The Howard Gilman Foundation

The Howard Gilman Foundation

The Howard Gilman Foundation was established in 1981 by Howard Gilman, who built Gilman Paper Company. Laura Aden and Mary C. Farrell now oversee operations from the foundation's headquarters at 24 West 40th Street in New York. The structure channels resources into three core areas: performing arts, wildlife conservation, and cardiovascular disease research. Asset allocations include an 18 percent position in private equity alongside direct holdings. Confirmed positions center on real estate and historical collections rather than operating companies. Geographic focus remains the United States, with primary activity in New York and prior land holdings in Florida. The foundation previously maintained the 7,400-acre White Oak Plantation for conservation and conference use before its 2013 sale. The foundation employs eight professionals. It maintains the Howard Gilman Opera House endowment at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and transferred the Gilman photography collection of over 8,500 works to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005. Additional donations include 205 architectural drawings to the Museum of Modern Art. No operational events from the last 24 months appear in available records. Governance centers on a board led by Mary C. Farrell, with day-to-day direction from President and CEO Laura Aden. Investment management is outsourced to BlackRock and Strategic Advisers LLC. This separation keeps the foundation's mandate limited to grant-making rather than direct investment operations.