La Vida Feliz Foundation
/OVERVIEW: La Vida Feliz Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Wall Street veteran Aaron Sosnick. The foundation's New York City grantmaking includes support for arts and culture, education, human services and community projects.
IP TAKE: This funder maintains a low profile. There is no clear avenue for grantseekers to get in touch.
PROFILE: MIT graduate Aaron M. Sosnick runs A.R.T. Advisors, a statistical arbitrage fund that operates from the offices of Caxton Associates. Sosnick keeps a very low profile and lives in Manhattan, but he also has ties to the West Coast, where Los Angeles and the Bay Area serve as additional sites of philanthropy. Sosnick moves his philanthropy through the La Vida Feliz Foundation, which held some $469 million in assets and gave away over $20 million in a recent year. Both assets and giving have been increasing in recent years.
La Vida Feliz Foundation works broadly in New York City, supporting education, historic preservation, sustainable community development, arts and culture and human services, to name only a few areas. Its grantees tend to be large, well-established organizations. In education, the foundation appears to support higher education and college readiness programs. Tax records show that another recent interest in New York has been preservation and sustainability; the foundation has invested in the preservation and improvement of outdoor spaces and historical landmarks around the city. Human services grantees include organizations working to prevent poverty, hunger, addiction and mental illness.
This foundation awards many large grants upwards of $500,000. Its average grant size, however, is about $25,000. Recent New York City grantees include the New York Landmarks Conservancy, City Year, the Urban Assembly, Transportation Alternatives and the Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners.
La Vida Feliz Foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited grant proposals and does not provide a clear avenue of contact. An address and phone number are provided below.
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CONTACT:
La Vida Feliz Foundation
501 Silverside Rd., Ste. 123
Wilmington, DE 19809
(800) 839-1754
