while its 2023 awards focused on youth organizing and its 2022 awards on “reproductive justice.” ¹⁴