OVERVIEW: Bloomberg co-founder Thomas Secunda and his wife Cindy, Giving Pledge signatories, head the Secunda Family Foundation, a foundation that grants support in several areas, including environmental.
IP TAKE: The couple has a strong interest in environmental conservation and has been upping their giving in this area in recent years.
PROFILE: Thomas Secunda and his wife Cindy founded the Secunda Family Foundation in 2006 and are Giving Pledge signatories. They've been upping their giving in recent years and at the end of 2012, the foundation held close to $89 million in assets and gave away around $3.5 million that year. Keep in mind, these numbers may well be much higher now. In addition, while their Giving Pledge letter states the couple's interest in conservation, healthcare and Jewish causes, it also says that they look forward to expanding their interests and learning from Bloomberg, Gates, Buffet and other more experienced philanthropists.
In recent years, the foundation has given big money to select conservation outfits. Secunda himself sits on the boards of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Westchester County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board and the Intrepid Museum Foundation. His association with NPCA stretches back at least 14 years including serving as vice chair of NPCA and as chair of NPCA's Northeast Regional Advisory Board. Secunda has also co-chaired the NPCA's biennial gala and his family is known for vacationing at national parks.
Unsurprisingly, NPCA has often received the foundation's largest sums in recent years.
Friends of Westchester County Parks has also received a steady stream of money in recent years, but considerably less. The Nature Conservancy, Scenic Hudson and National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy have also received money.
Secunda has also supported Governor's Island in New York in two ways. First, the foundation has given to Governor's Island Alliance, which supports the parks, gardens and public spaces on the island. He's also given to the Regional Plan Association (RPA), which has also been involved in conservation on Governor's Island. In addition, RPA has worked in communities in the New Jersey Highlands and Orange County, New York.
For now, Secunda's philanthropy is still forming as the couple admits in their Giving Pledge letter. Compared to their assets, they still aren't giving on a large scale. But that's changing, and their track record of environmental philanthropy on the local and regional level is growing.
The bad news is that their foundation has no website and there's no clear way to apply for a grant.
PEOPLE:
- Thomas F. Secunda, President
- Cynthia Secunda, Vice President
CONTACT:
Secunda Family Foundation P.O. Box 1510 New York, NY United States 10150Secunda Family Foundation New York, NY United States 10150
