NET WORTH: Unknown
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Goldman Sachs
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture, Education, Health, NYC Community
OVERVIEW: Kevin Kennedy, his wife Susan, and family move their philanthropy through the Karen A. & Kevin W. Kennedy Foundation. The foundation's annual grantmaking has been in the half-million-dollar range recently. The Kennedys steadily support select northeast arts institutions and collect art. Another interest is education.
BACKGROUND: Born and raised in Princeton, NJ, Kevin W. Kennedy graduated from Hamilton College and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1974. He made partner at Goldman Sachs and went on to become head of the Latin American group. Kennedy spent almost four decades with the firm before retiring.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: Kevin Kennedy was once president and CEO of the board of the Metropolitan Opera. He currently serves as an honorary director, and steadily supports Met Opera via his family foundation. Though he went the finance route, Kennedy majored in art as an undergrad, and the Kennedys are collectors of American art and photography, as well as Asian sculpture. Other grantees include Gotham Chamber Orchestra, Sundance Institute, Lincoln Center, the Met, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Whitney Museum, and Polyphony Foundation. Polyphony builds "hope for a shared future in Israel by bringing together Arab and Jewish youth through the power of classical music-making."
EDUCATION: Kennedy has been a steady backer of his alma mater Hamilton College. A few years ago, Kennedy and Karen gave a $10 million gift to the liberal arts college, home to the Kevin and Karen Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts. Kennedy has also supported his graduate alma mater Harvard Business School, and Karen, her school Columbia. Karen serves as founding chair of the Children’s Board of Columbia at the Columbia University Medical Center. Other grantees have included Julliard School, Convent of the Sacred Heart, TEAK Fellowship, Pave Academy Charter School Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Brown University.
HEALTH: The Kennedy Foundation's grantmaking has also supported American Cancer Society, The ALS Association, and Hospital for Special Surgery. Karen ran a pediatric practice for years.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect this couple to continue to support their select interest areas.
CONTACT:
The Karen A. & Kevin W. Kennedy Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
The Karen A. & Kevin W. Kennedy Foundation
P. O. Box 73, Bowling Green Sta.
New York City, NY 10274
LINK: