Helping New York Heal After 9/11

The Starr Foundation has called New York City home for over 70 years, where its support for the community has helped shape hospitals, schools, and social service programs.

When the city faced an unthinkable nightmare on Sept. 11, 2001, the Starr Foundation was ready to help. Within weeks, the Foundation donated $10 million to support firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, and other first responders and their families.

Generous individuals and groups from across the country and around the world wanted to do their part – and the city needed someone to coordinate the donations as they poured in from all directions. Then-mayor Giuliani picked up the phone and called the Starr Foundation’s chairman, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, to ask him to lead the philanthropic response.

Hank did not hesitate. As a World War II veteran who lied about his age to enlist, he was no stranger to answering the call to serve.

Trusting Organizations on the Ground

After the initial grants that addressed the immediate needs of first responders and their families, Mr. Greenberg and the Foundation turned their attention to supporting the network of nonprofit organizations that were directly helping New Yorkers meet their basic needs and access the social services they depend on.

The Foundation’s approach was novel for its time. Rather than defining specific projects they wanted to fund, Mr.Greenberg and the team gave unrestricted grants to nonprofits for general operating support, which meant the organizations alone got to decide how to spend the money. With a long history of trusting the individuals working directly on the ground in communities, The Foundation got busy writing checks.

The grants were entirely flexible, addressing needs that ranged from food and shelter for displaced people to helping children and families cope with the trauma, whether from direct loss or proximity to the attack on their community. This flexibility allowed the nonprofits to scale up their operations to ensure no one went without.

“Our job is to make sure we support the right people. Our job is not to question the work that they do.” Courtney O’Malley, President, The Starr Foundation

Building a Lasting Legacy

After the initial emergency response, Mr. Greenberg and The Foundation focused on helping New Yorkers heal through remembrance and education, committing $25 million as a founding supporter of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

This year, 25 years after the attacks, Starr gave $1 million toward a new exhibition, "In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11-Inspired Service." A third of Americans today are too young to remember Sept. 11, or were born after it happened. The exhibition examines the enduring impact of service inspired by the attacks.

Through its giving, The Starr Foundation helped ensure the story of that day and the resilience that followed would reach people for generations to come.