SOURCE OF WEALTH: Time Inc., Time Warner Cable
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Environment & Animals, Nantucket Community, Arts & Culture
OVERVIEW: N. J. Nicholas Jr. and his family move their philanthropy through the Nicholas Family Charitable Trust, which awarded under $250,000 in a recent year.
BACKGROUND: N. J. Nicholas Jr. graduated with an A.B. in economics from Princeton University and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Nicholas joined Time Inc. in 1964 and held a number of executive positions during his thirty-year career with the company. In 1986, he was named president of Time Inc., and also served as Co-CEO of Time Warner Inc.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Nicholas supports his schools, Harvard University, Phillips Academy, and Princeton University. He’s steadily supported Duke University, from where his brother Pete graduated. Duke also houses the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, which Pete and his wife founded. The Nicholas Foundation continues to support the institute. Other grantees include Teach for America and Groton School.
ENVIRONMENT & ANIMALS: Nicholas is an honorary trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund, which he supports. Nicholas once chaired the board of Environmental Defense Fund. Nicholas started becoming involved with environmental issues when he served on the Commission on Environmental Quality during George H. W. Bush’s administration. As he puts it, “it was during these meetings that I began to understand that solving environmental issues need not be an ‘either-or’ proposition, and policy solutions could be designed that were ‘win-win’ for the environment and for the economy.” Other grantees have included ASPCA and Riverside Park Conservancy.
NANTUCKET COMMUNITY: Nicholas also supports environmental and other issues in Nantucket, where the family has ties and where his daughter, Sasha, married. Grantees have included Sustainable Nantucket, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Artists Association of Nantucket, and Nantucket Arts Council.
ARTS & CULTURE: Grantees have included New York Historical Society, The Whitney, and The Met. It’s worth noting that Sasha is an art historian and curator who’s worked for both The Whitney and the New York Historical Society.
OTHER: Nicholas is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, which he supports.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the Nicholas family to continue their select interest areas. Keep an eye out for how Nicholas’ kids will evolve the family’s giving.
CONTACT:
Nicholas Family Charitable Trust
c/o Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr.
190 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10024
