Our Grantmaking
Since 1982, The Sperry Fund has awarded $7M in selective grants to support leadership, mentorship, fellowships, and access to education.
Featured Grantees
Restless Development
Building the Collective Power of Young Leaders Globally
Years supported: 2009–2018
Focus areas: Youth leadership, civic empowerment, community health, and capacity-building
The Sperry Fund supported Restless Development through a series of strategic grants that helped the organization scale youth-led impact globally. This included two early “game-changing” grants that supported growth, followed by multi-year funding to strengthen alumni mentorship, expand partnerships, and advance youth-led development at the UN and within U.S. policy spheres.
Restless credited the support with enabling innovation and scale—including influencing major funders and raising over $17M to support youth-led change.
Columbia University
Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP)
Years supported: 2007-2020
Focus area: Human rights leadership training and global advocacy networks
Through annual grants, The Sperry Fund helped underwrite participation in Columbia University’s Human Rights Advocates Program—supporting one Advocate per cycle. HRAP brings international human rights leaders to New York City for graduate-level coursework, mentorship, and skills-based workshops in areas such as campaign strategy, fundraising, public speaking, research, and documentation.
Hampshire College
James Baldwin Scholars Program
Years supported: 2015
Focus areas: Educational access, transition support, cohort-based mentorship
The James Baldwin Scholars Program provides students from communities with fewer educational resources an additional year of academic preparation, mentoring, and skills-building between high school and college. In 2015, The Sperry Fund made a grant to strengthen cohort stability and support student success through the program’s community-based design.
Between 1992 and 2015, 160 Baldwin Scholars matriculated, and 73% graduated.
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
International Conservation Science Traineeship
“Sperry Fund Scholars”
Years supported: 2013 and 2016 (three-year grants)
Focus areas: Conservation leadership development and scientific training
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is an internationally recognized refuge and science center for birds of prey, with a long-standing commitment to conservation education and research. The Sperry Fund supported Hawk Mountain’s advanced training model by funding “Sperry Fund Scholars”—doctoral candidates whose research, mentorship, and credentials position them for future leadership in global raptor conservation.
Camille Concepcion (Philippines) — field biologist and educator focused on raptor ecology
Machawe I. Maphalala (Swaziland) — researcher studying land-use change and birds of prey
National Gallery of Art
Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA)
GRANT TYPE: Endowment support (funded over five years)
Focus area: Arts and humanities research fellowships
The Sperry Fund supported CASVA—an international center for advanced study in art and architecture—through a five-year endowment grant supporting Visiting Senior Fellows, a Postdoctoral Fellow, and a Postdoctoral Research Associate. By combining its giving with the Beinecke family’s philanthropy, The Sperry Fund helped create a broader impact than independent gifts alone could.
Phillips Academy Andover &
Prep for Prep
Years supported: 1992–2022
Focus area: Educational access and opportunity pathways for NYC students
Over three decades, The Sperry Fund made a series of major grants to Phillips Academy Andover and the NYC-based Prep for Prep program to expand educational access and support long-term pathways to higher education for students from New York City. This sustained commitment helped strengthen Andover’s mission to educate students “from every quarter,” while supporting opportunity and community-building through scholarship endowment.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Michael Ann Holly Fellowship Endowment
Years supported: 2014–2015
Focus area: Visual arts research fellowships and endowment building
The Sperry Fund supported the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program through grants that helped meet a major Mellon Foundation matching challenge, building a $1M endowment for the Michael Ann Holly Fellowship. This support strengthened one of the premier visual arts research institutes in the United States and helped sustain future scholarship in the arts and humanities.