Thomas and Denise Stern

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Chieftain Capital Management

FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Policy, Jewish Causes

OVERVIEW: Thomas and Denise Stern, conduct their philanthropy through the Thomas D. & Denise R. Stern Family Foundation. Available tax filings reveal that the foundation awarded $1.94 million in grants in 2018. Via their charitable vehicle, the couple focus on interests close to them in the Northeast. One area of interest is education. Another is health, as diabetes has affected the family personally. Lately, the foundation has tended to fund a similar set of grantees from year to year. 

BACKGROUND: Thomas D. Stern graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. and received his MBA from Columbia Business School. Stern is a managing director and principal of Chieftain Capital Management, a New York City-based investment advisory firm. 

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & YOUTH: Stern and Denise have supported institutions like Horace Mann School, Riverdale Country School, Dartmouth College Fund, Milton Academy, and Yale University. Some of these schools have a personal connection to the family. The couple also supports youth organizations like SquashSmarts and Row New York, which combines competitive rowing with educational programming for at risk youth.

HEALTH: Denise is a doctor and Stern once chaired the board of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. Their reasons are personal, as their daughter was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes when she was young. The Diabetes Research Institute's Dr. Denise R. Stern and Thomas D. Stern Fast Track Center bears the couple's name. Other grantees have included Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Food Allergy & Research Education, and New York Stem Cell Foundation.

POLICY: The Sterns have supported organizations like The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Lawyers for Children, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), and the Gatestone Institute, a "non-partisan, not-for-profit international policy council and think tank based in New York City"

JEWISH CAUSES: Thomas Stern chairs the board of Birthright Israel. The family has given strong support to Birthright Israel Foundation, as well as UJA Federation of New York, and Hope for Heroism, which helps injured and disabled Israeli soldiers. Other grantees have included American Jewish Committee, and Friends of Ir David. 

LOOKING FORWARD: Stern is still very much engaged in business, but should be watched for greater giving down the line. The family's personal connection to diabetes, in particular, is something to watch. 

CONTACT:

The Thomas D. & Denise R. Stern Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the couple but below is an address:

Thomas D. & Denise R. Stern Family Foundation
1375 Broadway
New York City, NY 10018