Carl H. Pforzheimer III.

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Carl H. Pforzheimer & Co

FUNDING AREAS: American and English Literature, Arts & Education, Human Services

OVERVIEW: Carl H. Pforzheimer III. moves philanthropy through the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Inc., which maintains publishing and research activities in connection with the Carl H. Pforzheimer Library collection at the New York Public Library. It also earmarks more modest sums for other causes, including human services. According to available tax filings, the Pforzheimer Foundation awarded $17,000 in grants in 2018.

BACKGROUND: Carl H. Pforzheimer III. graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature. Pforzheimer joined his father’s Carl H. Pforzheimer & Co in 1963, became a partner in 1964.

ISSUES:

AMERICAN & ENGLISH LITERATURE: The late financier Carl H. Pforzheimer took a special interest in the lives and works of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his contemporaries, including his second wife, Mary Wollstonecraft. He launched the Pforzheimer Collection at New York Public Library. In 1986, The Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation donated the Shelley and His Circle Collection to The New York Public Library and continues to support the collection. Annually, the bulk of the foundation’s expenses go to supporting this effort. Carl H. Pforzheimer III. is a life trustee of New York Public Library.

ARTS & EDUCATION: Pforzheimer and family have supported Pace University, home to the Pforzheimer Honors College. Via their foundation, the Pforzheimers have supported places like UrbanGlass, Art Beyond Sight, and Folger Shakespeare Library.

HUMAN SERVICES: Grantees have included Henry Street Settlement; INCLUDEnyc, which “works to bring love, equity, and access to young people with disabilities in New York City”; New Alternatives for Children; and Mount Sinai.

LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the family’s steady patronage of the Pforzheimer Collection to continue in particular.

CONTACT:

The Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Inc.
950 3rd Ave., 30th Fl.
New York, NY 10022
(212) 223-6500