City & State Report Philanthropy

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION AND FAMILY PHILANTHROPY AWARDS

Op-Ed By: CHIRLANE McCRAY on Building Healthy Neighborhoods FEBRUARY 2016

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Capalino+Company is Proud to Support City & State’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards

Congratulations to the honorees for Outstanding Achievement in Corporate, Foundation and Family Philanthropy

James Capalino Chief Executive Officer

Travis Terry Chief Operating Officer

Jeanne Mullgrav Executive VP Corporate Social Responsibility

Cathleen Collins Senior VP Corporate Social Responsibility

Contact us today to learn how our team of experts can help your business thrive

www.capalino.com • 212.616.5810 • contact@capalino.com • @capalino The Woolworth Building • 233 Broadway, Suite 710 • New York, NY 10279

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GROWING HEALTHIER NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

By Chirlane McCray

To grasp the urgency of the nutrition crisis facing our city, you only need to look at the numbers. More than half of all adults in our city are overweight or obese. One in five kindergarten students is obese. And in some high-poverty neighborhoods, only one in 10 residents eat the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables – which is half the rate of our highest-income neighborhoods.

But it was a different set of numbers that convinced Unilever to commit $4.1 million to New York City’s Building Healthy Communities initiative, which is the largest corporate commitment in city history. Last March, a team representing the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and the Fund for Public Health in New York took a group of Unilever senior executives on a tour of East Harlem. We knew Unilever had made a commitment to promote sustainability, so we were interested to hear their thoughts on how we might work together with community residents to build urban gardens.

As the Unilever execs walked around the grounds of a New York City Housing Authority development and spotted a number of spaces that would be perfect for an urban farm, they started to crunch the numbers. Based on their professional experience, they were able to estimate how many pounds of vegetables and how many meals a sizable garden would be

able to produce. And the numbers were big – we’re talking thousands of tons of food and more than a hundred thousand healthy meals.

Unilever saw what we saw – the potential to move farm-to-table dining out of the foodie world and into the real world, where it belongs. And in Building Healthy Communities, they saw an opportunity to partner with government to realize shared goals and make real change. New York City is already home to a large and innovative farm on one public housing development in Red Hook, Brooklyn. This farm is truly rooted in the neighborhood it serves.

Most of the farmers live in nearby developments and work with the housing community to help make all of the planting and harvesting decisions. In neighborhoods where supermarkets are sometimes a bus ride away, this garden is a nutritional oasis.

With Unilever’s help, the city will work with the New York City Housing Authority to create another urban farm in East Harlem. Unilever will also join forces with an existing program that trains aspiring chefs to lead cooking classes at a NYCHA Community Center.

And Unilever’s generosity will ripple far beyond this single initiative.

Building Healthy Communities supports another effort I am leading – ThriveNYC, our effort to create a truly effective mental health system. When

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people eat better, they feel better – not just physically, but also mentally. On paper, that may seem a little abstract.

But in real life, I assure you that people who work on these farms and eat vegetables they have grown with their own hands will experience a sense of satisfaction that food alone cannot provide, no matter how delicious.

Public-private partnerships like this are at the heart of the work we do at the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which is supporting Building Healthy Communities. As the city’s official nonprofit, the Mayor’s Fund is working with the business and philanthropic communities to create more initiatives that take advantage of the great reach government has and the flexibility of the private sector.

Building Healthy Communities is a wonderful example of just how much we can accomplish when we work as a team. When corporations and foundations partner with government, the whole of their generosity exceeds the sum of its parts. In order to solve problems like obesity, we need every sector of society to combine forces and apply our strengths in a coordinated way. Together, we can strengthen the roots of our community, both literally and figuratively, and grow a healthier, happier New York City.

Chirlane McCray is the first lady of New York City and chairwoman of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS

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THE ROBERT BOWNE FOUNDATION SPENDS DOWN

By Aimée Simpierre

The Robert Bowne Foundation did not live to see 2016. And its executive is pleased.

One of the many consequences of the Great Recession was its effect on foundations whose endowments were heavily invested in a deteriorating stock market. For the Robert Bowne Foundation, the loss of over one-third of its funds forced it to consider spending down its remaining assets.

“The foundation’s money had been invested pretty aggressively because they weren’t imagining a spend-down,” said Lena O. Townsend, the foundation’s executive director. “The most we ever had was back in around 2000, and it was about $22 million.

So when we lost so much money, we had a couple of choices. We could have not made any grants for a couple of years, because we always made more than the required 5 percent in grants, or we could just decide to spend down, because the organizations needed the money.”

Following discussions with board members in the aftermath of the Great Recession, the foundation chose to spend down its remaining assets. Dec. 31, 2015, was selected as the last day of operations.

Fortunately for some of their most cherished grantees, the move also led to more aggressive giving in targeted areas and ultimately helped the foundation realize some of its longest-held goals. “(After deciding to spend down) we really just kind of ramped up what we were already doing. We spent a lot more money on the management capacity building and then we also spent more money on capacity building around literacy,” Townsend said. “We really, really ramped up a lot with professional development and technical assistance so that, once we closed, (grantees) would hopefully be able to find the resources they need and they’d be strong organizations.”

Edmund A. Stanley, Jr. established The Bowne Foundation in 1968 and named it in honor of Robert Bowne, founder of Bowne

& Company, a financial printer located in lower Manhattan. Its work has always focused on supporting literacy initiatives, particularly in “out-of-school-time” education settings. The foundation spearheaded the Julia Palmer Library Development Project and the Afterschool Matters initiative. With its final grants, the foundation was also able to focus on supporting its grantees’ advocacy efforts and address what Townsend sees as a particularly stubborn challenge.

“It’s very hard for the advocacy organizations to get foundation funding because board members tend to believe that they can’t give money for advocacy, and basically you have to call it ‘education,’ you have to be careful. But you can give money for advocacy, but a lot of board members, in general, in foundations don’t really know that.”

There is great debate within the philanthropic community as to whether “spenddown” foundations, which choose to distribute all of their assets and then cease operations, or “in perpetuity” foundations, which live on perpetually by making grants from a percentage of their assets, better serve the foundation, its mission and the grantees it supports. Spending down can allow foundations to expend their assets while relevant stakeholders – such as the patriarch of a family foundation – are still around to monitor the process. But they must also consider all the factors that come into play when choosing to run themselves out of business. Foundations held in perpetuity can leave a longer legacy, but may eventually make grants that drift away from the donor’s original intent and dilute the impact of their original mission.

“I think this was definitely much more effective,” Townsend said. “(As an in-perpetuity foundation, you) only have to give 5 percent per year of your worth, but if you’re only worth, say, $15 million dollars, that leaves you a small amount. It’s not really enough to be as effective.”

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“We’re finally seeing things that we’ve wanted to see for years around advocacy,” Townsend added. We’ve been interested in advocacy for a very long time. … Now we’re actually finally seeing some change, in part because of our funding.”

The Bowne Foundation was very intentional about its spend-down process and kept its grantees fully informed and engaged. Grantees were told the end date five years ahead of time in a letter from the executive director. Selected grantees sat on a planning committee where numerous conversations were held about exactly how they should administer their final grants.

“We went back and forth. We were going to make smaller grants to more organizations and then we went in the middle and made kind of mid-sized grants to not quite everyone,” Townsend said.

Although the last day of operations has passed for the three-member staff, the foundation’s work will continue through some final, multi-year “legacy grants” awarded to organizations such as the Center for Sustainable Journalism (which will create a hub to house all of the research the foundation has had done), the Community Resource Exchange and the Center for Educational Options.

If one of your funders is spending down, Townsend offered a few suggestions. If you’re going to honor a foundation that is spending down, be sure to do it early on in the process, before its money is all gone. In addition, “hopefully the spend-down foundation will communicate with their grantees.

If they do, you need to just keep track of what’s happening and see if they’re offering something that you need or something that you can benefit from.”

Aimée Simpierre is the editor-at-large of New York Nonprofit Media, the must-read news source for New York nonprofit decision-makers. This report originally ran in the January issue of New York Nonprofit Review.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

City & State Reports honored New York’s 100 most outstanding corporate citizens at a special gala luncheon in December emceed by Jennifer Raab, president of Hunter College, and John Avlon, editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, and featuring New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. A thought leadership panel featured Marc Landis of Phillips Nizer, George Hulse of Healthfirst, Seth Diamond of Metroplus Health and Mitch Roschelle of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

From left, Mitch Roschelle of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Seth Diamond of MetroPlus Health, George Hulse of Healthfirst, Marc Landis of Phillips Nizer and John Avlon of The Daily Beast

New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton speaks at the luncheon, urging businesses to do more to help the homeless.

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

The Capalino+Company team

Hunter College President Jennifer Raab

From left, Tom Allon, CEO of City & State, Lisa Linden of LAK Public Relations, Suri Kasirer of Kasirer Consulting and Richard Schwartz of City & State Reports.

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

L+M Development Partners is thrilled to congratulate Debbie Kenyon on her Outstanding Achievement in Support of Workforce Development, Education and Healthy Quality of Life Award

www.lmdevpartners.com

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ANTHONY BERGAMO Vice Chairman MB Real Estate

Special Award for Outstanding Philanthropic Achievement in Education, Children’s Services & Law Enforcement

When people ask Anthony Bergamo, a New York City native and consummate volunteer who made a name for himself in the hotel business, and later as vice chairman of MB Real Estate, why he founded the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, the answer is somewhat surprising.

Bergamo’s uncle was a Jewish orphan who ran away to serve in World War II. When he returned to New York, he became a police officer in a force that at the time was largely Irish. From the perspective of a poor Jewish boy growing up in Manhattan, Bergamo’s uncle was a model of citizenship and family.

“He was always there for me,” Bergamo said.

With that thought, the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation was created.

The organization raises about $1 million a year to help city, state and federal employees serving in law enforcement and their families in times of need.

That means giving out 160 scholarships annually, paying for medical help for

ailing officers and their children, and giving money to agencies that support families of officers killed in the line of duty.

The foundation’s awards luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria is its landmark annual event, honoring dignitaries such as former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger and New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. After the 2015 luncheon, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton tweeted, “Great to join our partners at the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation lunch. Through collaboration we’re stronger.”

Collaboration is a key word for Bergamo, who believes that creating a forum for law enforcement agencies will strengthen all of them. “Law enforcement agencies need each other,” Bergamo said. “We have executive education, speakers and dinners throughout the year to extend the relationships.

If we can create a forum, people do

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connect, and we’ve won the day.”

For Bergamo, the good work of others fuels his own. He remembers attending a luncheon featuring the humanitarian and WWII concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel, who was asked, “How did you survive the camps?”

Wiesel said, “In my darkest hour was a word of encouragement or kindness that carried me.”

Bergamo reflected for a moment and said, “In our case, we write checks. That’s the tone of the foundation, and how we make a difference.”

A central figure in New York’s public health community, Dr. Amler was appointed by New York’s governor in 2006 to chair the regional advisory council for the Berger Commission on hospital and long-term care utilization. He has consulted for academic medical centers on clinical research support, graduate medical education, regional service integration, and disaster preparedness.

commercial banking | private banking CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Leumi is a proud sponsor of City & State Reports and congratulates the 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility honorees for their contribution to the Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy sectors. We admire your dedication to the city of New York and the contributions you make

Congratulations to all the honorees:

Anthony Bergamo, MB Real Estate Valerie Biberaj, Kate Spade & Company Foundation Suzette Brooks Masters, JM Kaplan Fund Change Capital Fund Erica Christensen, CA Technologies Rob Davis, Hedge Funds Care/Help for Children Delta Air Lines Laurie Dien, Pinkerton Foundation Eleni Gianopulos, Eleni’s New York Nazerine Griffin, The Doe Fund Google JRM Construction

Debbie Kenyon, L+M Development Partners Lori Klinger, Rosie’s Theater Kids Gary Krupp, Pave the Way Foundation Joseph Plumeri, First Data Gwen Robinson, Santander Bank Meredith Rose Burak, Mary Haas Ovarian Cancer Early Detection Foundation Norbert Sander, Armory Foundation Jean Shafiroff Lorie Slutsky, New York Community Trust Eric Weingartner & Michael Kirwan, Robin Hood Foundation

Leumi leumiusa.com

Tel: 917.542.2343 | Tel: 800.892.5430 579 Fifth Avenue | New York, NY 10017

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

VALERIE BIBERAJ Director, Foundation Kate Spade & Company

Special Achievement in Empowering Women & Transforming Their Communities Through Corporate Philanthropy

With its bright lights and boundless opportunities, New York has always beckoned dreamers from around the world. The city has also famously given birth to a wealth of creative talent. All this human potential, whatever its geographic or economic origin, cannot be taken for granted. That all New Yorkers have the opportunity to tap into the dynamism of their city is the mission that drives the Kate Spade & Company Foundation. While many foundations in the fashion world focus on aiding up-and-coming designers, Kate Spade & Company has adopted a broader view of its role as company, given the needs of its hometown.

“Our mission is not only to empower women, but to empower them to transform their communities,” said Valerie Biberaj, director of the Kate Spade & Company Foundation.

Under her leadership, the Foundation has formulated a guiding vision based on three central pillars: technology, entrepreneurship, and the arts. These are three realms, Biberaj

believes, in which a bold, creative lifestyle brand can make a difference.

Tech, for instance, is one of the fastest-growing industries in New York, but women make up just 12 percent of the workforce, even though “there’s a huge crop of talent and interest,” Biberaj said. Girls Who Code, one of the organizations that the Foundation has supported, is helping introduce more women into the field. The nonprofit provides high-school girls with instruction in technology, as well as exposure to professional settings in which women work as coders, computer scientists, and engineers. In the tech arena, the Foundation has also supported the Bronx-based Per Scholas as well as the Coalition for Queens.

In any one of these programs, young women might find themselves working alongside Kate Spade & Company employees, participating in the skills-based volunteering that the Foundation integrates into its programs.

Merchandise donations and mentoring programs are also incorporated

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into many programs. The Foundation, moreover, has taken a collaborative approach to developing grants. Biberaj works closely with grantees to create pilot programs that fit well with the Foundation’s goals. In partnership with the International Rescue Committee, for example, Biberaj helped launch the organization’s first gender-specific programs, designed to help immigrant women find employment by providing ESL instruction along with additional training in skills they already possess, whether in the agricultural and culinary fields, or translation and childcare services.

With several pilot programs currently in progress, Kate Spade & Company continues to demonstrate its commitment to New York’s creative community, of which the company is a vital part. If these new programs prove successful, the Foundation hopes to see them expand to reach even more people.

“Start small, think big,” Biberaj said— spoken like a true New Yorker.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

SUZETTE BROOKS MASTERS Program Director, Migration JM Kaplan Fund

Pioneer Award for Outstanding Achievement in Immigrant Integration

Immigrants represent 22 percent of the population of New York state. In New York City, approximately one in every three residents is foreign born.

At all levels of government, policymakers are increasingly attuned to a broad spectrum of challenges that immigrants face, from assimilation and citizenship issues to access to education and labor markets. That has not always been the case, however. Until recently, immigrant integration barely existed as a field, let alone a coordinated, national movement.

“A lot of our investments in that arena were really to build the field and set it up as something people think about,” said Suzette Brooks Masters, one of the key figures in consolidating and elevating the field within policymaking circles.

The deep engagement required to move a field, rather than take cues from it, coupled with the analytic rigor to shift collective thinking rather than meet ideas where they are, is what separates Masters from many of her

peers. “I wasn’t just a grantmaker,” she explained. “I was an activist with a mission that I was trying to accomplish.

And I was looking for grantees to help me shape and execute on that mission.”

In her eight years at the J.M. Kaplan Fund, Masters has demonstrated that it is possible to build a national portfolio without a national budget by identifying funding gaps and placing strategic bets. Her coordinated, catalytic investments in projects during the critical early stages have effectively bolstered entire ecosystems of organizations.

Among her notable investments, Masters was an early supporter of Welcoming America, which enlists local champions from the public and private sectors to actively welcome immigrants to their communities. The White House has since adopted the program’s message that immigrants and refugees help strengthen localities. Through her support of nonprofits, projects and cutting-edge policy papers, Masters has also led the way toward greater awareness around the issue of “brain waste,”

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which occurs when immigrants face obstacles to applying their complete skillset in the labor market, and are thus unable to unleash their full economic potential.

“A lot of my grantees say that I am more like a partner in crime than a traditional funder because of my hands-on approach,” explained Masters, who has served on numerous nonprofit boards over the course of her career, and as a young attorney co-founded New York Cares, an innovative volunteer organization.

With greater awareness around the need for sound integration policies in large population centers like New York City, Masters is now turning her attention upstate, where she believes immigration represents a vital opportunity for regions that have struggled with depopulation and stagnant growth.

“We are such an immigrant country, and yet there’s a lot of ignorance among employers about how to use foreign talents,” Masters said.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Special Award for Innovation in Fighting Poverty & Building Communities Through Philanthropy

Community development can be an amorphous term; in New York City, it’s a chameleon. Except at the Change Capital Fund donor collaborative, where the funders are clear as a sunny day about what it means.

“Whether it is constructing things – like building housing – or using partnerships with local employers, we are borrowing private-sector approaches to eliminate poverty,” said Patricia Swann, senior program officer at the New York Community Trust and a founding member of the fund collaborative.

“It’s without the pure profit motivation, but rather the poverty elimination motivation.”

Where years ago affordable housing was the buzzword among community development organizations, the housing market has changed so drastically in New York that it is nearly unrecognizable from a decade ago. Community development organizations and the companies and foundations that gave them grants needed to change, too.

Change Capital is an outgrowth of the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund,

created more than 15 years ago by two dozen corporate and foundation donors to help community groups expand affordable housing and give a shot of adrenaline to struggling neighborhoods.

The new fund is a collaboration of corporations and foundations including the Citi Foundation, which was an early funder; Deutsche Bank; the New York Community Trust; and the New York Foundation, along with a number of others. It is giving five nonprofit groups $1 million over four years to develop new strategies – and to prove they work.

One of the key issues for nonprofit organizations is showing that they do, indeed, make a difference. Sounds easy enough. But it’s not.

Community organizations pay their staff to put programs in place to help others. They rarely have any money left over to pay a staff member to track outcomes. That’s where the Change Capital Fund steps in.

“We have to get better at showing that community-based work makes a difference,” Swann said. “It’s challenging to do that – because once you get

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beyond ‘how many housing units did you produce?’ it gets harder to quantify the results of the work. But that’s what we’re trying to do.”

The four-year initiative is just now dispensing a third round of $350,000 grants to five community organizations: Community Solutions/Brownsville Partnership; Cypress Hills Local Development Corp.; Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc.; New Settlement Apartments; and St. Nicks Alliance.

The money will help in a number of ways. Nonprofits can hire more staff to help develop and manage databases to track results. They can create new strategies that pull residents out of poverty, including finding jobs.

“Change Capital was launched at a time of increased local and national recognition of the role that neighborhoods play in residents’ economic and social well-being,” said Eileen Auld, Citi’s community development director for the tri-state market.

“Community organizations are critical – and the glue that makes public-private partnerships work.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

WE ARE NEW YORK’S LAW SCHOOL

New York Law School and

Dean Anthony W. Crowell Congratulate

Joe Plumeri Vice Chairman of the Board, First Data Corporation Trustee, New York Law School and all the

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Honorees 14 www.nyls.edu

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ERICA CHRISTENSEN

Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility CA Technologies

Special Leadership Award for Promoting STEM Education and Economic Opportunity for Underserved Populations

Erica Christensen is a consummate professional, the vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for CA Technologies, a global software company that caters primarily to Fortune 500 companies. But even she was moved to tears when she read the thank-you notes from teachers in highneed schools throughout Nevada for a donation the company had given for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) development.

To a poor school, $100,000 is a gift from the heavens. One teacher described her students’ reactions: “The screams of excitement were heartwarming,” she wrote. “The kids have never been more excited to sit and read, study and learn.” The donation was used to buy laptops, print materials, equipment and whatever else will aid in the study of STEM subjects.

For Christensen, a former TV journalist for ABC News, MTV and VH1 who moved into jobs with Microsoft, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the

Brooklyn Philharmonic, her work with CA Technologies brings her face to face with under-served students.

The Boys and Girls Clubs have been a particular focus: with the clubs, CA Technologies created a partnership, Tech Girls Rock, which is part of the Clinton Global Initiative. The company hosts workshops wherever the Boys and Girls Clubs have determined there is a need, and CA Technologies employees volunteer their time to mentor girls who express an interest in technology careers.

“We’ve had workshops for about 2,000 girls so far, and we hold pre- and post-workshop surveys, and it shows the girls have a significant increase in interest afterward,” Christensen said.

She applauds the commitment of CA Technologies CEO Mike Gregoire, who has made a point of steering the company’s philanthropy to STEM education, particularly for women and girls.

“Without his leadership, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” Christensen

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said. “And our board is so excited about our partnerships and programs in this area. I may lead this area, but I don’t do it alone.”

Headquartered in midtown Manhattan, the company has emerged as a leader in advancing STEM education. It funds programs through DonorsChoose.org, in which teachers request funding for iPads for notetaking, smartboards for teaching or computers that will help with a volcano experiment. It manages a number of education-related partnerships.

It encourages employee volunteerism.

And it hosts a five-day event each year in Las Vegas featuring technology experts.

“It’s incredible to work with all these organizations and amazing to be able to do something to help make a difference in young people’s lives,” Christensen said. “It’s the right thing to do, but it also helps us in the long run. It’s investing in the future.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

1900 AT TO RNE YS | 38 LO CATI O NS WO RL DW I DE˚

NY Co-Chairs Edward C. Wallace Warren J. Karp NY Co-Managing Shareholders Nancy Mitchell Stephen L. Rabinowitz

Corporate & Securities Alan I. Annex Nancy Mitchell

Entertainment & Media Barbara C. Meili Paul D. Schindler Environmental Steven C. Russo Government Law & Policy John L. Mascialino Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Scott J. Bornstein Alan N. Sutin Labor & Employment Jonathan L. Sulds Jerrold F. Goldberg Litigation Richard A. Edlin Alan Mansfield Real Estate Robert J. Ivanhoe Stephen L. Rabinowitz Kristen J. Lonergan Kenneth M. Sklar Real Estate Operations Daniel J. Ansell Tax, Trusts and Estates Barbara T. Kaplan Linda B. Hirschson

We join in recognizing the 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility honorees for their outstanding work in New York’s Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Sectors.

CONGR ATU L ATI O NS! Anthony Bergamo

Eleni Gianopulos

Joseph Plumeri

Valerie Biberaj

Nazerine Griffin

Gwen Robinson

Meredith Rose Burak

Google

Change Capital Fund

JRM Construction

Erica Christensen

Debbie Kenyon

Rob Davis

Lori Klinger

Lorie Slutsky

Delta Air Lines

Gary Krupp

Eric Weingartner &

Laurie Dien

Suzette Brooks Masters

Michael Kirwan

Norbert Sander Jean Shafiroff

At Greenberg Traurig, we share your dedication to the citizens of New York City and commitment to give back to the communities we live and work. This dedication has earned us the No. 1 spot on Law360’s 2015 Most Charitable Firms list for providing millions of dollars to worthy organizations and programs that fund legal aid efforts, education programs, and services for the disadvantaged.

GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP | METLIFE BUILDING | 200 PARK AVENUE | NEW YORK, NY 10166 | 212.801.9200 | GTLAW.COM Greenberg Traurig is a service mark and trade name of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, P.A. ©2016 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Attorneys at Law. All rights reserved. Contact: Ed Wallace, John Mascialino in New York at 212.801.9200. °These numbers are subject to fluctuation.

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ROB DAVIS

Founder/Chairman Emeritus

Hedge Funds Care/Help For Children

Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Philanthropy Within the Investment Community Before entering the financial services industry, Rob Davis worked as a teacher in an elementary school where some of his students, he learned, had been victims of abuse. Davis, who as a child had been subjected to abuse himself, ultimately got involved in their cases to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to justice. One reason that child abuse persists, Davis came to realize, is that many people treat it as a family matter. Parents of victimized children rarely advocate for prevention and treatment in the same manner that the parents of children with a particular disability or illness often do. As a consequence, the issue doesn’t garner enough public attention, let alone funding.

Many years later, while raising a family of his own, Davis decided to become a better role model for his children. “I wasn’t doing anything but writing a check here or there,” he recalled.

Davis, a managing director at McAlinden Research Partners, realized that the best way for him to help others was to open his Rolodex of clients, colleagues and friends within the financial

services industry. He decided to organize a fundraiser. The event, which was held in February 1999, attracted more than 400 people and raised $450,000 for abused children.

Even better, many in attendance seemed just as thrilled by the success as Davis himself was. “When are we going to do this next year?” they asked.

The charity born out of that event, Hedge Funds Care/Help For Children (HFC), has grown into an international organization with affiliates in Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, and a handful of American cities. Each HFC chapter has established a relationship with the leading school of social work in its city or region to assist in selecting worthwhile grantees. In New York, grants have been awarded to the New York Center for Children, where police bring children who have been sexually abused for forensic interviews with social workers and psychologists. Another local organization, the Child Abuse Prevention Program, sends puppeteers to elementary schools, where they use storytelling to teach third graders which kinds

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of contact are acceptable and which should be reported. HFC has also sponsored therapy for some 8,000 children, filling a gap left by government programs that cap the amount of treatment they can provide.

“When kids have been actually hurt and can’t get therapy,” Davis said, “that kills you.”

HFC has also supported preventative programs that provide training to thousands of attorneys, teachers, parents and children. Between its chapters and affiliates, the foundation has granted over $44 million to organizations committed to protecting vulnerable children, funds mostly raised through parties, dinners and networking for members of financial services industry.

“HFC has worked because the industry comes together for events that combine business networking with the great cause of saving children from the trauma of abuse,” Davis said.

“I’m a believer that participation should absolutely have a positive impact on people’s personal as well as professional lives.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

THE J.M. KAPLAN FUND is proud to sponsor CITY & STATE REPORTS and congratulate

SUZETTE BROOKS MASTERS

on receiving the

PIONEER AWARD for Outstanding Achievement in Immigrant Integration

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

GAIL GRIMMETT Senior Vice President Delta Air Lines

Special Award for Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Philanthropy & Community Service

You don’t have to leave the ground to experience Delta’s outstanding service. The airline may offer flights to hundreds of destinations worldwide, but the comfort Delta brings to people’s lives through its dedicated community outreach can be felt without even leaving New York. That steadfast commitment, realized through its support of 42 local nonprofits, falls into three “buckets”: financial contributions, free travel and volunteerism carried out by airline employees, many of whom hail from the same communities that they help.

“Organizations that can leverage all three of our buckets are the ones with whom we form the best relationships, and we want stick with these organizations for many years,” said Gail Grimmett, Delta’s senior vice president in New York.

On the strength of its employee engagement the airline has forged lasting partnerships with dozens of local organizations. “It’s easy to throw money at something,” Grimmett said,

“but to truly touch an organization is something else. Our employees often go back to these places in their own free time to continue to help.”

For a project to really take off requires a concerted team effort. One place that effort is on full display is the Food Bank for New York City, a soup kitchen and food pantry that Delta supports through in-kind donations as well as a coordinated volunteer campaign. With an assist from Delta employees, who pay regular visits to help run the Community Kitchen, the agency distributes more than 50,000 meals every month.

“One month the pilots do it,” Grimmett explained. “Another month it’s sales, the next month cargo. The important thing is that the impact of our contribution is visible, because hunger lives here in New York – whether we see it or not.”

Covenant House, a privately funded agency that works with homeless and runaway youth, and Habitat for Humanity, which Delta has helped

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to construct new homes throughout Queens and the Bronx, are two other organizations that the airline and its dedicated staff have bolstered with ongoing outreach efforts. “The beautiful thing is that every Delta employee has a passion for something,” Grimmett said. “Employee engagement is very important for us. We try to provide people with opportunities to act on their passions while giving back to the city.”

Delta has built its community engagement program, which includes millions of dollars in philanthropic donations, upon six central pillars: advancing education, expanding global health and wellness, promoting arts and culture, saluting armed service members and veterans, supporting global diversity and sustaining the environment.

“Everything we do locally fits within the vision of what we’re trying to achieve globally as a company,” Grimmett remarked.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

LAURIE DIEN

Vice President, Programs The Pinkerton Foundation

Distinguished Service in Promoting Life Skills & Self-Reliance for New York’s Disadvantaged Youth

The Pinkerton Foundation looked much different when Laurie Dien was hired nearly 20 years ago.

Dien came on board as one of two program officers, working with a $4 million budget to help fund afterschool programs and other community-based programs for youth and families across New York City.

Now, the foundation provides $35 million to around 300 grantees each year, with Dien at the helm as vice president for programs, reviewing grant applications, visiting with potential grantees and keeping the foundation’s board updated on successes. But its site visits that still excite Dien most.

“Seeing is believing, and I’ve learned so much,” Dien says. “I like to consider myself an eternal student, and site visits are when I learn.”

Among the myriad causes the foundation helps fund are programs that

focus on providing career exploration and internship opportunities for youth who might lack the connections that come with privilege.

“A lot of families in low-income areas don’t have that kind of access or network,” Dien says. “Having internship placements where you have a mentor who helps you think what you might do in life helps (students) make a connection between why they go to school and what their trajectory would be.”

For high-achieving, low-income students showing interest in science, Dien helped start the Science Research Mentoring Consortium. The program offers mentoring and hands-on training to students at 18 sites across the city.

And then there’s The After School Corporation, where the foundation is working on a project to get students high school credit for apprenticeships.

Students might learn how to teach art,

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and then apply those skills working at a summer camp, for example.

“We’re really trying to hit it at all ends,” Dien says.

Each program ties back to the foundation’s goal of helping disadvantaged youth in New York reach their full penitential. In making decisions about which programs to grant funding, Dien says her most important job is to listen.

“We’re very respectful to our grantees and we listen to them and what their needs are. That’s how you find out what the real opportunities are,” Dien says. “It’s not our direction, it’s their direction.”

A native of St. Louis, Dien earned a B.A. from Barnard and a PhD in environmental psychology from the CUNY Graduate School. Before joining Pinkerton, Dien worked for the Hasbro Children’s Foundation.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Congratulations to the 15 Change Capital Fund donors for investing in the nonprofits that are increasing economic mobility in NYC Neighborhoods!

Altman Foundation, Capital One, Citi Foundation, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, F.B. Heron Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, M & T Charitable Foundation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Bank, The New York Community Trust, New York Foundation, Scherman Foundation, United Way Of New York City, New York City Center For Economic Opportunity (Ex Officio)

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

TANUJA GUPTA

Google for Nonprofits Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Corporate Citizenship

Companies want to succeed. That’s a given. Some of them want to make a difference in the world. That’s not always a given. But giving away products for free? That’s an expansive take on philanthropy – and Google has embraced it.

Google for Nonprofits makes Google products available free worldwide to non-governmental organizations, also known as NGOs, which are typically nonprofit groups created by individuals.

“As long as you are a registered charity and meet our policy criteria, you are eligible to receive the tools for free,” said Tanuja Gupta, who manages the program.

Her proudest moment: when Google helped the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children use YouTube to successfully find children. “You see

technology as a service for good when it’s used well,” she said.

Besides YouTube, the tools Google for Nonprofits offers include Google for Work, which offers email, document and file storage, video conferencing, and Internet needs. NGOs may use the Google platform with their own domain, which means that the world doesn’t know the Google platform is running the show.

“These organizations often have little to no money to spend on great technology to executive their services,” Gupta said.

A screwdriver is useless if you don’t know how to use it, so Google does more than simply provide the tools.

It gives the NGOs the training they need and has worked with hundreds of NGOs in the New York area to train

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staff. “We like to think we distinguish ourselves with the training,” Gupta said.

Typical for Google, the hundreds of thousands of NGOs it has helped in 50 countries around the world are nowhere near enough. The program is seeking to help millions of NGOs make a difference. Getting the word out is the challenge. That’s part of Gupta’s job, and she has the global power of Google to fuel her efforts.

For her, the work is about being as useful as possible with the tools the company can offer.

“We’re not the ones solving homelessness, we’re not the ones feeding people at night,” Gupta said. “If we can be a small sliver of their success, we’re happy to be invited.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ELENI GIANOPULOS Baker-in-Chief Eleni's New York

Special Entrepreneur’s Award for Outstanding Philanthropic Achievement

Eleni Gianopulos knows the power of a cookie. Since founding Eleni’s New York in 1997, the company’s “baker-inchief” has used her product to help the community.

A Northern California native, Gianopulos has lived in New York City for 25 years, working first at Time Inc. and Life magazine before turning her baking passion into a full-time career.

Armed with a foolproof oatmeal-raisin cookie recipe from her mother, Gianopulos first opened Eleni’s New York at Chelsea Market. The business has since grown to include a portfolio of custom cookies created for Fortune 500 companies, a booming online business and Eleni’s cookies stocked at retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods and Crate & Barrel.

Inspired by her family’s longstanding passion for giving back, Gianopulos has been donating cookies or profits from sales since the beginning.

“I’m thrilled to have a company that can contribute,” Gianopulos says. “It

may be in a small way, but it’s a happy way.”

Over the years, Eleni’s New York has donated to causes near to Gianopulos’ heart, including multiple sclerosis charities in honor of her aunt, and breast cancer charities in honor of a longtime employee who battled the disease.

There was the time her team churned out 800 gilded, bug-shaped cookies for an event at the Museum of Modern Art, and, recently, the chance to partner with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a nonprofit that raises money for pediatric cancer research through events like bake sales nationwide.

Each time a batch is being made specifically for a charity, Gianopulos makes a point of letting her employees know exactly what they’re working on.

“They love it, and many of them volunteer to work the events we’re baking for,” she says. “They like knowing that our company is part of the community.”

Gianopulos has lost count of how

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many cookies her crew has been able to donate over the years – thousands, at least – but some donations still stand out years later.

Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as firefighters were still streaming through Chelsea Market, a corporation called to cancel their order.

Dozens of bright yellow smiley face cookies with no destination. Gianopulos made sure the cookies made it to the hands of the Red Cross.

“Cookies are a way to make people feel good,” Gianopulos says. “And it makes you feel good to give back.”

In addition to her company’s work, Gianopulos has become personally involved with several New York causes, including serving on the board of the City Parks Foundation.

Gianopulos currently lives on the Upper East Side with her husband, Randall, and two children.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

NAZERINE GRIFFIN Program Director The Doe Fund

Excellence in Serving as a Role Model & Mentor to Disadvantaged New Yorkers

Before he entered a transitional work program for the homeless, Nazerine Griffin’s life was in a downward spiral.

After years of substance abuse, he was neglecting to care for himself in the most basic ways. Just going outside during the day to complete training exercises was a source of unease.

“I wanted to be invisible,” Griffin recalled. “I didn't want people to see me.”

From sweeping streets, Griffin rose through the Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able program and was eventually offered an entry-level position with the organization. He would go on to serve as program director at the same 70-bed facility that first took him in as a client. Now a project manager at a 400-bed shelter in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Griffin oversees one of the largest transitional paid work programs in the country.

Because of the daily hardship they face, the homeless are particularly perceptive of their surroundings.

According to Griffin, many pass through the shelter system with their guard up, and they can sense when the staff is merely going through the motions, disingenuous in its will to help.

That is one reason he shows up to work early: his clients take note.

“They are very observant,” Griffin said. “They are watching, and they notice if you just show up from nine to five, and seem to not really care.”

Just remembering a person’s name, especially someone accustomed to condescension, can make a real difference. Regardless of the state in which they arrive, Griffin makes sure his clients are treated as people who have the potential to make positive contributions to society.

“Listening is the key,” Griffin said.

“Give them time, hear them out, and they are often able to find the answers within themselves.”

What Griffin offers his clients is a self-help model: a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” The greatest

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challenge in that model, he explained, comes at the moment a client is ready to transition to outside employment.

Despite the progress they have made, some may lack interviewing skills, or encounter ageism, or face a housing market with few affordable options.

“The wall is just a little high sometimes,” Griffin said, “so you have to continue to encourage them, and inspire them to save a little money, work a little harder, find that extra job.”

Due to the harsh realities they face, many clients are accustomed to living for the moment, or instant gratification. For those, Griffin serves not only as a mentor, but proof that a thousand little steps can add up to a new path – a new life.

And each life that he helps represents another step in the ongoing process that is, in Griffin’s eyes, his own recovery. “I feel bad sometimes because I don’t think people really understand,” he said. “I’m getting more out of helping them than they know.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

A Very Special Congratulations to our client, Delta’s

Kasirer LLC

Gail Grimmett, Senior Vice President & Patricia Ornst, Director of New York State & Local Government Affairs

Suri Kasirer Julie Greenberg Omar Alvarellos Cynthia Dames Ashley Dennis Jason Goldman Peter Krokondelas Pakhi Sengupta Michael Krevet Samantha Jones Chelsea Goldinger Marelle Goodlander Tyesa Galloway Tracy Fletcher

and the entire Delta Force for Global Good Team for giving back to the communities where Delta’s employees live and work. As part of Delta’s Force for Global Good, Delta Air Lines, the Delta Air Lines Foundation and their employees contribute time, energy and millions of dollars to a host of philanthropic causes across New York City and everywhere Delta serves throughout the world.

Their efforts serve as a role model for corporate citizens around the world. We are proud to count them among our clients.

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321 Broadway, 2nd Floor New York, New York 10007 T: 212 285 1800 F: 212 285 1818 W: Kasirer.nyc

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

JOSEPH ROMANO & DAVE MCWILLIAMS

JRM Construction Management Special Jury Award for Outstanding Philanthropic Leadership in the Construction Industry

Since 2003, JRM Construction Management has contributed almost half a million dollars to many charitable efforts throughout the city. The Boy Scouts of America, Saint Francis Food Pantries, Professional Women in Construction, the Mary McDowell Friends School – there were so many, in fact, that in 2015 the company decided it needed a more coherent approach.

“We wanted to be a little bit more formal about our philanthropy,” said Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Dave McWilliams. “And we wanted to get our employees involved.”

First, though, the company took a few other steps regarding giving.

As part of its new Corporate Social Responsibility Program, it created a matching gift program for employees. It started a mentoring program

complete with internships. And it is creating an initiative for employees to use their construction skills to benefit a nonprofit, the recipient of which will be announced later this year.

JRM, which recently was named one of New York City’s fastest-growing companies by Crain’s New York Business, hired Capalino+Company to poll its employees on their philanthropic preferences. Health, education and housing emerged as the top three categories.

Using a formal, competitive process, the company announced that, along with its regular giving, it would award three grants to a nonprofit from each category.

At the company’s annual holiday gathering at One World Trade Center, on the Observatory that JRM constructed, the company’s three founders announced the nonprofits that would

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be receiving grants of $20,000 each.

In the health category, City Surfers, an after-school program of Concrete Safaris of East Harlem, won the grant.

City Surfers includes gardening, cycling, fitness, obstacle race design, camping and field trips for 50 low-income elementary school children in East Harlem.

For education, the company gave a grant to CAMBA, a Brooklyn-based agency known for its after-school and summer programs for young people.

And for housing, Green City Force, which trains young people to achieve New York City’s goals for climate action, was given a grant.

“We can’t stop what we’ve been doing, so we are adding to what we’ve already done,” McWilliams said.

“We’re doing OK, so there’s no reason we shouldn’t return it back to the community.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

We salute City & State for recognizing Corporate Social Responsibility in Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy

Congratulations to all the honorees

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

DEBBIE KENYON

Vice Chair & Senior Partner L+M Development Partners Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Support of Workforce Development, Education & Healthy Quality of Life

Fro m t h e o f f i c e s o f L + M Development Partners Inc. on Park Avenue in Manhattan, where it’s just about impossible to find a parking spot, Debbie Kenyon drove to the Melrose section of the Bronx one day some years ago to view property in which L+M had just invested.

She found a parking spot there. In fact, she found dozens of them. In that section of the Bronx, cars were an endangered species.

Not anymore. After L+M worked its usual magic, collaborating with community groups and others to develop mixed-rate condominiums, other projects sprung up. Now, the area is bustling with residents, construction workers and – no surprise – cars.

For about 30 years, after its two principals had their first business meeting on a city park bench, L+M has pursued a mission of making affordable housing profitable, and in the process put people in the community to work.

“As part of our greater mission, what

we seek to do is build communities and support the people in the housing we’ve built,” Kenyon said. “We’ve learned it is not enough to provide a roof and four walls.”

L+M helped to form an organization, Building Skills NY, which provides job training and job placement services to unemployed and underemployed workers in the construction industry.

In 2015, about 40 individuals in the Building Skills initiative began work on sites throughout the city. “We’ve told our construction teams that we want a commitment from every single job to hire and train unemployed and underemployed New Yorkers,” Kenyon said.

The company also collaborates with Green City Force, an AmeriCorps program for low-income young people; L+M hired 21 Green City graduates in late 2014, primarily for jobs in property management. The company also collaborates with the Osborne Association, which educates and provides job training for people who were incarcerated,

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one of the many nonprofit and community partners putting people to work.

A purchase of 625 units at the Ma rc us Ga r vey A pa rt men t s in Brownsville is a case in point. Vacant lots had gone to seed around the apartment complex. L+M and the local community justice center created an educational and training program for young people. Then the company formed a partnership with the urban farm initiative Project Eats to create a half-acre farm on one of the lots.

Now, there’s a farmers’ market there every Saturday, plus after-school programs and nutrition education. Never done, they created a free after-school program in the community room of Marcus Garvey Village. And they’re still thinking.

“A lot of times, in workforce programs, success depends on ‘did you put somebody in a job?’” Kenyon said. “At L+M, we say, ‘Did you put somebody in a job where there’s a career path?’ We want people to succeed.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

SOMETIMES, OUR HIGHEST HEIGHTS HAPPEN

LONG BEFORE TAKEOFF. Proud to support City & State and congratulate all the Corporate Foundation & Family Philanthropy Honorees.

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

LORI KLINGER

Artistic and Executive Director Rosie’s Theater Kids

Outstanding Achievement in Arts Education & the Creative Development of Children

Years ago, when dancer Lori Klinger and her friend, actress Rosie O’Donnell, first started Rosie’s Theater Kids in Manhattan, students were encouraged early on to introduce themselves, shake hands and engage in small talk with adults they met. As children will, they bucked the instructions.

“Why does it matter?” they asked.

Klinger hesitated only a moment, then said, “Because someday, we are going to have dinner at the White House, and we will have to learn these things.”

The students studied her expression, saw that she believed what she was saying, and said “OK.” That thought – that a small theater initiative could educate and mentor promising young actors from fifth grade through high school, to the point where the White House might take notice – was not so far-fetched. On a Tuesday in mid-November this past year, 12 students from Rosie’s Theater

Kids walked into the East Room of the White House. There, they performed for first lady Michelle Obama and 200 guests. “Arts education is not a luxury, it is a necessity,” Mrs. Obama told the audience. “It’s really the air many of these kids breathe.” Rosie’s Theater Kids then walked off with a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program award, recognizing the country’s best youth development programs.

Klinger and her team teach a 15-week program to every fifth grader in selected schools in New York City, then identify students who are what Klinger calls “ignited.” Those students are invited to an audition at the Maravel Arts Center on West 45th Street, and if the student is deemed a good fit, they are invited to the Act II program for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Ballet, tap, theater, dance, vocals, drama and close mentoring – it’s all part of the package.

“If our kids are academic, they go to

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great academic high schools,” Klinger said. “But if they are not so inclined academically, the safest place is an arts school, which has a 95 percent graduation rate.”

There have been so many successes, including Daniel, who came from a single-parent household in the Bronx and who has two younger brothers. Daniel was accepted to a performing arts high school, and from there, won a scholarship to the University of Michigan, one of the nation’s most competitive programs. He graduates in May. Born into a family of dancers in Akron, Ohio, Klinger has served on the faculty of numerous New York City dance studios, and continues to serve as an advisor for the outreach program for Ballet Excel Ohio’s “Reach Out and Dance,” which she founded. But the work of her life resides in Rosie’s Theater Kids, where, she said, “it’s not even like work. I just feel so blessed. It’s like winning the lottery every day.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ROBERT KOVACH

President and Chief Executive Officer Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York

Outstanding Achievement in Interfaith Philanthropy

When Robert Kovach considers philanthropy or giving, he sees three Jewish concepts melded into one.

There’s tzedaka, or righteousness; gemilut chasadim, the giving of a loving-kindness; and tikkun olam, or repairing the world.

“Giving is an important obligation in Judaism, and we teach it to our children from a young age,” he says.

Through his role as president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York – the Albany-based chapter of a national nonprofit focused on building a strong Jewish community – Kovach touches on all three.

In the Albany community, the federation acts as a resource to Jewish educators and distributes Jewishthemed children’s books to young families through their PJ Library program.

Organization employees and volunteers visit seniors in nursing homes and assisted living and help those looking to

travel to Israel.

Main funding recipients from the Northeastern New York chapter include the Albany and Schenectady Jewish Community Centers, Daughters of Sarah Senior Community, Jewish day schools, Jewish Family Services, scholarships and more.

But while the local Jewish community remains the group’s main focus, Kovach also emphasizes the importance of interfaith giving.

“The great rabbinic teacher Hillel asked, ‘If I am only for myself, what am I?’” Kovach says. “We do not live alone in this world. It is important for others to know that they can look to the Jewish community in their times of need, as we hope that we can turn to others if we need to.”

In addition to their work with Jewish day schools, the Federation provides books and reading coaches to help with literacy programs at the local public schools, and Kovach notes that each

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of the community centers and Jewish Family Services they fund serve a largely secular population.

Kovach also emphasizes the giving triumvirate at home, where charity isn’t considered a choice, but an obligation.

Each year, Kovach sits with his five children individually to talk about the causes they’d like to support, whether it’s the summer camp or school they attend, or cancer research in honor of their aunt or grandfathers – all cancer survivors.

An Albany native, Kovach worked as a local CPA before joining the federation as chief financial officer in 2000.

He assumed the role of president and CEO in 2013. Kovach graduated with a BS in accounting from Lehigh University and an MBA from Seton Hall University.

Kovach resides in Albany with his wife, Ilana, and their children.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

GARY KRUPP

Founder/President

Pave the Way Foundation

Distinguished Service in Promoting Interfaith Relations, Tolerance & Peace Through Education & Philanthropy

Few dangers elicit greater fear, and have caused more profound suffering, than religious extremism and intolerance. Throughout history, extreme agendas of hate have hijacked religious faith, a far-reaching peril that shows few signs of abating.

“People use excuses to hate each other, and some use the love of God or the love of religion for their own agenda,” explained Gary Krupp, founder of Pave the Way Foundation, an organization whose mission is to promote greater tolerance and understanding between religions through cultural, technological and intellectual gestures. “You take people who are devout in a religion, and then push that devotion towards hatred and killing and violence.”

Before founding Pave the Way Foundation in 2001, Krupp worked as a consultant on various business ventures. He formed a general partnership that brought the first diagnosis imaging center to Long Island’s South Shore; to meet the needs of an underserved community, Krupp also

built and operated the Catskill Dialysis Center until 1997. It was a charitable gesture, however, that turned out to be truly “providential.” Asked to intercede on behalf of La Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, a struggling hospital in rural Italy that lacked modern imaging technology for mothers, newborns and at-risk populations, Krupp offered his pro bono consulting services and helped the center secure critical medical equipment – an intervention that eventually came to the attention of the Vatican. In 2000, Pope John Paul II made Krupp the seventh Jewish papal knight in history. Krupp was later invested as an Officer Brother in the Order of St. John, an honor received by consent of Queen Elizabeth.

Becoming a member of the papal household afforded Krupp a transformative opportunity to promote the reconciled messages of diverse faiths and collective rejection of religious extremism through major gestures of goodwill. “It’s not that I’m great,” Krupp said, “I’m just trusted in different sectors, and I try to use that trust

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to remove non-theological obstacles to problems.”

Among many notable successes, Pave the Way Foundation has intervened to lift travel restrictions to Palestinian territories. The foundation has also brought to the public’s attention 50 previously obscure covenants issued by the Prophet Mohammed, which called on Muslims to protect Christians and Jews, as well as their holy shrines and houses of worship.

Pave the Way Foundation received widespread attention for an investigation, based on 76,000 pages of historical documents, which demonstrated, according to Krupp, that Pope Pius XII was responsible for saving close to a million Jewish lives during the Holocaust. That research opened an interfaith dialogue that led Jerusalem’s Holocaust Museum to change its official position on the role of the Vatican during that genocide.

“We’ve opened cultural doorways that have never been opened before,” Krupp said.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Congratulations to the winners of

City & State’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards in Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy from the Board of Directors & Staff of The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce 335 Adams Street, Suite 2700 | Brooklyn, NY 11201 | 718.875.1000

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

JOE PLUMERI

Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors First Data Corporation

Special Jury Award for Outstanding Contributions to Social Justice, Education in the Law, Children’s Health & Veterans Services

Ask Joe Plumeri what advice he has for philanthropists and he’ll say: “Don’t be like me.”

But plenty of charitable and educational institutions are grateful that Plumeri isn’t taking his own advice. He describes himself as an emotional – he cries easily and he makes decisions from the heart. It’s a process that has led him to contribute significantly to charities ranging from veterans’ programs and medical institutions to building a gym for a small school in Palm Beach, Florida.

Plumeri is grateful for what he has and it’s his responsibility, he says, to pass opportunity on to others. “(This) country gives you the opportunity, not a handout, and you take advantage of that opportunity and you pass it on to other people so that the country and environment can be better off,” Plumeri says. “So if I’m in a position because of my hard work and effort, then it’s my responsibility to make sure every else has a fair shot.”

Most recently, Plumeri followed that calling by giving $5 million to the

New York Law School through the Joe Plumeri Foundation for the establishment of The Joe Plumeri Center for Social Justice and Economic Opportunity. The Plumeri Center will house the school’s law firm, which offers students hands-on training while giving New Yorkers access to legal services they might otherwise not be able to afford.

In addition to his work with New York Law School, Plumeri has dedicated resources to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

Following the death of his son, Christian, in 2008 due to substance abuse, Plumeri became involved with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, where he now sits on the board. Plumeri is donating personal sale proceeds of his 2015 book, “The Power of Being Yourself: A Game Plan for Success by Putting Passion into Your Life and Work,” to both CASA and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

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Plumeri currently serves as vice chairman of the board of directors at First Data, an Atlanta-based technology solutions company, where he has worked since 2013.

Before joining First Data, Plumeri served as chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings plc, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers. While there, he led the company through a transition to public ownership, headed the $2.1 billion acquisition of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs and helped drive the renaming of Chicago’s Sears Tower to Willis Tower.

Prior to his work with Willis, Plumeri spent 32 years with Citigroup, including as CEO of Citibank North America, chairman and CEO of Travelers Primerica Financial Services, vice chairman of the Travelers Group and president and managing partner of Sheraton Lehman Brothers.

A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Plumeri currently resides in New York City with his wife, Susan.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

GWEN ROBINSON

Managing Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Santander Bank

Vanguard Award for Innovation in Community-Based Philanthropy

Banks have the power to swing a big bat in community development, and Santander Bank has emerged as a heavy hitter.

Under the leadership of Gwen Robinson, managing director of corporate social responsibility, Santander has increased its level of active grantmaking and is focusing on specific areas to make even more of an impact.

A Harvard graduate with a master’s degree in economics whose Ohio family is committed to public service, Robinson arrived at Santander almost two years ago. She started her career in the nonprofit sector before moving on to finance, and then switched to public-sector work in the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

With a nose for numbers, a commitment to community and a wealth of experience, Robinson uses her expertise for community development.

“We want to be actively engaged with

community development organizations, making grants and getting our people involved,” she said. Santander is working with Pay for Success, an innovative program in which private investors pay for preventative social services. If those services are successful, governments reimburse the investors with a return on the investment. In Massachusetts, the initiative has created a homelessness prevention program that unites homeless service providers, the private sector and the state to provide supportive housing that includes mental health services.

Santander has also reconnected with a number of major community development groups in the city, including Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, which specializes in helping low-income individuals. Santander is sponsoring a partnership with Santander at Work that offers basic financial coaching to low-income employees at certain

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institutions.

“The idea is to help people make good financial decisions and see what kind of impact it’s having,” Robinson said.

Santander, believing in the vital role small businesses play in local neighborhoods, also has supported Interise, an organization that stimulates the economy in low-income communities.

Santander sponsored a pilot program in Brooklyn that offered small businesses a 10-week “mini M.B.A.” class.

“Financial education is a big focus for us,” Robinson said.

There’s far more going on, and even more on the horizon. “For me, this position is a great opportunity,” Robinson said. “We really are building a team and a program with a focus on what we are doing to help families build credit and build community.”

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Take time to recognize the good around you.

We are proud to support City & State NY in its efforts to keep good going. Our warmest congratulations to honoree Marlyn Torres.

Š 2016 New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010

Life Insurance. Retirement. Investments.

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

MEREDITH ROSE BURAK President and Founder Mary Haas Foundation

Excellence in Entrepreneurial Philanthropy on Behalf of Cancer Awareness & Victims of the Holocaust

Faced with her mother’s cancer diagnosis, Meredith Rose Burak channeled her grief in the best way she knew how: action.

Using her natural talent for organizing, fundraising and advocacy work, Burak helped co-found the Mary Haas Ovarian Cancer Early Detection Foundation in 2009.

“To see someone who was my mentor, my role model and this powerhouse woman who had endured so much in life be beat by this disease that disintegrates your body is something you don’t wish on anyone,” Burak says.

With ovarian cancer known as a “silent killer” for producing symptoms that mimic other diseases, Burak followed her mother’s wish when deciding the focus of the foundation: early detection research funding and furthering awareness of risk factors.

“Her point was that if people were just made aware, we could save lives,” Burak says.

The foundation quickly gained sponsorships from Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and American Century Investments along with more than 50 of the top fund companies worldwide. The foundation has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to research and education initiatives over the past seven years, and is now part of the network of organizations working with Vice President Joe Biden’s team on the Obama administration’s “moon shot” initiative to cure cancer.

In addition to the foundation, Burak works with the Survivor Initiative, working to raise awareness and funds for poverty-stricken Holocaust survivors as chair of public-private partnerships.

Through the Initiative, Burak led a push

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to find $1.5 million in the city budget to be used by 15 nonprofits to aid Holocaust survivors across New York.

Burak most recently worked as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, where she brought finance and philanthropy together to enact change, working with nonprofit clients and raising more than $150 million in assets for the firm. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Burak served as director of communications for the New York City Council.

A graduate of the University of Vermont, Burak divides her time between New York, Vermont and Tel Aviv, where she is working as a member of the board of directors for Hillel International and brushing up on her Hebrew as she helps Hillel establish its first international headquarters in Israel.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Proudly salutes: The Armory Foundation Dr. Norbert Sander

New York Cosmos Erik Stover

Rosie’s Theater Kids Lori Klinger

For their dedication and commitment to philanthropy Cristyne Nicholas CEO 40 www.nicholaslence.com

George Lence President

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

NORBERT SANDER President

The Armory Foundation Outstanding Philanthropic Achievement on Behalf of Sports & Community Development

Norbert Sander remembers his awe at first seeing the Armory, a grand Neoclassical brick building in Washington Heights. He was 13 at the time.

“I walked in – it was an enormous place – and it was filled with smoke, because the coaches all smoked, and they wore overcoats and fedoras.”

He raced on its track when he was a student at Fordham Prep, then later as a scholarship runner at Fordham University.

The memory of that first sight never left him. He attended medical school, then set up practice at City Island in the Bronx, still running 10 miles each morning. He became so adept a runner that in 1974 he won the New York City marathon, the only New York City native – still to this day – to have finished first.

As Sander was reaching his heyday in running, the Armory was falling apart. After an injured runner came to see him and in passing asked, “Do you know anyone who can help us? The Armory has become a homeless shelter,” Sander decided to act.

He formed a group with a few movers and shakers, including the head of the New York Road Runners, the deputy mayor and a state government official. They started writing to newspapers and others with influence. And after years away, Sander made a visit to the Armory.

“It was overwhelming,” he said. “The stench was horrendous. Mayhem, murder, people sick, people mentally ill and talking to themselves, and out-and-out criminals preying on them.”

Sander refused to become discouraged. He dragged city officials to the Armory, moving a bed or two to reveal the track’s rim carved into the wood of the floor. After a class-action suit and energetic lobbying, Sander was given the key to the building.

“I said to myself, ‘Geez, what am I going to do now?’ Every window was broken, and there were rats running through it.”

The Armory began taking in income from track meets, started receiving money from private donors, figured out how capital grants worked, and “little by little, brick by brick,” Sander brought

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the Armory back.

Now it is one of the foremost indoor track and field facilities in the country.

More than 125,000 young people run there each year; it welcomes more than 400,000 visitors annually. The afterschool program there is among the largest in the city, and the Armory provides hands-on counseling for students, a writing institute, a middle-school academic program expressly for students from the Armory neighborhood and supper.

“They come for the track, they come for the academics, and some of them have to ride an hour and half out to Brooklyn,” he said. “Some kids are coming with damaged backgrounds. We stay with them.”

Sander has raised millions to save the Armory, which has been awarded National Historic Landmark status.

“People always say to me, ‘Did you ever dream it would get like this?’ and I say that I never thought it couldn’t be. We had a vision, and there are a thousand people who contributed to this success. All of them are important. They’re saints.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

“ Building on Experience, Building with Integrity ” Preconstruction | Construction Management | General Contracting | Construction Services | Design Build | Green Building www.jrmcm.com | 242 West 36th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10018 | 212.545.0500

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

JEAN SHAFIROFF

Philanthropist, Humanitarian and Author Outstanding Achievement in Individual Philanthropy on Behalf of Culture, Disadvantaged Children & Animals Jean Shafiroff has a tendency to redefine the word “vacation.” In January, she landed in Costa Rica with her daughter and a friend, thinking she might sit on the beaches, read a few books, breathe the salt air. A hungry, homeless dog crossed her path. At that moment, given her propensity to help the less fortunate, her leisurely vacation went out the rental-car window.

It was par for the course for Shaf iroff, a physical therapist-turned-philanthropist with an M.B.A. from Columbia and a hardcore determination to help others in need.

Passionate about causes that could fill columns on the New York Post’s Page 6, where she is often featured headlining a dizzying array of fundraising events for nonprofit organizations, she has been honored by a diverse range of groups that include the New York Women’s Foundation, Surgeons of Hope, the Youth Counseling League, the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, and Animal Zone International.

Shafiroff’s work as a philanthropist includes hosting fundraisers at her homes on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and in the Hamptons, but she does far, far more. The New York

City Mission Society honored her in 2014 with its Dina Merrill Hartley Public Service Award for her work on behalf of underserved individuals and groups. She sells tables to fundraising events, gets the word out, helps set up and welcomes guests.

This past Thanksgiving, she held a holiday party in her Manhattan apartment for the New York City Mission Society to benefit its toy drive.

She then underwrote the Society’s 12th Annual Thanksgiving Harvest Community Dinner and helped serve the meal to hundreds of hungry people in need that evening.

She is not only hands on, but persevering. She is a longtime supporter of the American Heart Association, for which she staunchly hosted an already planned cocktail fundraiser at her home in January, a few days after her 94-year-old father had passed away from a massive heart attack.

And she is vigilant, too, in particular about a nonprofit’s bookkeeping, hardlearned from her days at Columbia and a stint working at Paine Webber.

“The business background helped me learn the importance of accuracy, teamwork and inclusion,” she said.

Perhaps most important to her

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success, she brings her skills at connecting people to every nonprofit with which she is involved.

“That’s the secret, really, because it’s impossible to do it all yourself,” she said. “I very much believe that the private sector, along with charities and government, can achieve much more doing things together.”

She also promotes the idea of philanthropy to the younger generation, including her daughter Elizabeth, a photographer and animal rights activist who accompanied her on the Costa Rica trip that became a dog-rescue operation.

“I’m not a billionaire, I do what I can,” Shafiroff said. “If we rely only on the super-wealthy, we miss everyone in between. If you look around, there are people who have full-time jobs who take Saturday afternoons to volunteer as a big brother or a big sister, older people who get involved in the charity world, and far more. This is not about the biggest check writer.”

But cash – in any amount - does help.

“I give a lot of time, I believe in what I do, and I love it,” she said. “And of course, I write checks.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

New York Nonprofit Media will host Nonprofit FundCon, a day dedicated to fundraising and development for nonprofits across New York. Join us to discuss creating campaigns, raising money, and building long-lasting relationships with donors!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016 8:00am – 5:30pm CUNY Graduate Center Roundtable panel discussions to include: The basis of online fundraising Latest developments in philanthropy Building a database and using the data to better connect with your donors Creating and implementing a successful event while raising significant funds How to make the most of your monthly donor program’s operations Enhancing direct response campaigns How to turn-around your development program Importance of a fundraising mindset to all of your organizational communications Optimizing reply devices and online donation pages Please visit us at http://nynmedia.com/news/nyn-presents-fundcon for the event details and registration!

Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities are also available! Please contact Lissa Blake at 646 517 2741 or lblake@cityandstateny.com if you are interested. For general information about this event please email Alexis Arsenault at aarsenault@nynmedia.com for more information.

Want to check out our past events?

See videos from Nonprofit MarkCon 2015 and Nonprofit TechCon 2015

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

LORIE A. SLUTSKY President

The New York Community Trust Lifetime Achievement Award

Over the course of her distinguished career, Lorie Slutsky has touched countless lives, in all corners of the city, without ever leaving the place she began. Indeed, Slutsky started off as an intern at the New York Community Trust. Now its president, she has grown the organization’s assets from $830 million to $2.5 billion in her 25 years at the helm, while awarding $3.2 billion in grants during that span.

Under her steady leadership, the Trust has both adapted to changing times and delivered in moments of acute crisis. The organization, for instance, was a pioneer in funding AIDS services in the early 1980s, long before other foundations were comfortable in that arena. Alongside the United Way of New York City, the Trust announced its September 11th Fund the same day that terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center; by the end of the week, the Fund had already begun making emergency cash assistance grants.

Each new decade brings its own challenges and opportunities, and in recent years the Trust has provided critical support to the city’s burgeoning tech sector, helped thousands of

undocumented youth apply for temporary legal status, improved and expanded affordable housing for New Yorkers facing eviction and homelessness and set its sights on prisoners’ rights on Rikers Island as well as the growing heroin epidemic. On a lighter note, the Trust was an early funder of New York City’s beloved High Line.

It’s not just that her work reaches nearly every imaginable sphere, whether community development, the environment, public health, homelessness, education, the arts, criminal justice, job preparedness or caring for the elderly. What truly separates Slutsky from other philanthropists is her vision: her holistic approach to elaborating projects in which the whole exceeds the sum of their parts.

“We take the collective passions of our donors and seek the best nonprofit groups,” Slutsky explained. “For example, some people care about the arts, and others care about museums, and others about children’s education – so we combined those to support a group that gives free museum passes and workshops to low-income children and parents.”

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Given that so many of New York City’s problems are complex and entrenched, Slutsky is wary of simplistic solutions, and makes a point of never over-promising. At the same time, she has proved herself adept at undertaking mid-course corrections on projects that show promise, and giving her grants ample time to demonstrate results.

“It’s art, not science,” Slutsky said.

“We are five years into a campaign to reform New York’s juvenile justice system and we’re starting to see results.

We accept that the work is incremental, with victories and setbacks along the way.”

That patient dedication can manifest itself in other ways, too. There are groups that the Trust supports, for instance, which Slutsky provides with nurturing and guidance, or consultants to help their missions become more effective and sustainable. “That work, which we call ‘technical assistance,’ certainly isn’t the sexy part of philanthropy, but it’s crucial,” she said.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Congratulations, Nazerine! “Time is neutral.

It can be used destructively or constructively.�

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thank you, Naz, for transforming the time we spend each day into something good, something important and, most importantly, something constructive.

With love and gratitude, George, Harriet, and The Doe Fund family

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ERIK STOVER

Chief Operating Officer New York Cosmos

Outstanding Philanthropic Achievement on Behalf of Soccer & the New York Sports Community

Ask Erik Stover what makes a great soccer club, and he’ll tell you it goes far beyond the pitch.

To him, clubs are at their best when they’re representing the community where they’re based.

“The term we use in soccer is that it’s very tribal,” said Stover, chief operating officer of the New York Cosmos.

“The best clubs in the world are over 100 years old, came up from a neighborhood and came to represent the community very strongly. In order to connect with the community, you need to be involved and connect in any way you can, and it’s our goal to do that every day.”

Based in Hempstead, the Cosmos were originally founded in 1970 and were reformed in 2012, starting competitive play in the North American Soccer League in 2013.

The club had always represented its

New York roots, Stover said, and as COO he’s focused on keeping that tradition alive.

Through a partnership with Street Soccer USA, a nonprofit that uses soccer to help underserved communities, the Cosmos helped open a new public mini soccer field in Brooklyn and are fundraising for a field in Elmont.

When the club visited Cuba in 2015 – the first U.S. pro soccer team to make the trip in 16 years – Street Soccer USA joined, helping club members host a youth soccer clinic in Havana.

Stover also ensures that the club stays community-focused while at home, partnering with charities for every home match and raising funds for breast cancer research, veteran’s causes and more. Blood drives, animal adopta-thons and special charity clinics draw support from the Cosmos’ dedicated

47

fanbase, and Stover says players are always eager to volunteer their time.

When P.S. 120 in Queens lost funding for many of its physical education classes, Cosmos players stepped in to help out with soccer drills.

“I’ve been around teams in the NBA, NFL, and I’ve never seen a group of guys like this,” Stover said. “We want to have good guys who are eager to help the community … Our front office and players gain a closer bond, and it helps break down barriers with both with the community and ourselves.”

Stover, a sports industry veteran, joined the club as COO in 2012 following work as managing director of the New York Red Bulls and general manager of San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

P ave

the W ay F oundation Would like to congratulate the reciPients oF the 2016 c it y and s tate r ePorts ’ c orPorate , F oundation and F amily P hilanthroPy a Wards For their outstanding achievements .

Pave the Way Foundation is a nonsectarian organization whose mission is to end the malevolent use of Religion. By initiating positive gestures between the faiths and other organizations, we create foundations of trust from which we identify and work to eliminate non theological obstacles. Our historical successes have enabled us to improve cooperation, tolerance and understanding between the religions.

To learn more visit our website at www.pavethewayfoundation.org.

Please follow us on Twitter @garykrupp. Find Gary Krupp and Pave the Way Foundation on Face Book and You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/user/pavethewayfoundation

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

MARLYN TORRES

Corporate Vice President New York Life Foundation

Pioneer Award for Outstanding Contributions to K-12 Education

The name New York Life may refer to insurance, but the company also has fueled a resurgence of interest in the importance of the middle-school years – a resurgence that’s seen the New York Life Foundation award $23 million to middle-school programs.

Often, these professional efforts are personal. For Marlyn Torres, the corporate vice president for the New York Life Foundation, an incident in second grade fueled a life devoted to creating opportunity for others.

Torres, whose language of origin is Spanish, attended school in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She was still learning English – a notoriously difficult language to learn – in elementary school.

“I was sitting in a reading circle one day, and I was struggling with one of the words,” she remembered. “And I had a teacher who called me stupid. I was eight years old, I had hot tears running down my face, and at that moment I knew education was important.”

Through dogged perseverance, she excelled in school and majored in

political science at Fordham University.

“I wanted to change the world,” she said.

And in a thousand ways, big and small, she is.

Through her leadership, the New York Life Foundation has supported programs that target middle schoolers, a high-risk group for dropping out.

They announced a $2 million grant in 2015 to the National 4-H Council to fund its Juntos program, focused on Hispanic eighth and ninth graders who are struggling in school. (Research shows that the eighth and ninth grades are the high-risk points for dropping out for Hispanic youth.)

The Foundation also committed $2.55 million to City Year for an afterschool program for middle-school students and provided ExpandED Schools with a $400,000 grant to help the organization implement a program that expands the time and ways students learn. In addition, the Foundation gave a $400,000 grant to Classroom, Inc., a nonprofit organization that creates

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and implements digital curricula using the latest game technology to improve math and literacy skills.

“These grants align with our values,” Torres said. “Young people who get to ninth grade on time are more likely to graduate high school.”

The New York Life Foundation gives more than money – its employees give time. After-School All Stars is one example: in Philadelphia, Newark, Cleveland, Tampa, San Francisco and Seattle, employees help extend educational time for students.

“I call New York Life a mom-andpop Fortune 100 Company,” Torres said. “It really has a family feeling even though it is a corporate entity. We support organizations that expose young people to opportunities and activities they wouldn’t otherwise have – arts, dance, music, science. It isn’t just what goes on during the school day, but what enhances it and helps a young person learn what they are passionate about so they will want to continue to go to school.”

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

ERIC WEINGARTNER & MICHAEL KIRWAN

Managing Director & Program Officer The Robin Hood Foundation

Outstanding Achievement in Support of Comprehensive Urban & Community Development

For Eric Weingartner and Michael Kirwan, fighting poverty in New York means combating the problem on multiple fronts, from early childhood education and health care to housing options for veterans and legal support for poor immigrants.

A s p a r t o f t h e Ro b i n Ho o d Foundation, the largest poverty-fighting organization in New York City, Weingartner and Kirwan work on grant initiatives, with a portfolio more than 100 grants between them.

Kirwan serves as senior program officer for early childhood and youth, managing 20 grants that support programs such as Children’s Aid Society’s pre-kindergarten program, which serves more than 900 children yearly, and the ACS-NYU Children’s Trauma Institute, which provides mental health and trauma support for low-income mothers.

“Mike brings an analytical approach to grantmaking that is exemplary,” Weingartner says. “He understands the research across the field and has an

academic perspective that is a shining example to his peers at Robin Hood.”

Weingartner acts as managing director for survival, overseeing a $60 million grant portfolio allocated to more than 80 programs and agencies focused issues including hunger, housing, veterans issues, domestic violence and legal services.

The portfolio includes Robin Hood’s Veterans Fund, which connected more than 5,000 veterans with jobs over the past four years and established the first local mental health clinic for veterans and their families. He also directs the American Dream Fund, which provided $35 million in funding for immigrants living in poverty, including renewing grants to Make the Road New York, the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center and New York Legal Assistance Group. The Dream Fund also supported the launch of the Immigrant Justice Corps, which recruits lawyers to serve two-year terms providing free legal support to immigrants and their families.

“As a former city government employee, Eric is constantly striving to identify areas where Robin Hood can work in concert with city agencies to accomplish things that neither public nor private funds could do on their own, and his leadership on flagship Robin Hood accomplishments like our Veterans Initiative show just how vital he is to our organization,” Kirwan says.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Harvard Un i v e r s i t y Ke n n e d y S c h o o l o f Government, Weingartner previously served as a policy advisor for Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani. Weingartner is also a former vice president of FEGS and former executive director of Teach for America, New York.

An alum of both the University of Maryland and Williams College, Kirwan previously worked as a project manager at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, focusing on the center’s Frontiers of Innovation Initiative.

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CSR

CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

City & State Reports, Rockefeller College & Albany Law School Present a one-day Certificate Training Conference on:

Government ethics Featured speakers include:

Richard Ravitch, former Lieutenant Government of New York Eleanor Randolph, New York Times editorial writer Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., NYU Brennan Center for Justice & Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP Alphonso David, Counsel, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Professor Jeffrey Straussman, Rockefeller College Professor Raymond Brescia, Albany Law School Wednesday, April 20 8:30am – 4:30pm Albany Law School 80 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, New York $199, Government/Non-Profit $395, General Admission The one-day conference will provide executive training on the theory and practice of ethics in state government. Participants will receive a Special Certificate of Completion from Rockefeller College. Attorneys will receive 5 hours of CLE credit from Albany Law School.

Visit http://www.cityandstateny.com/csr/about-csr/ for more information For group rates and sponsorship opportunities, contact Hayley Kaplan at hkaplan@cityandstateny.com or 212-268-0442 x2022.

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CITY & STATE REPORTS - February 2016

Corporate, Foundation & Family Philanthropy Awards

Thanks for making a difference.

Congratulations to the Corporate Social Responsibility Awards recipients for corporate, foundation and family philanthropy.

Well done.