Our History

The history of the Heckscher Foundation for Children is a multifaceted story with three principal participants. One was Charles August Heckscher (1848-1941), a visionary who achieved great financial success, who believed that wealth should be shared with others less fortunate, and who as one of his many benefactions started the Foundation. The second was Arthur Smadbeck (1887-1977), a friend of August Heckscher and fellow philanthropist, who reluctantly took over a shattered financial and management structure and made possible the survival and emergence of the Heckscher Foundation for Children as a major benefactor. The third was Ruth Smadbeck (1900-1986), who ran the Foundation for more than 50 years and who brought to its philanthropic activities a lifelong dedication to and love for children.

The Heckscher Foundation was founded in 1921. The assets consisted of land donated by August Heckscher at Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets in New York City and securities intended to provide funds for the construction of a building on the site and for its operations. At the time, it was the largest single gift for child welfare in the history of the City of New York. The Foundation building opened in 1922 and was designed to provide housing for children and a venue for extensive community activities. But in the Depression of the 1930s, the combination of heavily leveraged real estate speculations, a labor-intensive Foundation building, the bursting of the boom in Florida, and the Wall Street collapse caused the deterioration of the Foundation’s assets to the point of near collapse. The survival of the Foundation was in serious jeopardy.

August Heckscher turned to Arthur Smadbeck and Ruth Smadbeck, financial equals who shared his deep dedication to public service. Arthur Smadbeck was one of the first and most prolific suburban real estate developers of the era. Over the next decades Arthur Smadbeck built the Foundation piece by piece, while at the same time running his own successful businesses and extensive philanthropic endeavors. Ruth Smadbeck began as a volunteer several years after the Foundation building opened and ran the Foundation for over 50 years, including its multifaceted programs of dance, orchestra, exercise, swimming, the purchase and distribution of necessities for indigent children, a kindergarten, a theater, a craft room, a senior lounge, a photography group, a library, and a thrift shop, while at the same time broadcasting two radio programs a week offering advice and guidance on child care.

At August Heckscher’s death in 1941, Foundation income was $7,446.91 and no distributions to charity were possible. Arthur Smadbeck was left alone to construct an endowment for the Foundation. From 1941 until his death in 1977, Arthur Smadbeck donated his time and efforts to disposing of losing Foundation assets, consolidating others and creating a profitable platform on which he positioned the Foundation to support major outside charitable efforts.

At Ruth Smadbeck’s death in 1986 distributions to charity had grown to $1,169,219 and assets had grown to $22,072,773. Louis Smadbeck, a renowned real estate entrepreneur and civic leader in his own right, became Chairman of the Heckscher Foundation in 1986 and continued in this capacity until his death in 1992. Virginia Sloane was elected President in 1986, and continues to preside over the Foundation’s many philanthropic projects.

A new generation assumed leadership roles in 1997. Today, the Foundation’s assets have grown to well over $300 million and distributions to charity have dramatically increased.