Arts And Letters Foundation Inc.

Arts And Letters Foundation Inc. operates as a tightly held, invitation-only private foundation anchored in East Hampton, NY. Founded in April 1999 and reflecting the priorities of major donor Janice B. Gerton and a small board, the foundation makes all grantmaking decisions at trustee discretion — no public application mechanism exists, and the foundation has explicitly confirmed it does not respond to unsolicited requests for funding.

The grantee roster reveals a giving philosophy that is simultaneously pluralistic and geography-first. The board supports arts institutions, research hospitals, liberal arts colleges, hunger relief organizations, and social services nonprofits — but 71% of all tracked grants flow to New York-based organizations, 23% to New Jersey, and 7% to Massachusetts. The unifying thread is not programmatic alignment but personal familiarity: long-tenured grantees such as The New York Public Library (4 grants, $300,000 cumulative), Smith College (5 grants, $250,000), Northwell Cohen's Children Medical Center (4 grants, $240,000), and Calvary Hospital (4 grants, $240,000) reflect sustained relationships between specific institutions and individual board members.

No formal relationship progression exists. There is no LOI stage, no proposal portal, and no review cycle that external applicants can access. An organization enters the grantee portfolio because a board member advocates for it internally — typically through a board overlap, alumni connection, or personal patronage relationship. The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, NY (4 grants, $200,000) and Guild Hall of East Hampton (2 grants, $50,000) illustrate how the board's social world in the Hamptons directly shapes the grantee list.

Repeat grants dominate: every organization in the top-20 grantee list has received 2-5 grants across the reporting period, confirming that multi-year relationships — not one-time awards — are the norm. Organizations seeking consideration should focus on genuine relationship-building with the six current board members (Lorne Singh, Mark Ackerman, Elizabeth Griffin, Henry Bear, Gary Katz, J Timothy Sherman) through shared institutional affiliations, Hamptons arts and civic events, and professional network connections in the New York metropolitan area. The foundation does not maintain a public-facing website for grantmaking purposes, reinforcing its entirely private, invitation-only posture.

Annual grantmaking by Arts And Letters Foundation Inc. has ranged from $410,000 (FY2019) to $948,500 (FY2025) — the highest level in the available multi-year dataset. The five-year average for FY2019-FY2023 is approximately $761,000 in grants paid per year. Total giving per 990 reporting tracks slightly higher, peaking at $1,194,153 in FY2022 before settling at $1,151,103 in FY2023.

Grant volume is modest by design: approximately 14-15 awards per year in recent cycles. Across the full grantee dataset (73 total grants, $3,620,000 cumulative), the average grant is $49,589 and the median is $50,000. The historical grant size range is $10,000-$115,000, with FY2025 data suggesting individual awards now run $70,000-$125,000 — consistent with a gradual upward shift as assets have grown from $14.7M (FY2023) to $17.7M (FY2025).

By program area, arts and culture accounts for approximately 35% of cumulative giving: The New York Public Library ($300,000), Juilliard School ($200,000), Brooklyn Museum ($200,000), Parrish Art Museum ($200,000), Riverside Symphonia ($120,000), New York Youth Symphony ($100,000), Classical Saxophone Project ($95,000), Kaufman Music Center ($50,000), and Guild Hall of East Hampton ($50,000). Healthcare represents approximately 25%: Northwell Cohen's Children Medical Center ($240,000), Calvary Hospital ($240,000), Columbia Mailman School of Public Health ($110,000), and Planned Parenthood Federation of America ($100,000). Higher education accounts for roughly 20%: Smith College ($250,000) and Bloomfield College ($160,000). Social services and food security comprise the remaining 20%: Henry Street Settlement ($275,000), Covenant House ($180,000), Community Food Bank of NJ ($130,000), Island Harvest ($80,000), and Eva's Village ($70,000).

Revenue is almost entirely investment-driven. In FY2025, 61.3% of revenue came from capital gains on asset sales ($830,767), 22.0% from interest ($297,673), and 16.7% from dividends ($226,308) — with no meaningful external contributions received. This makes annual grantmaking capacity directly tied to portfolio performance rather than fundraising.

Arts And Letters Foundation Inc. (EIN: 52-2069719) sits in a cluster of mid-sized private foundations each holding approximately $17.7M in assets. The peer foundations matched by asset size and NTEE category are all classified as Philanthropy & Grantmaking foundations, though limited public data is available for direct program comparison.

Among this asset-matched cohort, Arts And Letters Foundation stands out as the most transparent, with documented annual giving of $948,500, a confirmed multi-year grantee portfolio of 73 grants across four distinct sectors, and a measurable 5.4% annual payout rate — just above the IRS-required 5% minimum for private foundations. The four geographic peers in Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, and California serve primarily as benchmarks for asset scale; their grantmaking strategies, focus areas, and application processes are not publicly disclosed. The geographic concentration of the Arts And Letters portfolio — 71% New York, 23% New Jersey, 7% Massachusetts — is substantially more focused than national- or multi-state-scope foundations of comparable size, reflecting the personal and regional nature of its trustee relationships rather than a formal geographic mandate.

The most significant recent development is a leadership transition: Lorne Singh, who previously served as Secretary/Treasurer at $25,000 compensation, assumed the presidency in FY2025, replacing Robert Siegel. Singh's compensation rose to $30,000 with the new role. Mark Ackerman joined as Treasurer at $22,500, and the compensated board expanded to six members: Singh (President), Ackerman (Treasurer), Elizabeth Griffin (Vice President, $20,000), Henry Bear (Director, $20,000), Gary Katz (Director, $20,000), and J Timothy Sherman (Director, $20,000).

Financially, the foundation has recovered strongly from a 2023 low: total assets rebounded from $14,688,838 (FY2023) to $17,729,402 (FY2025) — a 21% increase driven by capital gains of $830,767 and interest income of $297,673. This represents the strongest asset position in the available dataset, exceeding the FY2020-2021 range of $15.3M-$16.1M. Annual disbursements in FY2025 reached $948,500, the highest recorded figure, consistent with a sustainable payout rate of approximately 5.4%.

No public announcements, press releases, new program launches, or grantee disclosures were identified through searches covering 2025-2026. Notably, the domain https://www.artsandletters.org/ resolves to the American Academy of Arts and Letters — a separate New York City honor society with no affiliation to this East Hampton foundation. Arts And Letters Foundation Inc. maintains no dedicated website, social media presence, or newsletter. The absence of public communications is not a signal of inactivity: 990 data confirms continuous, multi-year grantmaking to established Northeast institutions, with a long-tenured grantee list showing no signs of contraction or strategic pivot.

Because Arts And Letters Foundation Inc. explicitly makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not respond to unsolicited requests, conventional grant development tactics — RFP responses, letters of inquiry, proposal submissions, or grant portals — are inapplicable. The following tips reflect the actual dynamics of this invitation-only private foundation:

• Map the board before any other step. The six current board members are Lorne Singh (President), Mark Ackerman (Treasurer), Elizabeth Griffin (Vice President), Henry Bear, Gary Katz, and J Timothy Sherman. Research each trustee's professional affiliations, board memberships at other nonprofits, and civic roles via LinkedIn and annual reports of overlapping institutions. A warm introduction through a shared board colleague is the most reliable and often the only viable entrée.

• Align to revealed priorities, not a stated mission. The foundation publishes no mission statement. Its revealed priorities — derived from 73 tracked grants totaling $3.62M — are arts/culture, healthcare, higher education, and social services, concentrated in the NY-NJ-MA corridor. Organizations outside these sectors or this geography are not realistic prospects.

• Engage through the Hamptons arts and civic community. Existing grantees the Parrish Art Museum (Water Mill, NY) and Guild Hall of East Hampton are embedded in the social environment where board members are active. Attendance at, sponsorship of, or creative partnership with events hosted by these and other existing grantees creates organic, non-solicitation-based visibility.

• If direct contact is necessary, call — do not email. The only registered contact is (631) 324-6258 through % Janice B. Gerton. No public grantmaking email exists. A brief, respectful call asking whether the foundation ever considers introducing new organizations — not a funding pitch — is the only appropriate unsolicited outreach.

• Never submit unsolicited materials. An unsolicited proposal, executive summary, or printed annual report sent to the foundation will not receive a response and may create an unfavorable impression with trustees.

• Maintain current public profiles. Trustees and their advisors may verify organizations via ProPublica (EIN 52-2069719 for benchmarking), Candid/Foundation Directory Online, or Charity Navigator before any conversation proceeds. Current financials, accurate program descriptions, and clean 990 filings are essential baseline credibility.

• Build visibility at least 6-12 months ahead of a hoped-for grant year. The foundation operates on a January-December fiscal cycle; grant approvals likely occur at year-end board meetings, so substantive relationship-building should be in place well before the target grant year begins.