SOURCE OF WEALTH: Highland Capital Partners, Boston Celtics
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health & Human Services, Arts & Culture, Boston community
OVERVIEW: Wycliffe “Wyc” Grousbeck conducts his philanthropy through the Grousbeck Trust. Accroding to available tax filings, the trust awarded $3.8 million in grants in 2018. Grousbeck chairs the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, which he has heavily supported. Grousbeck is the current owner of the Boston Celtics, and Boston is an important region of philanthropy for him.
BACKGROUND: Born in Weston, Massachusetts, Wycliffe Grousbeck graduated from Princeton in 1983, earned a law degree from University of Michigan in 1986, and an MBA from Stanford Business School in 1992. Grousbeck was a general partner of Highland Capital Partners and has been managing partner, governor and CEO of the Boston Celtics since 2002, after spearheading a local investment group that acquired the NBA team.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Grousbeck and his ex-wife Corrine Basler have been major supporters of Perkins School for the Blind, which their son attended, and Corrine is currently chair of the board of trustees. Grousbeck has also supported Lesley University (his son’s school), Boys and Girls Club Boston, Michigan State University, and Stanford University, where his father H. Irving Grousbeck, co-founder of Continental Cablevision, is a professor.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Grousbeck has been particularly supportive of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he has served as chair since 2010. Other grantees have included Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Children’s Hospital Boston, and Foundation Fighting Blindness.
ARTS & CULTURE: Grousbeck has supported Boston Ballet and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
BOSTON COMMUNITY: Grantees have included Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, and The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.
LOOKING FORWARD: In the wake of his divorce from Corrine and new marriage, it is unclear what direction Grousbeck’s giving will take. Given the personal elements involved, though, expect issues of vision and blindness to remain a high priority. The family also has ties to California, which may emerge as another significant site of giving.
CONTACT:
The charity provides no formal application procedures, but is open to contact:
Wycliffe K Grousbeck Trustee
226 Causeway Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 854-3005
GrousbeckTrust@gmail com
