OVERVIEW: The New York City-based Gilder Foundation supports education, historical preservation, arts and culture, STEM and environmental conservation.
IP TAKE: The Gilder Foundation tends to support established organizations in its areas of grantmaking interest. The affiliated Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History provides resources for K-12 history education. This low-profile funder does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding, making it a less accessible funder.
This funder’s grantmaking space is also notably more crowded, since it prefers to fund grantees for multiple grant cycles, squeezing newer grantees out. However, the foundation likes building long-term partnerships. In addition, while the foundation will field questions, securing a grant here comes down to networking and making sure your project fits within its areas of funding. Note that projects conducted through a progressive lens may have less traction here as well.
PROFILE: The Gilder Foundation was established in 1965 by the late investment banker and philanthropist Richard Gilder. Gilder studied history at Yale University, but made his fortune in the financial industry. He was the founder of the investment firm Gilder, Gagnon, How and Company and the New York City-based Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Gilder, who was born in 1932 and died in May 2020, was involved in philanthropy for decades. Richard Gilder attended Northfield Mount Hermon School before going on to Yale, which he graduated from in 1954 with a B.A. in history. Gilder worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street, first at A.G. Becker & Co. In 1968, Gilder founded his own firm, now known as Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. In the 1970s, he founded the Central Park Community Fund and, in 1980, became a founding and continuing trustee of the Central Park Conservancy. Gilder is a chairman emeritus of the Manhattan Institute, a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society. With long-time friend Lewis E. Lehrman, Gilder established the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale. A conservative, Gilder is also known for his unlikely collaboration with George Soros to rehabilitate New York City’s Central Park in the 1970s. The Gilder Foundation maintains a low public profile, does not operate a website and employs just two formal staff members. Tax filings suggest grantmaking commitments in the areas of education, arts and culture, the environment and STEM projects.
Grants for Higher Education
Higher education appears to be Gilder’s largest area of funding, with significant, ongoing funding aimed at Gilder’s alma mater, Yale University. Education funding here tends to focus on supporting organizations with which the family has a personal connection, although it sometimes gives in this space beyond the family.
- Gilder’s daughter, Ginnie Gilder, a former Olympic rower, also graduated from Yale, where the Gilder Boathouse is named for the family.
- Perhaps the most prominent Gilder effort at his alma mater is the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale. The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s activities include fellowships, prizes, seminars, and lectures.
- Gilder was a major supporter of his alma mater Yale. Gilder suggested that he and his classmates in the class of 1954 pool contributions to invest in stocks until their 50th reunion, when they would give the fund as a gift to Yale. By 2000, the so-called ’54/50 Fund’s investment hit $90 million. Gilder gave $20 million to Yale in 2013 alone, to help restore Sterling Memorial Library.
- Other higher education grantees include Rice University, Gettysburg College, Hunter College, Bard College and Harvard University.
Grants for K-12 Education and Humanities
The Gilder Foundation supports K-12 history education via the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which Richard Gilder cofounded with Lewis Lehrman in 1994. Based in New York City, the Institute provides curricula, lesson plans, collections of primary sources, study guides, professional development programs and other educational resources to teachers, students and the general public.
- Gilder Lehrman has collaborated with seven high-performing New York-area high schools to create flagship four-year programs in American history, essay contests and virtual history classes and events.
- The couple also steadily supported the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, which describes itself as an “independent, nonprofit education reform organization dedicated to improving education in NY State by promoting accountability, stimulating innovation, and supporting school choice efforts.”
- Modest sums have also gone to Teach for America, Chess-in-the-Schools, and Education Through Music. A component of the Gilder Foundation’s philanthropy also involves funding libraries in local parochial schools.
Grants for Arts, Culture and Music
Gilder’s arts and culture grantmaking prioritizes history museums and historical preservation. A significant portion of funding in this area goes to the archives and programs of the Gilder Lehrman Institute.
- During his lifetime, Richard Gilder served as chair of the New York Historical Society and as trustee at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and the Pierpont Morgan Library, all three of which continue to receive Gilder funding.
- Other grantees involved in historical preservation include the American Battlefield Trust, the American Antiquarian Society and the International African American Museum in South Carolina.
- Classical music appears to be a secondary interest in arts and culture, with recent grants having gone to the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Center.
Grants for STEM
STEM grants focus on the organizations with which the family has an affiliation or personal interest.
- Richard Gilder served as a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, which has received significant support from the Gilder Foundation. The museum is the site of the Richard Gilder Graduate School, which was established with a $50 million grant in 2006, and which awards masters and doctoral degrees in science education and comparative biology. The museum is also the future site of the Richard Gilder Center for Science Education and Innovation, which the foundation bankrolled with $60 million in 2012.
Grants for Environmental Conservation and Justice
Environmental conservation is a newer giving area for this foundation, and it does not outline specific goals for its grantmaking in this area.
- Recent grants have gone to the Environmental Defense Fund, the Islesboro Island Trust, the Wild Center of Tupper Lake, New York and environmental education and awareness programs at the National Audubon Society.
Important Grant Details:
The Gilder Foundation’s grants have been awarded in amounts up to $3 million, with an average grant size of about $25,000.
- This funder does not appear to accept unsolicited applications for funding.
- The foundation may be reached by telephone at (212) 840-3456.
A mailing address is provided:
Gilder Foundation
1375 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
(212) 840-3456
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