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1985

Jerome L. Greene joins the Board of Trustees of The Juilliard School, where he would serve as a proud member until the time of his death in 1999. In December of 1985, Jerry contributed $1 million dollars to establish a scholarship fund. The gift was reported in The New York Times as the first fund in the School’s history that supported all three performing arts taught at Juilliard.
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1988

Jerome L. Greene commits funds for a 2-year renovation of the lower floors of the main Columbia Law School Building. The building was formally re-dedicated as the Jerome L. Greene Hall in November of 1990.

1989

Jerry Greene gives the first grant of what would become a long relationship and major support for the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The Festival was initially conceived to assist in providing summer employment for freelance classical musicians in New York City.

1998

Jerry Greene commits two separate grants, for the construction of the Greene Medical Arts Pavilion and The Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center. Located in the Bronx, one of the most medically underserved areas of the country, the facility serves a pediatric population of approximately a half million children, more than half of whom live in poverty. Jerry was a Trustee of the Medical Center for 27 years.

1999

Jerry Greene passes away in New York City at age 93.
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2000

Dawn Greene, widow of Jerry Greene, becomes President and CEO of the Foundation.

2001

The Foundation begins what will become a long-standing partnership with Lincoln Center Theater, providing general production support for a selection from the many plays and musicals presented at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and the Claire Tow Theater. Guided by the motto, "Good Plays, Popular Prices," Lincoln Center Theater makes every effort to keep admission prices low and its doors open to all. The Foundation also contributes to LincTix, designed to foster the development of young audiences through significantly discounted tickets for 21-35 year olds.

2004

In memory of Jerry's passing, Dawn Greene commits the Foundation to being the sole funder for Modigliani: Beyond the Myth, the first major exhibition of the artist since a 1951 retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art. It was met with critical acclaim, attracted scores of visitors to the Museum, and brought significant attention to the Museum's exhibition program - a goal for Jerry when he served on the The Jewish Museum Council. Read Story

2005

Dawn Greene offers Calvary Hospital funding to create a hospice in Manhattan, and the search for a suitable location begins. In 2016 the doors of the 18-bed Dawn Greene Hospice opened at the Mary Manning Walsh Home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Known Internationally for its hospice and palliative care, Calvary care is now available to Manhattan residents.

2006

Dawn Greene pledges $250 million to Columbia University to build the nation’s largest private academic science center devoted to brain and mind research. The Jerome L. Greene Science Center was the first building built on Columbia University’s new Manhattanville campus. At the time of the announcement, it represented the largest gift ever given to a U.S. university for a single facility. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, the building boasts seven floors of research laboratories, seventy different labs as well as a public outreach and education center for the community.

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2007

Dawne Greene commits funding to New York Public Radio for the construction of the new, street-level, state-of-the-art broadcast center called The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. The Greene Space offers New York audiences innovative programming from intimate classical music performances to compelling conversation, literary and political panels and a host of other live musical events.

2009

The Foundation is the proud lead funder of WNYC's bold commitment to saving New York's only classical music radio station, WQXR, by purchasing the broadcast license from The New York Times. The acquisition preserved WQXR’s 73 year classical music format for future generations.

2010

Dawn Greene passes away in New York City.

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2010

Chris McInerney, daughter of Dawn Greene and Executive Director of the Foundation since 2002, succeeds her mother and becomes President and CEO of the Foundation.

2012

Chris McInerney commits major support to Planned Parenthood of New York City for a free contraceptive program, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America in support of the national Text/Chat initiative. The overall goal nationally is to reduce teen pregnancy and STD rates, by making it easier for teens and young women to anonymously access information about birth control and pregnancy termination options, and STD testing.

2014

The Foundation awards the largest gift ever made to a public radio station to support New York Public Radio's development of new digital products and platforms, helping WNYC become the most listened to public radio station in the nation.

2016

Chris McInerney, following in the footsteps of Jerry 30 years earlier, joins the Board of Trustees at The Juilliard School.

2017

The Foundation makes a grant to the American Civil Liberties Union in support of their Reproductive Freedom Project and Voting Rights Project. The mission of the Voting Rights Project is to protect and facilitate the freedom of all Americans to vote, and the Reproductive Freedom Project is to uphold the rights of individuals to decide freely, without governmental hindrance or coercion, whether or not to bear a child.

2018

The Foundation makes its largest donation to Columbia Law School. The three-part grant encompasses the Greene Public Service Scholars Program, the Jerome L. Greene Clinical Professorship, and the Greene Scholarship Challenge, which offers a first-of-its-kind matching scholarship fund. These scholarships will help the Law School address issues of access and affordability.

2018

The Foundation becomes the lead sponsor for The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park. Every summer, the Public Theater produces a beloved NYC tradition, presented at the open-air Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

2019

Thousands of audience members are given the opportunity to attend theater programs through a new partnership between the Foundation and The New York Community Trust that provides grants to 12 theaters in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.

2020

New York City is particularly hard hit in the early days of the pandemic. Grants given to NYU Langone Medical Center and the Greater New York Hospital Foundation provide much needed support and supplies to first responders. Other funds sent to the Westside Campaign Against Hunger mean food relief to thousands of individuals, families and the elderly, representing some of New York City's most vulnerable communities.

2020

We believe that Black Lives Matter. The Foundation reinvigorates its' support of partner Echoing Green by providing follow-on funding for their high-impact social entrepreneurs focused on racial equity, civic engagement and education in communities of color. Through longtime partner North Star Fund, the Foundation sends funding to Let Us Breathe, the only NYC-based fund led by and for Black activists. North Star has prioritized growing and sustaining a deeply underfunded Black-led organizing infrastructure in the New York City.

2021

In response to the pressing need to help millions of New Yorkers find healthy and nutritious food for themselves and their families, the Foundation formulates an initiative to help a group of the city's most active food pantries and kitchens.

2022

The Foundation partnered with Howard University Law School to create the Greene Public Service Scholars. Four first-year students with strong academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to public interest or public service law will be awarded a three-year, full-tuition scholarship. The Scholars are part of a program of lectures, special programming, mentorship and practical experience in the field of social justice.

2023

To ensure a robust democracy, the Foundation funds organizations that engage voters and protect the right to vote. These grantees work to ensure that Americans are engaged in democracy by making voting easier and more accessible. The Heartland Fund, for example, connects local leaders and organizations who are working to improve life in rural communities. The Voter Participation Center is dedicated to voter mobilization and education and, since its inception, has helped 5.7 million people register to vote.

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Our History

The Foundation was established in 1978 by Jerry Greene, real estate attorney, philanthropist and consummate New Yorker. Born in Brooklyn in 1909, Jerry attended Columbia College and graduated from the Law School in 1928. He went on to become a founding member of the Manhattan law firm Marshall, Bratter, Greene, Allison & Tucker. Among many honors, Jerry received the Judge Learned G. Hand Human Relations Award and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Columbia Law School as well as an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the Juilliard School. He also received the Citizens Committee’s Oscar S. Straus Award for Philanthropy on Behalf of New York City.

As a longtime member of Lincoln Center’s board of directors and emeritus council, Jerry underwrote the Center’s annual “Mostly Mozart” festival in celebration of his favorite composer. He also served as a trustee of the Juilliard School, where he established the Jerome Greene Fellowships in 1985. Given annually to music, dance, and drama students, his was the first scholarship fund in the School’s history to benefit students in all three divisions. Jerry served as chairman of the board of the Hirshhorn Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and was on the Art Advisory Committee at The Jewish Museum. He was a great supporter of many of New York’s medical institutions. His gifts to Montefiore Medical Center helped pay for the construction of the Jerome L. and Dawn Greene Medical Arts Pavilion and the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore Medical Center.

Jerry Greene’s widow Dawn continued work begun by her late husband, including support to Calvary Hospital for hospice care in Manhattan, and funding to Johns Hopkins University Medical Center to undertake fundamental research in the rheumatic diseases. Dawn made the opening of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC a reality. She provided the resources for Columbia University to build the nation’s largest private academic science center devoted to brain and mind research, and the first building on the University’s Manhattanville Campus. The Jerome L. Greene Science Center, with seven floors of state-of-the-art research laboratories, was designed by Renzo Piano and opened in Spring of 2017. At the time of Dawn Greene’s pledge, it was the largest gift ever received by the University and the largest ever given to a U.S. university for a single facility.

In 2010, Christina McInerney succeeded her mother as president and CEO. Under Chris’ leadership, the Foundation’s focus has shifted from capital projects to more program-related initiatives. Investing in institutions and their leaders to advance programs that increase access to education and to the arts is one goal. New grants in social justice help organizations like the ACLU work to protect voter rights and ensure reproductive freedom. A new partnership between the Foundation and The New York Community Trust provides grants to 12 theaters in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan to expand free and discounted ticket programs, helping to bring the performing arts to underrepresented audiences throughout New York. Foundation funding now supports exhibitions at key cultural institutions such as the Whitney Museum, The Morgan Library and the Museum of the City of New York. The Foundation has expanded scholarship giving for students to pursue training at New York City’s top schools, with more than 1,500 scholarships awarded since JL Greene’s founding.

Since Jerry started the Foundation more than 40 years ago, over $500 million has been invested in our non-profit partners, who continue to change the world in the arts, medicine, education and social justice.

Dawn Greene at the Jerome L. Greene portrait unveiling in 2000.
Dawn Greene flanked by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Columbia University President Lee Bollinger announcing the Foundation’s pledge for the Jerome L. Greene Science Center
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