OVERVIEW: The Joseph H. Flom Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to educational and youth causes, including child advocacy and legal aid. It also earmarks significant sums for Jewish organizations.
IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities.
PROFILE: The Joseph H. Flom Foundation was established in 1988 by lawyer Joseph H. Flom, who worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Robert C. Sheehan, who worked for the law firm beginning in 1969, currently serves as the foundation’s president. The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. According to tax filings, the Joseph H. Flom Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to educational and youth causes, including child advocacy and legal aid. It also earmarks significant sums for Jewish organizations.
Joseph Flom was a dedicated humanitarian, supporting education and equal opportunity in the legal profession. He was a founding trustee of the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, which awards more than 25 fellowships annually to graduating law students and outgoing judicial clerks to support their public interest endeavors. He led his firm's development of the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Honors Program in Legal Studies at City College of New York, an initiative designed to increase diversity in the legal profession. In 1998, Harvard Law School established the Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business. Joseph along with his first wife, Claire supported the Gateway School in New York – founded by Claire – for children with learning disabilities. They also supported cancer research at the Mount Sinai-NYU Medical Center Health System, among other institutions and causes.
Grants range from $2,500 to around $16.7 million. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $20 million. Past grantees have included American Jewish Committee, Bank Street College of Education, Citizen Schools, Fordham University Law School, Legal Aid Society, NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, New York Public Library, and Jewish Communal Fund, which received some $16.7 million in a recent year.
The Joseph H. Flom Foundation keeps a low-profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
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CONTACT:
Joseph H. Flom Foundation
4 Times Square
New York, NY 10036