A $20 million bequest from the late Richard L. English to the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven will provide ongoing financial support to the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Museum, Neighborhood Music School, and Connecticut Yankee Council Boy Scouts of America.
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s website indicates that “the money establishes the Richard L. English Fund as a permanent endowment, which will be invested in perpetuity and from which earnings will be distributed as grants annually to the following organizations: New Haven Symphony Orchestra (40% of available annual distribution), the New Haven Museum (40% of available annual distribution), the Neighborhood Music School (10% of available annual distribution) and the Connecticut Yankee Council Boy Scouts of America (10% of available annual distribution).”
Will Ginsberg, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s president and CEO, was quoted on the organization’s website as saying, “This extraordinary gift is a great step forward for community philanthropy in Greater New Haven and a reminder to us all of the powerful role local giving plays in the future of our community.”
A New Haven Symphony Orchestra press release explains that “English was the son of Philip and Katharine Dana English, an accomplished cellist for the NHSO. … His grandfather, Henry English, was one of the founders of the NHSO in 1894.”
English died in July at age 76.
Elaine Carroll, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s executive director, was quoted in that organization’s press release as saying, “Richard English’s historic gift assures that we will be an orchestra for the future. His generosity allows us to pursue new collaborations to better meet the needs of our community. For generations to come, music will be a lively presence in Connecticut thanks to Richard English.”