Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation funds grantmaking related to the arts, Jewish causes, health, Higher education, and youth.

IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency, which limits information available regarding its grantmaking priorities and activities. This funder is not very approachable and does not provide a clear way to get in touch, leaving grantseekers with the need to network here.

PROFILE: The Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation was established in 1956. The foundation bears the name of the late investment banker and real-estate executive Daniel Cowin and his wife Joyce. Civic leader Joyce currently serves as president and chairman of the charity. The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies.

Grants for Arts and Culture, Jewish Causes, Public Health and Access, Higher Education, and Community Development

Tax filings suggest that the Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation funds a grab-bag of grantmaking causes related to the arts, Jewish causes, health, and youth.

The foundation supports art museums and cultural organizations. The late Daniel Cowin was a noted collector of Art Deco, American folk art and 1930s photography and was a trustee of the American Folk Art Museum and the International Center of Photography. 

Cowin also supports groups in several different areas operating in and around the city. Past grantees include New York Historical Society, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (Joyce was on the board for some five decades), American Folk Art Museum (Joyce is a trustee emerita), Jewish Communal Fund, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and The Met.

Grants for Highter Education

While the foundation does not appear to have clear funding programs, it does prioritize support for higher education. Joyce is a trustee of her alma mater Teacher's College (TC). She funded The Cowin Financial Literacy Project, a partnership among Teachers College, the New York City Department of Education and the nonprofit Working In Support of Education (W!SE). Joyce also funded the creation of TC’s Cowin Conference Center with her late mother and is the founding funder of TC-affiliated Heritage School, an arts-themed public high school in East Harlem. Joyce has actively supported Manhattanville College, where she has funded a fall lecture and an art room at the college’s museum, as well as a spring art trip, in honor of her late father.

Important Grant Details

Grants range from $25,000 to $626,000. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $1.9 million. The Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

Joyce and Daniel Cowin Foundation Inc
640 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065