OVERVIEW: Bloomberg co-founder Thomas Secunda and his wife Cindy, Giving Pledge signatories, head the Secunda Family Foundation, a foundation that grants support for healthcare, Jewish causes, and conservation.
IP TAKE: The couple prioritizes environmental conservation and has been upping their giving in this area in recent years. Unfortunately, the foundation lacks transparency, limiting further strategic and grantmaking insights. For now, Secunda's philanthropy is still evolving as the couple admits in their Giving Pledge letter. Compared to their assets, they still are not giving on a large scale. But that is changing, and their track record of environmental philanthropy on the local and regional level is growing. It makes grants for New York across its giving areas, though it makes grants nationally.
PROFILE: The Secunda Family Foundation was established in 2006 by Bloomberg L.P. co-founder Thomas Secunda and his wife Cindy. The Secundas are Giving Pledge signatories, with stated interests in conservation, healthcare and Jewish causes. They also look forward to expanding their interests and learning from Bloomberg, Gates, Buffet and other more experienced philanthropists.
Grants for Environmental Conservation
In recent years, the foundation has awarded generous funding to select conservation outfits. Secunda himself sits on the boards of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Westchester County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board and the Intrepid Museum Foundation. His association with NPCA stretches back at least 14 years including serving as vice chair of NPCA and as chair of NPCA's Northeast Regional Advisory Board. Secunda has also co-chaired the NPCA's biennial gala and his family is known for vacationing at national parks. Unsurprisingly, NPCA has often received the foundation's largest sums in recent years.
Friends of Westchester County Parks has also received a steady stream of money in recent years, but considerably less. The Nature Conservancy, Scenic Hudson and National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy have also received money.
Secunda has also supported Governor's Island in New York in two ways. First, the foundation has given to Governors Island Alliance, which supports the parks, gardens and public spaces on the island. He's also given to the Regional Plan Association (RPA), which has also been involved in conservation on Governors Island. In addition, RPA has worked in communities in the New Jersey Highlands and Orange County, New York.
Grants for Diseases and Health
The Secunda Foundation has made modest donations to disease-related organizations and health-care institutions, including the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Lupus Research Alliance and the Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The Secunda Family Foundation supports organizations that promote Jewish culture and values in the United States and abroad. The couple has supported several Jewish causes, including the American Israel Education Foundation, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the UJA Federation of New York.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Secundas’ arts and culture philanthropy appears to prioritize the New York area. Past grantees include the Intrepid Museum Foundation, the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Hudson Stage Company, the Jacob Burns Film Center, the Little Orchestra Society and the Public Art Fund. Outside of New York, they have supported the Opera Training Institute of Chicago, but at-large funding is rare.
Important Grant Details:
Grants may range all the way from $10,000 to $1 million. While the foundation supports organizations throughout the United States, its grantmaking tends to center around New York City and surrounding areas.
The Secunda Family Foundation contributes only to select organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for proposals.
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CONTACT:
Secunda Family Foundation
P.O. Box 1510
New York, NY United States 10150
Secunda Family Foundation New York, NY United States 10150