The Filomena M. D’Agostino Foundation (also styled Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation Corp.) is a private grantmaking foundation based in New York City. Established as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization in 1990 (EIN 13-3548660), it supports charitable, educational, scientific, and related purposes, with a primary focus on the New York metropolitan area.
It operates as a private foundation funded by investment returns rather than ongoing public contributions, maintaining substantial assets while distributing roughly $1.4–1.5 million annually in grants.
Namesake and historical roots
The foundation honors Filomen D’Agostino Greenberg (often called Fil or Filomen M. D’Agostino), a pioneering figure in law and philanthropy. Born around 1899 and raised in Coney Island, she entered New York University School of Law in 1917 as a teenager. At a time when women lawyers were rare, she earned her degree in 1920 while working as a clerk for $3 a week. She practiced negligence and criminal law and later married Max E. Greenberg (NYU Law class of 1919), a successful contract-law expert who died in 1980.
During World War II, while working as a government censor, she developed an interest in the stock market after decoding market quotations in a letter. She became a highly successful self-taught investor. Together with her husband—and continuing after his death—she provided transformative support to NYU School of Law. By 1990 her gifts exceeded $6 million, making her the school’s largest benefactor at the time. These included funding for the Filomen D’Agostino Residence Hall (inspired by her own long daily commute from Brooklyn as a student), the Greenberg Lounge in Vanderbilt Hall, the Max E. Greenberg Professorship in Contract Law, and the D’Agostino-Greenberg Faculty Research Fund.
She died in 2000 at age 101. The foundation, established a decade earlier, continues her legacy of supporting education, the arts, and public-interest causes. It also underwrites named scholarships at NYU Law, including the Filomen M. D’Agostino Scholarship for Women’s and Children’s Rights (full-tuition awards for students committed to related public-service work) and support for civil-rights, civil-liberties, and criminal-justice scholars within the Root-Tilden-Kern program.
Mission and grantmaking focus
The foundation primarily funds nonprofit organizations in the New York City area. Priority areas include:
- Arts and culture (especially museums)
- Children and youth
- Education, including higher education
- Health (medical research, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and related causes)
- Social services
Support typically takes the form of general operating or project grants. Awards commonly range from a few thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars.
A signature ongoing commitment is to the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School (FMDG Music School), an independent nonprofit that provides adaptive music education, performance opportunities, braille and large-print music resources, and related services for people of all ages with vision loss. Recent foundation grants to the school have been substantial (reported figures include $100,000–$225,000 in a recent fiscal year).
The foundation also serves as a series funder and underwriter for the long-running PBS natural history program Nature, produced by The WNET Group. Nature has been a benchmark series for wildlife and environmental documentary filmmaking since 1982, and the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation is regularly listed among its major supporters alongside other foundations and public television viewers.
Notable recipients
Other documented recent recipients of the Filomena M. (or Filomen M.) D’Agostino Foundation include several prominent New York–based and national organizations, reflecting the foundation’s priorities in arts and culture, health, animal welfare, and human services. Recent grants (drawn from Form 990-PF filings, primarily for the fiscal year ending around February 2025) have included substantial support such as $100,000 each to the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, $50,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association, $15,000 to America’s VetDogs, $5,000 to the ASPCA, and $15,000 to the Center for Hearing and Communication.
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
Founded in 1869 in New York City, the AMNH is one of the world’s leading scientific and cultural institutions. Its mission is “to discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.” Located across from Central Park, it houses extensive collections (over 34 million specimens and artifacts), iconic halls (including dinosaurs and the Rose Center for Earth and Space), and supports global research expeditions, education programs, and exhibitions that reach millions of visitors annually.
Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
Established in 1870 by civic leaders, businessmen, artists, and philanthropists who sought to bring art and art education to the American public, The Met is one of the largest and most comprehensive art museums in the world. Its current mission is to collect, study, conserve, and present significant works of art across time and cultures in order to connect all people to creativity, knowledge, ideas, and one another. With holdings spanning more than 5,000 years and two main sites in New York (Fifth Avenue and The Cloisters), it serves as both a global cultural resource and a local educational hub.
Alzheimer’s Association
Founded in 1980 by family caregivers and researchers (with Jerome H. Stone as a key early leader), this is the leading voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Its mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia—by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Headquartered in Chicago with a national network of chapters, it is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research, operates a 24/7 helpline, advocates for policy change, and provides education and caregiver support to millions.
America’s VetDogs
Created in 2003 as a program of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and established as an independent 501(c)(3) organization in 2006 (headquartered in Smithtown, New York), America’s VetDogs helps those who have served the country honorably live with dignity and independence. It trains and places service dogs, guide dogs, PTSD service dogs, and facility dogs free of charge for U.S. veterans, active-duty service members, and (since 2015) first responders with physical disabilities, vision or hearing loss, PTSD, and other conditions. The cost to breed, raise, train, and place one dog exceeds $50,000; all services are provided at no cost to recipients.
ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
Founded in 1866 in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, the ASPCA is the first animal-welfare organization in North America. Its enduring mission is “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” Early work focused on protecting working horses and establishing anti-cruelty laws; today it engages in animal rescue, adoption, veterinary care, behavioral rehabilitation, disaster response, legislative advocacy, and support for local shelters nationwide.
Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC)
Established in 1910 in New York (originally as the Nitchie Service League / League for the Hard of Hearing) and later renamed, CHC is a nonprofit providing high-quality, comprehensive services to empower people of all ages affected by hearing loss, deafness, or listening challenges. Services include audiology, hearing-aid fitting, speech-language therapy, cochlear-implant support, tinnitus treatment, educational advocacy, and emotional wellness counseling. It operates locations in New York City and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and emphasizes accessibility regardless of ability to pay or mode of communication.
The Frick Collection (historical support)
The foundation has a longer record of contributions to The Frick Collection, the renowned museum of European fine and decorative arts housed in the former Gilded Age mansion of industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) on New York’s Upper East Side. Opened to the public in 1935, its mission centers on preserving and displaying the collection, augmenting holdings in the fields Frick established, providing public access and education, offering an intimate experience of Gilded Age life, and serving as a center for art-historical research (including through the Frick Art Research Library founded by Frick’s daughter Helen).
These organizations illustrate the foundation’s consistent emphasis on cultural enrichment, scientific and medical advancement, support for vulnerable populations (including veterans, people with disabilities, and those affected by disease), and animal welfare—continuing the broader philanthropic vision associated with Filomen D’Agostino Greenberg. Additional grants have gone to various educational and human-services nonprofits, often in the New York metropolitan area, though detailed public listings beyond the major recipients remain limited to IRS filings.
Financial profile and governance
As of the fiscal year ending February 2025, the foundation reported approximately $24 million in net assets, with revenue driven almost entirely by dividends and gains from the sale of assets (roughly $1.8 million that year). Charitable disbursements accounted for the large majority of expenses (about 90 percent). The foundation has no paid officers or employees.
Current leadership includes:
- David Malkin, Director/President
- Lorene A. Corrado, Director/Vice President
- Jessica A. Malkin, Director/Vice President
Earlier filings listed Max D’Agostino among the directors. The foundation’s mailing address is in care of David Malkin at 30 Sutton Place, New York, NY 10022 (phone: 212-486-8615). It does not maintain a public website and appears to make grants by invitation or preexisting relationships rather than open application processes.
Enduring impact
Through steady, multi-year support for education, accessible arts programming, health research, public media such as the PBS series Nature, and social services, the Filomena M. D’Agostino Foundation extends the practical generosity of a woman who overcame barriers in early-20th-century law and built wealth through disciplined investing. Its contributions help sustain institutions that expand opportunity—particularly for students pursuing public-interest careers, people with vision loss seeking musical education, and organizations advancing cultural, scientific, and medical progress in New York and beyond. The foundation remains a quiet but consistent presence in the region’s philanthropic landscape more than three decades after its creation.
