A Century of Service

The Foundation’s commitment to serve youth dates back to 1885 and the founding of the Messiah Home for Children. The Messiah Home, along with the Kingsland Avenue Children’s Home and Booker T. Washington Home School, eventually merged into the existing Edwin Gould Foundation for Children, which was created in 1923. Throughout the following decades, the Foundation has provided funding and support for several of the nation’s most successful innovations in education, such as Teach For America, New York City Outward Bound, Edwin Gould Academy,  Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Generation Schools, New Jersey After 3, and recently, the Breakthrough Collaborative NYC, Citizen Schools NYC and the Workshop In Business Opportunities.

While the Foundation’s focus has evolved over the century, the tenets that set Gould apart have remained the same: a commitment to helping young people improve their lives and a long-term, deeply collaborative approach to grantmaking.

About Edwin Gould

Born in the mid-19th century to one of America’s wealthiest families, Edwin Gould, the son of American financier Jay Gould, was a successful businessman and committed family man who believed in giving back—generously and strategically. When his older son died in a tragic hunting accident, Edwin Gould focused most of his philanthropic investments on helping young people achieve their best. He supported diverse but complementary programs, most of them in the greater New York City area: youth boarding homes, summer camps, vocational and educational training programs, and healthcare facilities.