Philanthropist To Donate $23M To Archdiocese
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A New York philanthropist, Robert Wilson, has made the largest-ever donation to the Archdiocese of New York — a $22.5 million gift, earmarked for needbased scholarships to the Catholic elementary schools in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx.
Mr. Wilson, a former Wall Street investor, told The New York Sun that tens of millions of dollars were needed to subsidize tuition for thousands of children for whom Catholic school is too costly. “We’re saving the lives of 8,000 children, and we’re also saving the Roman Catholic school system from contracting more,” Mr. Wilson told The New York Sun. “My hope is that my gift will inspire others to pony up.”
Edward Cardinal Egan will officially announce the donation at a press conference this morning. In a statement yesterday, Cardinal Egan thanked Mr. Wilson for his “historic and far-sighted support.”
The money will be appropriated through the cardinal’s Scholarship Program, a two-year-old project launched by the cardinal, together with the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, and other partner organizations. The program is attempting to raise a total of $158 million by 2010. Mr. Wilson’s gift brings the total amount raised to $97 million, a sum including an anonymous $4.5 million gift.
