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Corporation News
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FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carnegie Corporation of New York
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$2 MILLION AWARDED TO URBAN PUBLIC LIBARIES CELEBRATING ANDREW
CARNEGIE’S PHILANTHROPIC CAREER
(New
York, NY—February 14, 2002) In honor of the seven recipients
of the first Andrew Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy, Carnegie Corporation
of New York's Board of Trustees approved a $2 million grant to enhance
book collections in public libraries based in cities in which the
honorees reside. The awardees are among the most illustrious in
the history of philanthropy and include: Ambassadors Walter H. and
Leonore Annenberg on behalf of the Annenberg Foundation, Brooke
Astor, Irene Diamond, the Gates family, David and Laurance S. Rockefeller
on behalf of the Rockefeller family, George Soros and Ted Turner.
The awardees live in three East Coast cities—Atlanta, Philadelphia
and New York City—and Seattle, Washington.
The
awards ceremony took place at the New York Public Library on December
10, 2001, symbolizing the great importance Mr. Carnegie placed on
libraries. The New York Public Library had received $5.2 million
on December 4, 1901 from Mr. Carnegie towards the planning of branch
libraries throughout the five boroughs of New York City. He spent
over $55 million of his wealth on building over 2,500 libraries
throughout the world.
"The
best way to launch these medals is not with a bang, but with a book,"said
Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York,
referring to the launch of the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
which will be given every two years. "To Andrew Carnegie, it
was not an exaggeration to say that the public library ‘outranks
any other one thing that a community can do to help its people.'"
"We
believe the awardees represent a diverse cross section of philanthropic
commitments and geographic locations, as well as old and new views
of giving. December 10th offered us an opportunity to showcase the
ideals of the remarkable people who are following an ideal forged
by Mr. Carnegie. By celebrating his work and theirs, we would like
to make a contribution to the communities in which they reside,"Gregorian
said.
New
York City, home to four of the awardees—Brooke Astor, Irene
Diamond, the Rockefeller family and George Soros—will receive
$1.5 million for its three library systems, The New York Public
Library, the Brooklyn Public Library Foundation and the Queens Library
Foundation. The New York Public Library, which serves the boroughs
of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, along with the separate
Brooklyn and Queens library systems, will receive three-year grants
of $900,000, $300,000 and $300,000 respectively. Atlanta, home of
Ted Turner will receive a one-year grant of $100,000; Philadelphia,
home of Walter and Leonore Annenberg, will receive a two-year grant
of $200,000; and Seattle, home of the Gates family will receive
a two-year grant of $200,000.
The
libraries and their areas of focus are:
- Atlanta-Fulton
Public Library System for expanding the international book
collection.
- Brooklyn
Public Library Foundation, Inc. for expanding the book collections
for children and young adults
- Free
Library of Philadelphia for expanding the fiction and non-fiction
book collection for teens.
- New
York Public Library for acquiring books for branch libraries
and research libraries.
- Queens
Library Foundation, Inc. for expanding the book collection
of the International Resource Center.
- Seattle
Public Library Foundation to purchase books in Korean, Chinese,
Vietnamese, Japanese and Russian.
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to
promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding."
As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out
Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to
do real and permanent good in the world." The Corporation's
capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million,
had a market value of $1.7 billion on September 30, 2001. The Corporation
awards grants totaling approximately $75 million a year in the areas
of education, international peace and security, international development
and strengthening U.S. democracy.
For
more information about the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy,
click
here.
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