Laura Glesby Photo
Rebecca Patterson, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist and a Neighborhood Music School instructor, plays "Sicilenne" by Maria Theresia von Paradis at Wednesday's announcement.
Four local non-profits will stand on stronger financial footing as they steward New Haven’s history, culture, and mental health care, thanks to a record $35 million donation to the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven.
The late Jim English, who was born to a New Haven family with a history of philanthropy in 1932 and who died in February 2021, gave the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven the donation, its largest-ever gift. The donation will establish the James D. English Fund, a permanent endowment supporting other non-profits closely connected to the English family.
The endowment will support the New Haven Museum and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, which will each get 40 percent of the fund, along with Clifford Beers Community Care Center and Neighborhood Music School, which will each get 10 percent.
Representatives of the Community Foundation and the four non-profits gathered in Neighborhood Music School’s performance room on Wednesday morning to celebrate the gift.
Each organization is free to use the funding for any purpose, unlike many income streams for non-profits.
“When you get unencumbered funds, you’re able to use them more judiciously,” said Alice Forrester, the CEO of Clifford Beers, which provides mental health services for children and families. “It’s so critical to have that funding for the things not covered by grants.”
Forrester said she anticipates allocating some of the endowment toward Clifford Beers’ crisis fund, a pool of money for families undergoing traumatic experiences. Clifford Beers has recently contracted with the city to respond to instances of gun violence with a Community Healing Support Team, offering trauma-informed counseling and financial support for families who need, for example, to bury a child.
Neighborhood Music School's Noah Bloom.
Noah Bloom, Neighborhood Music School’s executive director, shared plans to use the money to create a new Institute for Creative Youth Development this fall — an afterschool program with leadership and social justice training, along with arts education, for local kids and teens.
Bloom said the funding will also allow the school to expand access to its music education programs. The school currently offers free tuition for 500 students.
“Music is the perfect platform for igniting the minds of youth,” Bloom said.
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra, meanwhile, plans to invest the funding in a new Cultural Advocacy Fellowship, which will be part of its Harmony Fellowships program supporting people with underrepresented identities in pursuing classical music careers.
Finally, the New Haven Museum is considering a number of initiatives to fund with the new endowment, all pertaining to outreach and accessibility. The Museum might build out its digital collections, eliminate or reduce event fees, and fund transportation for schoolkids.
Margaret Anne Tockarshewsky, the executive director of the museum, recalled Jim English’s work as a volunteer in the museum’s Whitney Library, indexing the Dana Scrapbook collection documenting New Haven history.
“History has a future,” Tockarshewsky, “and for that, we are enormously grateful.”
So, where did the English family get their money? Is that something the Foundation researches before accepting a gift of this size?
These non-profits all do great and important work in New Haven. They are also all white-led.
If memory serves, this individual award is also larger than the "Stepping Forward" racial equity initiative the Foundation put forward as their answer to the dual pandemics of COVID and racism.
Donor-advised giving makes for good fundraising - but who sets the agenda?