Sage Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Sage Foundation supports education, arts and culture, health, safety and the environment in Connecticut and other places of interest to the Denning family.

FUNDING AREAS: Education, arts and culture, health, safety, environment

IP TAKE: This family foundation awards many grants per year and supports a wide variety of nonprofit causes; however, it is not the most accessible funder for unaffiliated Connecticut grantseekers.

PROFILE: Established in 1997, the Sage Foundation is a family foundation based in Greenwich, Connecticut. This foundation is managed by Steven A. Denning of Greenwich, who is the chairman of General Atlantic, a global private equity firm. He was the second investment professional to join the firm and has been part of that organization since 1980. Denning and his wife, Roberta, reside in Greenwich and San Francisco. He is affiliated with Stanford University, the Nature Conservancy, the American Museum of Natural History, the Cancer Research Institute and many other educational institutions and organizations. The Sage Foundation does not have paid employees on staff. It funds local efforts for education, arts and culture, health, safety and the environment.

The Sage Foundation does not have a website to guide grantseekers. However, past tax records indicate that this foundation gives many grants each year for general operating support. The funder regularly gives to United Way organizations, libraries, music festivals, outdoor recreation, and to higher education institutions. Grants also go to art societies, symphonies, community centers, YMCAs and local fire departments. Overall, the Sage Foundation has broad interests and mostly considers giving to organizations that the family is already familiar with and has personal connection to.

Grants range widely between about $1,000 and $1 million. The foundation has made over $5 million in grants annually in recent years. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking focuses on Connecticut, New York and California. Past local grantees include the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Glenville Volunteer Fire Department and Greenwich Hospital.

This foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits and only funds pre-selected organizations. Direct general questions to the staff at 203-629-8600.

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