SOURCE OF WEALTH: Goldman Sachs, Crestview Partners
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture, Education & Youth, Policy & Global
OVERVIEW: Bob and Soledad Hurst conduct their philanthropy through the Hurst Family Foundation. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded just under $3.2 million in grants in 2017. Much of the family’s giving through their foundation focuses on Aspen, where they reside. The arts and education are top priorities.
BACKGROUND: Robert Hurst received an undergraduate degree from Clark University in 1966 and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He spent 30 years at Goldman Sachs, retiring as vice chairman in 2004, and is currently a managing director at Crestview Partners.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: The Hursts live in Aspen, an important site of their arts giving. Hurst calls Aspen Music Festival and School and The Aspen Institute “the twin cultural pillars of Aspen” and serves on the board of each. The couple recently made a large donation to The Aspen Institute to support community outreach programs. Soledad, meanwhile, sits on the board of Theatre Aspen, another grantee. Other grantees have included Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, The Wolfsonian in Miami, The Jewish Museum, Aspen Science Center, Jazz Aspen, and Whitney Museum, which has received particularly large sums. Hurst was once president of the board of Whitney and is currently chair of the executive committee.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The couple has steadily supported Aspen Country Day School (where their children attended) as well as University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale Law School Fund. Soledad graduated from Yale Law School and worked in New York as a lawyer and investment banker.
POLICY & GLOBAL: The Hursts have supported FINCA, which “improves lives and transforms communities through innovative microfinance and social enterprise programs in financially excluded regions worldwide,” as well as The Washington Institute and Council on Foreign Relations, of which Hurst is a member.
OTHER: The couple also earmarks funds for select Jewish and environmental organizations.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Aspen to remain an important site of giving for the time being. Down the line, Miami may emerge as an important region. Trustee Alex Hurst runs a real estate equity firm with offices in New York and Miami.
CONTACT:
The Hurst Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
The Hurst Family Foundation
c/o Crestview Partners
590 Madison Ave.
New York City, NY 10022
LINK:
