Anson and Debra Beard
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Morgan Stanley
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Conservation, Health, Arts & Culture, Human Services
OVERVIEW: Anson and Debra Beard and family conduct their philanthropy through the Tsunami Foundation, which was founded in the early 1990s. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded $1.5 million in grants in 2017 and awarded just under $5 million in grants from 2014 to 2017. The Beards are strong funders of education and youth outfits, and Beard has long been involved with the Posse Foundation. He also sits on the board of Prep for Prep. The Northeast and Florida are their primary regions of philanthropy.
BACKGROUND: Anson M. Beard graduated from Yale University. He worked at Citibank and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. before joining Morgan Stanley in 1977, where he helped build their equity division worldwide.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Anson Beard is a life director of Posse Foundation, which received a $50,000 grant from the foundation in 2017. Posse is a "comprehensive and renowned college access and youth leadership development program.” Part of the story here involves Wheaton College, a Posse partner institution. Beard has been involved with the Massachusetts-based school for more than four decades, and is a lifetime trustee. Apart from directing funds to Posse and Wheaton College via the Tsunami Foundation, Beard and family have also steadily supported Prep for Prep, which received a yearly $100,000 grant from 2014 to 2017. Anson also sits on the board of Prep for Prep. Other grantees have included University of Vermont, Middlesex School, Readworks, East Harlem School, St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School in Morningside Heights, and Success Academy Charter School.
CONSERVATION: Grantees have included Everglades Law Center and Brandywine Conservancy, a land and water conservation organization that works in Pennsylvania and Delaware. The foundation awarded Brandywine a $100,000 grant in 2017.
HEALTH: Beard and family have directed grants to Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York via Tsunami Foundation.
ARTS & CULTURE: The Beards earmark funds for arts and culture organizations through their Tsunami Foundation. This grantmaking appears to have a New York City focus. Grantees have included American Tap Dance Foundation, Arts Connection, and American Museum of Natural History.
HUMAN SERVICES: Grantees have included City Harvest, Operation Warm, Robin Hood Foundation, and Wounded Warrior Project.
OTHER: The Beard family have supported global organizations Doctors Without Borders and Orbis International, which deals with blindness in developing countries. Beard and Debra have also been heavily involved with the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin County.
LOOKING FORWARD: Now in his 80s, Beard has long been involved with philanthropy and will likely stick with established interests, particularly education and youth.
CONTACT:
The Tsunami Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
Tsunami Foundation
421 Peruvian Ave.
Palm Beach, FL 33480
