Joseph and Jeanette Neubauer
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Aramark Corporation
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Arts & Culture, Jewish Causes
OVERVIEW: Joseph and Jeanette Neubauer move philanthropy through the Neubauer Family Foundation, which gave away nearly $30 million in a recent year. The Neubauers are strong supporters of higher education, and of K-12 education in Philadelphia. Another interest is the arts, particularly the performing arts.
BACKGROUND: Born in Israel, Joseph Neubauer graduated from Tufts University and received his M.B.A. from University of Chicago in 1965. He took positions at Chase Manhattan Bank and PepsiCo and in 1979 joined ARAMARK, a worldwide provider of food, hospitality and other professional services. He went on to become chairman and chief executive of the Aramark Corporation.
Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer graduated from Brandeis University and received a master's degree in communications from Stanford University. She began her career as a documentary filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada and later was vice president of corporate communications at Time Warner Inc. Jeanette went on to found marketing firm J.P. Lerman & Co.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Neubauer chairs the board of trustees of his alma mater University of Chicago, where he’s been a member of the board since the early 1990s. In 2017, the Neubauer Family Foundation made a $25 million gift to launch the Neubauer Family Graduate Student Leader/Change Agent Fund, providing additional resources for the recruitment of Ph.D. students in the humanities, physical sciences, and social sciences. In 2016, the foundation made a $4 million gift to create the Civic Scholars Program, providing annual full-tuition scholarships to Chicago Booth's Weekend MBA Program for eight professionals working in nonprofit and government fields. Other past gifts include: a $13 million gift in support of initiatives to reduce barriers that prevent international and Latino students from applying to and attending the university; and a $26.5 million gift to create the Neubauer Family Collegium for Culture and Society. The Neubauers have given more than $125 million to UChicago through the years.
Other grantees have included Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans (whose board Neubauer once chaired), Brandeis University, University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, and Institute for Advanced Study, where Jeanette sits on the board. The couple also have an interest in K-12 education in Philadelphia. They started the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders. Its flagship program, the Neubauer Fellowship in Educational Leadership, takes charter, private and Philadelphia School District principals and arms them with high-level management training.
ARTS & CULTURE: Jeanette has served on the board of the Metropolitan Opera since 1999, and she is a strong advocate for innovative audience development. The Neubauer Family Foundation is the founding sponsor of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts, which now reach opera fans in more than 70 countries, enabling approximately 350,000 people to enjoy the same live broadcast at the same time. They’ve also given strong support to Carnegie Hall as well as the Barnes Foundation, whose board Neubauer chairs. Other grantees have included Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
JEWISH CAUSES: Neubauer’s parents fled Nazi Germany in 1938. This family story seems to continue to animate giving. Jeanette serves on the board of the Jewish Museum, an important grantee. Other grantees have included American Friends of the Tel Aviv University, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel.
OTHER: The full scope of family giving is obscured somewhat; in a recent year the foundation directed some $22.6 million to a donor advised fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation. They have also given strong sums to New Venture Fund, which supports innovative and effective public interest projects.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the couple’s robust giving to continue, tracking with established interest areas.
CONTACT:
Neubauer Family Foundation
1717 Arch Street, Suite 4050
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 606-1784
rebecca@neubauerfamilyfoundation.org
