$20 Million Bequest to Benefit Local Community
New Haven Native Richard L. English Leaves $20 Million to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Five local nonprofits to benefit: New Haven Symphony, New Haven Museum, Neighborhood Music School, Connecticut Yankee Council Boy Scouts of America and New Haven Bird Club
New Haven, CT (December 15, 2011) – The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region's largest grantmaker and permanent endowment, announces that the late Richard English has made a $20,024,640 bequest - the largest bequest in its almost 84 year history. Per Mr. English’ wish, the money establishes the Richard L. English Fund as a permanent endowment, which will be invested in perpetuity and from which earnings will be distributed as grants annually to the following organizations: New Haven Symphony Orchestra (40% of available annual distribution), the New Haven Museum (40% of available annual distribution), the Neighborhood Music School (10% of available annual distribution) and the Connecticut Yankee Council Boy Scouts of America (10% of available annual distribution). A second bequest of $50,000 was also made to establish the Richard L. English Fund for Birding Activities to support the New Haven Bird Club, of which he was the longest-standing member. The English Funds will be a permanent source of steady revenue for the designated beneficiaries, year after year.
“This extraordinary gift is a great step forward for community philanthropy in Greater New Haven and a reminder to us all of the powerful role local giving plays in the future of our community,” said Will Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
“The magnitude of Mr. English’s generosity will be felt for generations, every time an English Fund beneficiary thrills this local community with a concert, teaches a child to play a musical instrument, inspires an appreciation for New Haven’s rich history, and builds a child’s character through scouting activities,” said Rolan Joni Young, Chair of the Board of Directors of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
“For over 300 years, the English family has contributed to New Haven’s history and helped to build our City into Connecticut’s cultural center,” says Elaine Carroll Executive Director of New Haven Symphony Orchestra. “ With this historic gift to the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Richard English assures that we will be an orchestra for the future. His generosity will allow us to pursue new collaborations and to achieve greater success in meeting the needs of our community. For generations to come, music will be a living, breathing presence in Connecticut thanks to Richard English.”
“Richard English’s generous bequest is a continuation of many years of support for this institution from the English family. His grandparents and parents were noted for their involvement here, and Richard’s interest and support has always been an encouragement. These funds will enable us to go forward as we seek to ‘collect, preserve and make available’ material docmenting the history of this region,” said Jim Campbell, Librarian and Curator of Manuscripts at the New Haven Museum.
“Richard was very interested in the preservation of open land and birding was very important to him,” says Louis Salute, Council Scout Executive, “but he was also interested in youth development. He wanted to help young people appreciate wildlife and the environment.”
“The English family has a deep connection to New Haven and long standing ties to The Community Foundation,” said Will Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “Richard’s bequest follows the tradition of his parents, who each established funds through their wills to ensure that their local community would continue to benefit for generations to come.”
Mr. English was part of a well-known New Haven family and the descendant of Connecticut Governor James English, his Great Grandfather, and Yale scientist James Dwight Dana, a noted geologist and chief editor of the American Journal of Science and Arts.
Richard’s enthusiasm for conservation, community-involvement and music was shared by his grandfather and parents. Richard’s maternal grandfather Arnold Dana, was involved in preserving the head of Sleeping Giant and helped make it part of the State park system. His paternal grandfather Henry English was a founding member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and New Haven's Park Commission, giving 57 years of service to the latter to improve and preserve the city’s park system. Richard’s father Philip English served on the same Commission for nearly 25 years and was also a member of the Proprietors Committee for the New Haven Green, the Board of Library Commissioners, the Board of Airport Commissioners, and the Board of Education. Philip was involved with the Boy Scouts for nearly 60 years, donating a scout shelter and dining facility at Camp Sequassen in Winsted, CT. Richard’s mother Katharine Dana English was past president of the Board of Directors of Neighborhood Music School and of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. She also served as a Director of the YWCA.
Like his ancestors before him, Richard was generous with his time, supporting the causes that mattered most to him, such as the study and preservation of birds. He served as the president of the New Haven Bird Club in the 1960s and was also a member of the CT Ornithology Association’s Rare Records Committee, in which capacity he helped evaluate reports of new and rare species. He is credited with making the first CT sightings of White-winged Dove, Boat-tailed Grackle, Hermit Warbler and Tropical Kingbird. A portion of acreage at the Boy Scout Camp Deer Lake in Killingworth, CT was designated the Richard English Bird Sanctuary for his contribution to preserving the area’s natural habitat.
Richard’s other love was of music. He studied classical piano for 20 years. His knowledge of both classical music and birds has been said to have been encyclopedic. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Quinnipiac College in 1961, served in the Army Reserves and retired from the First New Haven National Bank.
Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, millions of dollars each year are distributed from an endowment of approximately $325 million in more than 800 named funds at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. In addition to its grantmaking, The Community Foundation works toward building a stronger community by: taking measures to improve student achievement, including partnering with the City of New Haven and Yale University to create New Haven Promise which promotes college education as an aspiration and provides graduates college scholarships; serving as the lead for New Haven Healthy Start, a federally funded program to improve maternal health and reduce the infant mortality rate; working with various groups to grow and deepen the impact of their philanthropy; identifying and supporting grassroots leadership; and strengthening nonprofits and promoting philanthropy through technical assistance programs, a new online knowledge and giving resource known as www.giveGreater.org, and raising awareness about community issues at www.cfgnh.org/learn. Donors interested in learning more about their charitable giving options through The Community Foundation are encouraged to contact Angela Powers at apowers@cfgnh.org or 203-777-7068. For more information, visit www.cfgnh.org or www.facebook.com/cfgnh.