Schwarzman Gift of $40 Million Launches Scholarship Campaign

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A record-setting founding gift of $40 million to the archdiocese from Stephen A. and Christine Schwarzman will launch Inner-City Scholarship Fund’s $125 million “Kids Are Our Capital” endowment campaign, along with a $40 million commitment from the archdiocese itself. Inner-City Scholarship Fund will raise $45 million in the course of the campaign as a match to the Schwarzmans’ contribution.

The Schwarzmans’ gift is the single largest donation in the archdiocese’s 207-year history, a grateful Cardinal Dolan said in announcing the “historic gift” at a Sept. 21 press conference at Cathedral High School in Manhattan.

“This is the most towering gift that we’ve ever received for our schools in the Archdiocese of New York,” Cardinal Dolan said.

“It’s not surprising at all,” the cardinal continued, “because Christine and Steve are not only renowned philanthropists who support with extraordinary generosity so many noble endeavors in our community, they’re also very shrewd business people and readers of the community.

“And they know that there’s no better way to assure a solid future in this community that they love than investing in children. And there’s no better way to invest in our children than through education. And there’s nobody that does it better than our Inner-City Catholic schools.

Funds from the endowment will begin to be awarded in fall 2016, and, at its pinnacle, will provide for 3,000 new scholarships annually, a 43 percent increase from previous years. The scholarships will be available to current students and new students who qualify.

The campaign will run one to two years. By creating an endowment, the mission will be funded in perpetuity and the scholarships will no longer be dependent on annual fundraising alone.

Inner-City Scholarship Fund was founded in 1971 by the late Cardinal Terence Cooke and a group of New York City business leaders whose goal was to preserve Catholic school education as a viable choice for all children. Today, Inner-City provides tuition assistance to nearly 7,000 Catholic school students.

Cardinal Dolan also acknowledged the scholarship support of the late Cardinal Edward Egan. “Cardinal Egan was very close to Christine and Stephen,” he said. “We couldn’t be here without him. We miss him. He was a giant when it came to our inner-city schools.”

Schwarzman, in his remarks, said he and his wife were “so grateful to be able to play a small role in helping to kick off the capital drive.”

“Changing lives and giving people a shot is really what we all should be doing as part of society,” said Schwarzman, who is Jewish.

Schwarzman founded the global asset-management firm Blackstone, where he serves as chairman and CEO.

He described students of various ethnic and economic backgrounds he has observed in Catholic school classrooms as being “awake, alert, excited.”

“That sense of excitement is how you generate lifetime learning. They do a great job here,” Schwarzman said of Catholic schools.

Mrs. Schwarzman, a trustee of Inner-City Scholarship Fund, is a former attorney specializing in intellectual property, patent, trademark and copyright law.

An alumna of Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville, she gave Catholic schools high marks in her remarks. “Everything I need to know in my life I learned as a student in Catholic school.”

Also present at the press conference were Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, archdiocesan superintendent of schools, and, from the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Peter Grauer, president, and Susan George, executive director. Numerous elementary and high school students who have been recipients of Schwarzman-sponsored scholarships also assembled.

Jahleel Bennett, a fourth-grader at St. Ann’s School in East Harlem, proudly addressed the press. “Every day I wake up excited to walk into St. Ann. Thanks to you, I don’t have to worry about going to school anywhere else. On behalf of my fellow students, I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Schwarzman for the amazing gift that will allow me and so many other students to attend the Catholic school that we love.”

Acknowledging the generosity of the Schwarzmans, Dr. McNiff said everyone has the opportunity to play a part in contributing to the endowment fund. “The cost to educate a child far exceeds what we actually charge at a tuition. For us to be able to fill the delta is a challenge. What the Schwarzmans are doing for us…and inviting other people to join them, is going to make a significant impact on our ability to continue to fill that delta going forward.”

Grauer said Catholic schools “are special places where children are given the timeless values of diligence, civic duty and compassion, along with a first-rate education.”

Although 69 percent of inner-city Catholic school students live at or below the poverty line, 98 percent of high school seniors graduate and 96 percent pursue higher education.

“These young students and people are the future of our workforces in New York City,” Grauer said. “These opportunities dramatically change the course of so many young lives for the better.”

Another recipient of a Schwarzman-funded scholarship who attended the press conference was Sabrina Bazelais, a senior at Cathedral High and alumna of Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem. She hopes to major in biology at a university next year.

A member of the National Honor Society, Sabrina, 17, plays baritone in the school band. She appreciates the morals and values her Catholic school instills.

“I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for them,” she said of the Schwarzmans.

The announcement of the Schwarzmans’ gift came just three days before Pope Francis arrived in New York. “You made a great week even better,” Cardinal Dolan told the Schwarzmans.