Bloomberg and His Company Increase Their Giving
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Mayor Bloomberg and his company doled out $143.9 million in charitable contributions last year to hundreds of organizations.
The donations went to nearly 990 museums, hospitals, civic groups, philanthropic foundations, and Jewish organizations. The $143.9 million in this year’s tax-exempt filing is up from $139.3 million in 2004 and $135.6 million in 2003.
The donations were listed in an 18-page document released by the mayor’s office yesterday. While they offer a glimpse into some of Mr. Bloomberg’s giving during his run for re-election in 2005, the filing lumps in donations by Bloomberg LP, the press and broadcast company the mayor founded before going into politics. Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire whose net worth is estimated at more than $5 billion, is still the majority owner of the company, which kicks in matching funds when an employee makes a personal donation.
The filing shows donations to groups Mr. Bloomberg is affiliated with, such as his alma maters Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University, where he went to business school, and Congregation Emanu-El, his synagogue.
Checks were also written to groups in Harlem, a community where many leaders criticized the mayor last year for opting out of a debate with his Democratic challenger. One of those organizations was the Dance Theatre of Harlem, which almost closed a few years ago before the mayor gave an “anonymous” $500,000 donation.
The listings also included a donation to the Drawing Center, which was ousted from the World Trade Center site’s master plan, the Hale House, a children’s charity that was rocked by scandal a few years ago, and the New York Building Congress, which back Mr. Bloomberg’s stadium proposal last year.The leadership at the Hale House was replaced after the scandal.
The amounts and dates of the contributions were not listed in the documents released yesterday. Mr. Bloomberg — who regularly ranks as one of the most generous philanthropists in the country — has already given $100 million to Johns Hopkins and $10 million to the World Trade Center Memorial this year. In August, he said he was devoting $125 million to reduce smoking worldwide.
