Based in New York City, The Wallace Foundation is a national philanthropy that seeks to improve learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and foster the vitality of the arts for everyone. The foundation has an unusual approach: funding projects to test innovative ideas for solving important social problems, conducting research to find out what works and what doesn’t and to fill key knowledge gaps – and then communicating the results to help others.

History:

The Wallace Foundation traces its origins back more than a half century to the philanthropic impulses of DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, founders of The Reader's Digest Association. Giving freely of their time and the wealth amassed from the "little magazine" they launched in 1922, the Wallaces contributed generously to a wide assortment of artistic, cultural and educational causes during their lifetimes. They also ensured that after their deaths their fortune would go to philanthropy. The Wallaces' giving has touched many institutions and their legacy continues today through the work of The Wallace Foundation. You may read more about the Wallaces and their philanthropy in a booklet published byThe New York Community Trust, where they established a number of charitable funds.

With assets of about $1.5 billion in 2015, The Wallace Foundation stays true to Lila and DeWitt Wallace's passions for education, youth development and the arts. Wallace today aims to better the lives of disadvantaged children in America’s urban areas and foster the vitality of the arts for all. In particular, we focus on school leadership, afterschool programming, summer learning, expanded learning, building audiences for the arts and arts education for young people.

Mission: