Leonard and Jayne Abess
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: City National Bank of Florida
FUNDING AREAS: Education, youth, arts & culture, human services, health, environment, Jewish causes
OVERVIEW: Leonard and Jayne Abess and family conduct their philanthropy through the Jayne and Leonard Abess Foundation. According to the available tax filings, the foundation distributed $473,600 in grants in 2016. The family has strongly supported University of Miami and other educational causes, largely in South Florida. Other interests include the environment and the arts.
BACKGROUND: Leonard L. Abess Jr. graduated from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served as CEO and chairman of City National Bank of Florida and chairman, CEO and president of City National Bancshares.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The Abesses made a $5 million endowment to the University of Miami, naming the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy (CESP). Abess is on the board of University of Miami and the family continues to steadily support the school. Miami Country Day School is an important site of philanthropy and home to the Abess Center for Environmental Studies. Another significant Abess Foundation grantee is Experience Aviation, which has received $25,000 in funding in recent years. Experience Aviation is a “nonprofit organization that utilizes aviation to build STEM skills in students and direct them toward careers in aviation and other STEM-related fields.”
ARTS & CULTURE: Jayne is a longtime weaver with a strong interest in the arts. The family has supported New York Botanical Garden with $235,000 in funding in 2017 and over $900,000 in funding to date. Other grantees include New York Academy of Art, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Abess is a trustee), Montgomery Botanical Center, and Miami City Ballet.
HUMAN SERVICES & HEALTH: The couple are among the founders of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami; Abess served as its chairman and treasurer of the board. The medical center is home to the Abess Diagnostic Center and the Abess Family Neonatal Intensive Care Center. The foundation has awarded the United Way of Miami-Dade over $275,000 in recent years. Jane Abess is heavily involved with the organization. Other Abess Foundation grantees include Goodwill Industries of South Florida (Jayne once chaired the board), and United Cerebral Palsy.
ENVIRONMENT: The couple founded the Abess Floating Research Station in the Brazilian Amazon for the University of Miami Ecosystem Science and Policy Center. Their daughter Ashley is on the board of World Wildlife Fund. Another recent grantee is Rainforest Trust, which received $10,000 in support from the foundation.
JEWISH CAUSES: Grantees have included Temple Israel of Greater Miami, Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which was awarded $16,000 in grant funding over multiple years and Miami Jewish Health Systems Foundation.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the family’s steady giving to continue. The couple’s kids should be watched down the line as their philanthropy develops.
CONTACT:
The Jayne and Leonard Abess Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
The Jayne and Leonard Abess Foundation
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
