NET WORTH: Unknown
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Highfields Capital Management; Three Bays Capital
FUNDING AREAS: Health & Human Services, Jewish Causes, Education & Youth, Boston Community
OVERVIEW: Matthew Sidman, along with his mother, Paula, and his sister, Hope, move their philanthropy through the Sidman Family Foundation. The family's philanthropy focuses in on the Boston area, where multigenerational forces play a role. The Sidmans tend to support local hospitals in their health philanthropy. Supporting Jewish organizations is another interest, and the Sidman family has been active in the local Jewish community for decades.
BACKGROUND: Matthew K. Sidman holds a B.A. from Duke University, and an MBA from Wharton. Sidman was an investment banker in Merrill Lynch's real estate department before joining Highfields Capital, where he worked for more than a decade. Sidman set up his own hedge fund, Three Bays Capital, in Boston.
ISSUES:
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Sidman and family, via their family foundation, have supported places like Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Jimmy Fund, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Children's Hospital Trust, which has received particularly large sums recently.
JEWISH CAUSES: Sidman's father, the late Edwin Sidman, and Paula were active in the Boston Jewish community. One of Edwin's interests was helping Ethiopian and Soviet Jews immigrate to the United States and Israel. There's also the Leventhal-Sidman JCC in the Boston area. The Sidmans, via their foundation, continue to support the JCC of Greater Boston, as well as the JCC of Greater Palm Beach. Other grantees have included American Jewish Committee, David Project, Friends of Israel Defense Forces, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, where Edwin once served as chair.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Sidman and Hope both graduated from Duke University, which the family supports. They've also supported places like Boys & Girls Club of Boston, Jump Start, Cradles to Crayons, Neighborhood House Charter School, and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School.
BOSTON COMMUNITY: Paula Sidman's father, Norman Leventhal, was active with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, which the Sidmans have supported through their foundation. The family has also supported local arts and culture in Boston, including the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.
LOOKING FORWARD: Sidman is only in his mid-40s and still very much engaged in business. Perhaps in the coming years Sidman will set up a charity apart from his mother and sister. In a recent year, it's worth mentioning that the foundation gave an unusually low amount. But prior to that, the Sidman Family Foundation gave away around $1 million annually.
CONTACT:
The Sidman Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the family, but below is an address:
50 Federal St.