After 60 years of supporting arts, education, health and community services, the Helena Rubinstein Foundation will close its doors by the end of the year, according to a recent press release.
Established in 1953, the Foundation contributed close to $130 million to programs that benefited women, children and disadvantaged communities. Recipients of the Foundation’s final grants included:
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Food Bank of NYC
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
The New York Stem Cell Foundation
At the age of 20, Rubinstein started what would become one of the most successful cosmetic businesses with a single product – face cream. Acknowledging that her fortune came from women, she built her Foundation on the principle that a percentage of her wealth should benefit women and children.
The Foundation was a major beneficiary of Rubinstein’s legacy when she died in 1965, at the age of 94. Over the years, the Foundation’s directors broadened the scope of philanthropic support to reflect the changing needs of society.
Remaining true to Rubinstein’s interest in the arts, final grants were also awarded to:
The Museum of Modern Art
The Shakespeare Society – a Shakespeare in Schools program
Figure Skating in Harlem – an after school sports program for girls
Publicolor – an organization that paints neglected schools and public spaces
While reasons for fading out the Foundation were not given, hers is a face that will be missed within the world of philanthropy.
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