The Heckscher Foundation For Children

02/26/2026

What if philanthropy applied the same rigor to outcomes that businesses apply to performance?

At Heckscher, that’s our model.

Our focus is catalytic impact: investments that solve real challenges facing young people and measure success with objective metrics.

See this approach in action in our 2025 Annual Report:

10/07/2025

We are pleased to support New Visions for Public Schools on the Phase 3 launch of their Career Directory for NYC students.

October 6, 2025 | New York, NY – New Visions for Public Schools is thrilled to announce the Phase 3 launch of its groundbreaking Career Directory. Generously launched through a grant from The Heckscher Foundation for Children, this free, open-access platform is a new frontier in our commitment to ...

09/16/2025

Swimming is an essential life skill. It saves lives, builds confidence, and every kid deserves it. This fall, 800+ Staten Island 2nd graders will get that chance. With YMCA of Greater New York, JCC of Staten Island, and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, we’re piloting a swim program that could be the blueprint for ALL NYC kids. Learn more about the program and our vision for citywide impact:

New York, NY – September 16, 2025 — In a bold new effort to expand access to essential life skills for New York City’s youngest residents and to close the water safety gap, the Heckscher Foundation for Children today announced a catalytic grant to support a collaborative pilot swim program on ...

02/25/2025

Our 2024 Annual Report is here. The Heckscher Foundation for Children continues to fund innovative, results-driven programs that create real opportunities for underserved youth.
Read the full report: https://heckscherfoundation.org/about/2024-annual-report/

07/09/2024

Peter Sloane, Chairman and CEO of Heckscher Foundation: for youth job training programs to work, employers must have skin in the game. Read the full strategic essay here:

First-of-its-kind workforce program is using $7.6 million in grants to increase employer investment and commitment in talent development.

03/14/2024

College student engagement is, simply put, way too low - check out this The Heckscher Foundation For Children funded report identifying promising engagement strategies to improve college student engagement and thereby student success.

12/13/2023

Heckscher Foundation Seeks to Combat Rampant Antisemitism with Emergency Funding

The Heckscher Foundation For Children today announced substantial emergency funding to combat the dramatic increase in antisemitism directed at youth in the wake of the October 7, 2023 massacre by the terrorist group Hamas. Supporters of Israel and young Jews are being bullied, intimidated, and phys...

09/07/2023

Our grantee Literacy Academy Collective opened today! From the New York Times: “The city’s first district school for children with dyslexia (www.literacyacademycollective.org/enroll) will open after a yearslong push from families, starting with about 70 second- and third-grade students." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/nyregion/nyc-public-schools-reading.html

09/06/2023

The Heckscher Foundation for Children is pleased to announce that up to $500,000 is available for New York charter schools, pre-K through first grade, to implement EarlyBird – a self-administered, interactive game that detects dyslexia and other reading difficulties. More details here:

Funded by the Heckscher Foundation for Children, the EarlyBird in New York Request for Proposals gives NYC Charter Schools the chance to apply for free access to the EarlyBird platform.

07/19/2023

Solving our greatest workforce problems requires innovation. We’re proud to announce a new, unique program to do just that. The Heckscher Foundation Challenge is creating a pipeline for young adults from underserved communities to gain the necessary skills for aspiring careers. Learn more:

Newly Created Heckscher Foundation Workforce Development Grants Aim to Create More Than 1,100 Full-Time Jobs in New York.

03/08/2023

In 2022, we tackled major issues affecting underserved youth in New York – from K-12 education to high school, college, workforce and beyond. Read our annual report:

2022 Year in Review   2022 Year in Review Year in Review 2022: College enrollment declined by over 1 million students. Less than 1/3 of 4th and 8th grade students are proficient in math. Reading scores are not much better. Schools are doing little to prepare youth for the workforce. Here is what we...

01/18/2023

The Heckscher Foundation for Children is pleased to announce the $3 million Heckscher Foundation Challenge to request proposals for innovative workforce partnerships to provide youth in New York a clear path from education to a meaningful career. Check it out and apply by April 30th, 2023 → https://heckscherfoundationchallenge.org