Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund

OVERVIEW: The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund primarily funds grantmaking related to the performing arts and education.

IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. This funder primarily supports larger, well-established organizations. Smaller grantseekers may want to look elsewhere.

PROFILE:  The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund was established in 1955 by the late banker and financier Morris Schapiro and his wife Alma, a painter. Morris served as head of investment banking firm M. A. Schapiro & Company, and led some of the banking industry's largest mergers. The foundation’s vice president is the couple’s son Daniel Schapiro, a doctor and a neurology clinical instructor at Icahn School of Medicine. The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. According to tax filings, the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund primarily backs organizations related to the performing arts and education.

Grants for Higher Education

Schapiro was a major donor to Columbia University, including Schapiro Hall and the Morris A. Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research. The family continues to support the Ivy League school via their charity.

Grants for Arts and Culture

The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund also recently directed a seven-figure gift to Corporation of Yaddo, which supports Yaddo, an artists community located on a 400-acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Yaddo is home to the Alma B.C. Schapiro Residency for a Woman Painter.

Important Grant Details

Grants range from $5,000 to $1 million. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $5.7 million. Past grantees have included Chess in the Schools (Morris was a chess master); Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Second Stage Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City Ballet, The Dalton School, Inner City Scholarship Fund, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and NYU Langone Medical Center.

The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.  

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund 
c/o Anchin LLP - 1375 Broadway
New York, NY 10018