About The Sperry Fund
For more than half a century, we’ve envisioned a world in which curiosity, critical thinking, and compassion guide the next generation of scholars and leaders.
Our Mission
The Sperry Fund exists to help intellectually gifted individuals realize their academic dreams.
Through the Beinecke Scholarship Programs, we invest in promising students whose talents and passions have the potential to advance knowledge, creativity, and human understanding.
“Part of why I love The Sperry Fund has to do with a sense of optimism for the future.”
Sarah Beinecke Richardson
Our Values
Integrity
Honoring a 50-year commitment to fairness, equity, and academic excellence.
Mentorship
Offering more than financial support, such as personal guidance, advocacy, and long-term connection.
Impact
Empowering scholars to shape their disciplines and influence their communities.
Our People
From its earliest days, The Sperry Fund has been guided by family members and directors who believe deeply in the power of education to shape the future.
Rick Beinecke
President, The Sperry Fund
In 1982, Rick Beinecke became President of The Sperry Fund. A founding director of the Fund since 1977, Rick has given nearly fifty years of leadership advancing the Beinecke Scholarship Programs and the Fund’s mission to expand access to academic opportunity and excellence.
A longtime New York philanthropist, Rick has held many leadership roles in the arts and conservation fields, including chairmanship of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, where he was trustee for twenty years.
Matthew Loar, Ph.D.
Program Director
Matthew Loar has been the Program Director of The Sperry Fund’s Beinecke Scholarship Program since 2022, leading the management and administration of one of the nation’s most prestigious graduate fellowships for students in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
In this role, he supports emerging scholars through every stage of the Beinecke competition and advances the Fund’s mission to empower outstanding intellectual promise and promote courageous academic pursuits.