Martin and Toni Sosnoff

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Atalanta Sosnoff Capital

FUNDING AREAS: Education, Arts & Media, Health, Animals

OVERVIEW: Martin and Toni Sosnoff established the Martin and Toni Foundation in the 1970s. Their priorities include education, arts and media and animals, and much of their their philanthropy is directed toward organizations operating in the Northeast. Available tax filings reveal that the foundation awarded $2.57 million in grants in 2017. The Sosnoff Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.

BACKGROUND: Born and raised in the Bronx section of New York City, Martin T. Sosnoff earned a B.A. from City College of New York and an M.B.A. from New York University. He began managing money in 1968 for the Rosenwald family, descendants of a Sears co-founder. He was director of research at the Starwood Corporation and a research analyst at E.F. Hutton. Sosnoff founded Atalanta Sosnoff Capital in 1981. He has authored three books about investing and was a Forbes columnist for many years. Toni Sosnoff is a graduate of Hofstra University, where she majored in drama.

ISSUES:

EDUCATION: The Sosnoffs’ education funding has prioritized higher education. The couple have regularly supported Bard College, where Martin served on the board of trustees for 20 years. They also endowed the Sosnoff Theater at Bard’s Fisher Center for Performing Arts. At Toni’s alma mater, Hofstra, the couple has funded the renovation of the John Cranford Adams Playhouse. Other past grantees in the area of higher education include the City College of New York and the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

ARTS & MEDIA: The Sosnoffs have a strong interest in the arts and are avid collectors. Among the museums they have supported are the Guggenheim Museum; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Past grantees in the performing arts include the American Ballet Theater, which received $5 million from the couple; the Palm Beach Opera; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Roundabout Theatre Company; the Signature Theatre and New York City’s Metropolitan Opera. The couple also has an interest in film and has funded the Tribeca and Woodstock Film Festivals.

HEALTH: The Sosnoffs have supported healthcare broadly, prioritizing the greater New York area. Past grantees include Mount Sinai Hospital, New York University’s Langone Medical Center, Northern Dutchess Hospital and the Alzheimer’s Association.

ANIMALS: The Sosnoffs maintain an active interest in animals; Martin competes in dressage, and Toni has bred standard and toy poodles for over 25 years. Through their foundation, they have supported the Potter League for Animals, the Animal Medical Center, the U. S. Equestrian Team Foundation, the Dressage Foundation, and Take The Lead, which "provides direct services, support and care for people in the sport of purebred dogs who suffer the devastation of life-threatening or terminal illness."

LOOKING FORWARD: The Sosnoffs’ will likely stick with their established areas of interest, but they recently moved to Florida, which may become a new geographic priority.

CONTACT:

The Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact, but below is an address:

Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation
P.O. Box 135
Rhinebeck, NY 12572