The Jerome L Greene Foundation Inc

What The Jerome L Greene Foundation Inc does

The Jerome L. Greene Foundation Inc. is a private family foundation established in 1978 by New York real estate attorney Jerome L. Greene, headquartered at 146 Central Park West in Manhattan. The Foundation identifies and funds nonprofit programs across four giving areas — Arts, Education, Medicine, and Social Justice — with primary geographic focus on New York City and select national institutions. Since its founding, it has invested over $500 million in nonprofit partners and awarded more than 1,500 scholarships, with marquee commitments including the $250 million Jerome L. Greene Science Center at Columbia University, Greene Public Service Scholars Programs at Columbia Law and Howard University Law, Juilliard scholarships spanning 30+ years, and continuous support for Lincoln Center Theater, the Public Theater, WNYC/WQXR, and the Whitney Museum. The Foundation operates an invitation-only grantmaking model: it does not accept unsolicited proposals or donations, and a small staff of five to seven employees (including President/CEO Chris McInerney, Program Director Cristina Parnetti, Program Officer Michael Sosa, Senior Administrator Jennifer Strikowsky, and Chief Investment Officer Robert Weissenstein) manages grantee relationships and investment oversight.

The Foundation has no technology product and no proprietary platform. Its core "operating technology" is human-led due diligence against a defined four-pillar thesis and a disciplined endowment investment process supervised by the Financial Advisory Committee (Robert Weissenstein as Chair, alongside Chris McInerney, Drummond Pike, and Jessie Zhu). Succession has remained entirely within the Greene family: Jerry Greene (1978–1999), Dawn Greene (2000–2010), and Chris McInerney (2010–present), with the Board chaired by Hildy Simmons and including Karen Brooks Hopkins and Dr. Jane Salmon. The Foundation files IRS Form 990-PF annually (documents for 2017–2024 are publicly available on its website).

Economically, the Foundation is funded by returns from its private endowment rather than commercial revenue. Under Chris McInerney's leadership since 2010, the strategic posture has shifted from large capital projects (the dominant mode under Dawn Greene) toward program-related initiatives, with recent emphasis on social justice funding, emergency relief (notably a 2020 COVID-19 Relief Fund), and bundled multi-program institutional partnerships (e.g., the 2019 JLGreene Arts Access Fund with The New York Community Trust covering 12 NYC theaters). The most prominent national extension is the 2022 Greene Public Service Scholars Program at Howard University School of Law, the largest donation in Howard Law's history.

Name

The Jerome L Greene Foundation Inc

Legal name

The Jerome L. Greene Foundation Inc.

Website

https://jlgreene.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Jerome L. Greene Foundation Inc is a private family foundation established in 1978 that makes grants to nonprofit organizations in arts, education, medicine, and social justice, primarily in New York City. It has invested over $500 million in grantees since inception and operates an invitation-only, non-commercial funding model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Family Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Private family foundation
• Arts education funding
• Nonprofit scholarship programs
• Social justice grants

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment/Investment Returns: The Foundation operates as a private family foundation funded by its endowment. Investment returns and distributions from the endowment are used to make grants to qualified charitable organizations. The Foundation has invested over $500 million in non-profit partners since its founding in 1978.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Jerome L. Greene Foundation is a private family foundation that identifies and funds nonprofit programs across four giving areas: Arts, Education, Medicine, and Social Justice. It provides grants, scholarship funding, capital project support, and emergency relief grants to pre-selected nonprofit organizations, primarily in New York City. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or donations.

Product overview

The Jerome L. Greene Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1978 that makes grants to nonprofit organizations in four focus areas: Arts, Education, Medicine, and Social Justice. The foundation does not operate a technology product; rather, it provides grant funding, scholarship programs, and emergency relief initiatives to partner organizations. Key programs include the Greene Public Service Scholars Program (Howard University Law School), Jerome Greene Fellowships at Juilliard, and COVID-19 relief funding. The foundation has invested over $500 million in nonprofit partners since its founding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arts Grant Program Funding for arts organizations in New York City, supporting programming that challenges and engages audiences and expands the reach of the arts.
• Education Grant Program Support for educational institutions and programs in NYC that ensure students have opportunities to study or train at top academic institutions.
• Medicine Grant Program Funding for medical programs including world-class scientific research, compassionate patient care, and medical outreach to underserved communities.
• Social Justice Grant Program Support for initiatives working to reduce inequality, protect voter rights, and ensure reproductive freedom through advocacy organizations.
• Greene Public Service Scholars Program Three-year full-tuition scholarships for students at Howard University School of Law committed to public interest or public service law careers.
• Jerome Greene Fellowships / Juilliard Scholarships Scholarship fund supporting music, dance, and drama students at The Juilliard School, the first fund in the school's history to benefit all three performing arts divisions.
• COVID-19 Relief Fund Emergency pandemic relief providing $1MM grants to hospital associations and food relief organizations during the COVID-19 crisis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $500 million invested in non-profit partners since 1978
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers33 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The New York Community TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with The New York Community Trust to create the JLGreene Arts Access Fund, providing grants to 12 theaters in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan to expand free and discounted ticket programs. First year brought 120,000 new people to the theaters. During pandemic, program pivoted to virtual programming.
• Dawn GreenecoreOthersDawn Greene, widow of founder Jerry Greene, became President and CEO in 2000 and made major commitments including $250 million pledge to Columbia for the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. Passed away in 2010.
• Chris McInerneycoreOthersChris McInerney (daughter of Dawn Greene) became President and CEO in 2010, succeeding her mother. Executive Director since 2002, she has shifted focus from capital projects to program-related initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Rockefeller Foundation: Historic NYC family foundation with deep roots in medicine, public health, arts, and social equity. Comparable in generational stewardship and breadth of causes, including significant COVID-19 relief grantmaking.
• The Ford Foundation: Major global foundation with historic NYC presence and significant arts, education, and social justice grantmaking. Comparable mission scope across JLGreene's four pillars, though at vastly greater scale.
• The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: Largest US foundation focused on arts, culture, and humanities, with deep NYC institutional ties (Lincoln Center, Juilliard). Overlaps with JLGreene on performing arts, higher education, and cultural-heritage grantmaking.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: NYC-based major philanthropy heavily investing in arts, education, public health, and social justice. Comparable NYC focus and overlap with cultural and public health grantees.

Direct peers

• The Overbrook Foundation: Family-led NYC foundation supporting environment, education, and social justice. Comparable family-driven, programmatic approach with similar scale and NYC footprint.
• The Kresge Foundation: Private foundation with major programs in arts and culture, education, health, and human services. Comparable multi-pillar structure and willingness to make large transformational place-based grants.
• The Starr Foundation: NYC-based private family foundation supporting education, health, human needs, and cultural institutions. Most comparable to JLGreene in structure, geography, and focus-area mix.
• The New York Community Trust: NYC's largest community foundation, with which JLGreene already co-funds the JLGreene Arts Access Fund. Directly comparable grantmaking mandate in arts, education, health, and social justice across the five boroughs.
• The Pershing Square Foundation: Family-led NYC foundation with focused grantmaking in education, health, and social justice. Comparable family-controlled, multi-pillar approach with substantial single-grant commitments.
• The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Private family foundation (established 1996) supporting arts, environment, medical research, and child well-being. Most directly comparable to JLGreene in structure, scale, and NYC-centric arts/medical focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jerome-l-greene-foundation-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Jerome L Greene Foundation Inc