Daniel and Bonnie Tisch
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Towerview LLC
FUNDING AREAS: Health, Education & Youth, Jewish Causes, Arts & Culture
OVERVIEW: Daniel and Bonnie Tisch move their philanthropy through the Damial Foundation, which available tax filings show, awarded $9.2 million in grants in 2017. The couple are major bankrollers of Tisch MS Research Center of New York, and support other health institutions. Other interests include education and Jewish causes.
BACKGROUND: Daniel R. Tisch graduated with a B.A. from Brown University in 1973. He worked for major Wall Street firms, including service as a vice president of the brokerage house of Salomon Brothers. He went on to become general partner and president of Towerview LLC, an investment fund of the Tisch Family. He is a son of the late billionaire Larry Tisch, chairman of the Loews Corporation.
ISSUES:
HEALTH: The Tisches have given millions to Tisch MS Research Center of New York (formerly Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York), where Bonnie serves on the board. The couple are interested in unraveling the mysteries of the disease at both the cellular and molecular levels, and ultimately finding a cure. Other grantees include ASPIRE (Adolescent Sarcoma Patients Intensive Rehab With Exercise); Cure FA Foundation, which deals with Friedreich's ataxia, “a debilitating, life-shortening, degenerative, neuro-muscular disorder,” amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and Montefiore Medical Center.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The couple strongly supports Tisch's school Suffield Academy in Connecticut, where he is a trustee emeritus. The couple also recently gave a seven-figure gift to Hebrew Union College, home to the Bonnie and Daniel Tisch Fellows Program. Other grantees include Brown University, Columbia Prep and Grammar School, Boys Club of New York, University of Michigan and New York University, where Bonnie received an MBA. The Tisch family has strong ties to NYU, home to the Tisch School of the Arts.
JEWISH CAUSES: The couple supports Central Synagogue. A rabbi from the synagogue married them. Other grantees include Jewish Communal Fund, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, Jewish Museum, and Brown RISD Hillel.
ARTS & CULTURE: The Tisches support various outfits of Lincoln Center, including Jazz at Lincoln Center and Lincoln Center Theater. Other grantees include Whitney Museum of American Art and Richard Tucker Music Foundation.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect this branch of the Tisch clan to continue their steady giving, tracking with established interest areas. Tisch also has a charitable vehicle called the Daniel R. Tisch Family Foundation, though annual grantmaking has been modest of late, and the current status of the charity is unclear.
CONTACT:
The Damial Foundation does not provide clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
The Damial Foundation, Inc.
655 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10065
