SURDNA Foundation

The SURDNA Foundation is a private charitable foundation in the United States established in 1917 by John Emory Andrus. Its name is derived from “Andrus” spelled backward, reflecting the family identity behind the institution. The foundation developed from a family philanthropic tradition that emphasized thrift, practicality, modesty, loyalty, excellence, and direct service to people in need. A major part of the foundation’s early legacy was connected to the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial. In 1928, Andrus established the memorial in honor of his wife, Julia Dyckman Andrus, who had been orphaned as a child. He acquired a farm in Westchester County, New York, for use as an orphanage. The memorial later adopted the Surdna Foundation name, linking the foundation’s broader grantmaking identity with the Andrus family’s direct-service institutions. The family’s philanthropic objectives also included support for older people. In 1953, while Helen Benedict, Andrus’s youngest child, chaired Surdna, the foundation built the John E. Andrus Memorial on land beside the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial. The retirement home was designed for approximately 200 elderly residents. Together, the two institutions expressed Andrus’s stated aspiration that his legacy provide “opportunity for youth and rest for old age.” In the early 1970s, the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial changed its programmatic emphasis, becoming a residential treatment, special education, and diagnostic center for emotionally disabled children. Surdna’s grantmaking expanded substantially during the late twentieth century. In 1989, members of the third and fourth generations of the Andrus family serving on the board created programs focused on the environment and community revitalization. They also increased the professional staff in an effort to broaden the foundation’s effectiveness. Programs addressing effective citizenry and the arts were added in 1994, followed by a Nonprofit Sector Support Program in 1997. These additions gave the foundation a portfolio spanning place-based development, environmental concerns, civic participation, cultural work, and the institutional capacity of nonprofit organizations. One of the foundation’s most notable initiatives was the Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program, or CCRP. Initiated by Surdna in 1991, the program involved 21 foundations and corporations and represented a $10 million collaborative effort in the South Bronx. It worked with community development corporations and sought to improve quality of life across a substantial area while supporting locally defined development priorities. After the formal program ended in 1998, the initiative also aimed to leave behind an institution capable of continuing the work independently. The foundation’s direction became a subject of public discussion in 2019, when some descendants of John Emory Andrus questioned whether its activities had moved away from the founder’s original goals. Those family members said the foundation was planning to concentrate its efforts on racial equity. The dispute illustrated the continuing tension that can arise when a multigenerational family foundation updates its priorities while remaining accountable to its historical mission. Available reference material does not establish a later resolution or provide sufficient information to describe the foundation’s current leadership, assets, grant totals, or precise headquarters location.

The Surdna Foundation was established in 1917 by John Emory Andrus as a vehicle for charitable work. Andrus was a family-oriented philanthropist and the father of nine children. His philanthropy combined family stewardship with a preference for practical assistance and direct service to people facing hardship. The foundation’s name, “Surdna,” is the Andrus surname written backward. The foundation’s institutional history is closely associated with the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial. In 1928, Andrus created the memorial in tribute to his wife, Julia Dyckman Andrus. Because she had been orphaned as a child, he purchased a farm in Westchester County, New York, with the intention of establishing an orphanage there. The memorial subsequently became associated with the Surdna Foundation, extending the family’s charitable work beyond individual giving. Support for older people formed another important element of Andrus’s legacy. In 1953, his youngest child, Helen Benedict, was serving as chair of Surdna when the foundation built the John E. Andrus Memorial. Located on land adjoining the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial, the facility was intended to provide a retirement home for about 200 elderly residents. The two memorials reflected Andrus’s expressed hope that his legacy would offer both opportunities for young people and a place of rest for older people. The Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial later changed its role. During the early 1970s, its programmatic focus shifted toward residential treatment, special education, and diagnostic services for emotionally disabled children. This change represented an adaptation of the family’s direct-service institutions to evolving social needs while preserving their connection to the Andrus philanthropic tradition. For many years, Surdna’s family trustees applied values described as thrift, practicality, modesty, loyalty, excellence, and an appreciation for direct service. These values guided both oversight of the memorial institutions and the foundation’s broader grantmaking. A significant expansion occurred in 1989, when members of the third and fourth generations of the Andrus family serving on the board established programs in environment and community revitalization. The board also decided to enlarge the professional staff so that the foundation could pursue its work more effectively and on a broader basis. Surdna added programs in Effective Citizenry and the Arts in 1994. In 1997, it created the Nonprofit Sector Support Program to address issues affecting nonprofit organizations across program areas. The resulting portfolio connected environmental work, neighborhood development, civic participation, cultural activity, and nonprofit capacity-building. The Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program was a major example of this expanded approach. Surdna initiated the $10 million effort in 1991 with 21 foundations and corporations. The program focused on a large area of the South Bronx and sought to improve quality of life while supporting community development corporations and their locally developed agendas. The initiative formally concluded in 1998, with an additional objective of creating an institution that could continue the work with vitality and independence. In 2019, the foundation’s evolving priorities prompted disagreement among some Andrus descendants. They questioned whether Surdna had moved away from the founder’s original purposes and stated that the foundation intended to direct all of its efforts toward racial equity. The available reference material does not document the eventual outcome of that disagreement. It also does not provide sufficiently verified information about current executives, assets, annual giving, or present headquarters, so those details are left unspecified.

• 2019

  Family members questioned strategic direction

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Some Andrus descendants questioned whether the foundation had departed from the founder’s goals and discussed its planned emphasis on racial equity.

• 1998

  Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program formally concluded

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The South Bronx revitalization initiative formally ended after pursuing a continuing institutional legacy for community development work.

• 1997

  Nonprofit Sector Support Program added

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Surdna introduced a program addressing crosscutting issues affecting nonprofit organizations.

• 1994

  Effective Citizenry and Arts programs added

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation expanded its grantmaking portfolio with programs focused on civic participation and the arts.

• 1991

  Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program initiated

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Surdna initiated a $10 million collaborative program involving 21 foundations and corporations to support community development and quality-of-life improvements in the South Bronx.

• 1989

  Environment and community revitalization programs added

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Third- and fourth-generation Andrus family trustees established programs in environment and community revitalization and expanded the professional staff.

• 1970

  Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial changes program focus

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  In the early 1970s, the memorial shifted toward residential treatment, special education, and diagnostic services for emotionally disabled children.

• 1953

  John E. Andrus Memorial built

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  During Helen Benedict’s chairmanship, the foundation built a retirement home for approximately 200 elderly residents beside the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial.

• 1928

  Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial founded

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Andrus created a memorial to his wife and acquired a Westchester County farm for an orphanage, establishing an important institutional part of the family’s philanthropic legacy.

• 1917

  Foundation established

  [1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  John Emory Andrus established the charitable foundation that became known as the Surdna Foundation.

A multigenerational family foundation using grantmaking, collaborative philanthropy, and related direct-service institutions to address community development, environmental, civic, artistic, and nonprofit-sector needs.

• Foundation program · 1917

  Philanthropic grantmaking

  Surdna’s principal offering is philanthropic support rather than a commercial product. Its grantmaking has covered environmental work, community revitalization, civic participation, arts organizations, and issues affecting nonprofit organizations. The foundation’s programs have combined general charitable support with collaborative initiatives involving other funders and community development institutions.

• Community development initiative · 1991

  Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program

  The Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program was a collaborative South Bronx initiative initiated by Surdna in 1991. Supported by 21 foundations and corporations and valued at $10 million, it aimed to improve quality of life across a broad area, strengthen community development corporations, and help establish an institution capable of continuing the work after the formal program ended.

• Grantmaking program · 1989

  Environment and Community Revitalization programs

  Created in 1989, these programs marked a significant expansion of Surdna’s professional grantmaking. They addressed environmental concerns and place-based community improvement, reflecting the foundation’s effort to combine family philanthropic values with broader, professionally managed programming.

• Grantmaking program · 1994

  Effective Citizenry and Arts programs

  Added in 1994, these programs broadened Surdna’s work into civic participation and cultural activity. They formed part of the foundation’s late twentieth-century move toward a diversified portfolio rather than a focus solely on the family’s direct-service institutions.

• Grantmaking program · 1997

  Nonprofit Sector Support Program

  Established in 1997, the Nonprofit Sector Support Program addressed issues affecting nonprofit organizations across multiple fields. Its creation reflected Surdna’s interest in strengthening the capacity and operating environment of the broader nonprofit sector.

• 2019

  Proposed stronger emphasis on racial equityStrategy

  Background

  Some descendants of John Emory Andrus questioned whether the foundation’s evolving direction remained consistent with the founder’s original purposes.

  Action taken

  According to the cited reference, family members said the foundation was planning to focus all of its efforts on racial equity.

  Aftermath

  The available reference records the disagreement but does not establish its final resolution or the precise subsequent program structure.

  Source

• 1997

  Created the Nonprofit Sector Support ProgramStrategy

  Background

  Surdna identified crosscutting operational and structural issues affecting nonprofit organizations.

  Action taken

  The foundation added a program dedicated to nonprofit-sector concerns.

  Aftermath

  The program complemented Surdna’s issue-specific grantmaking by addressing conditions affecting organizations across fields.

  Source

• 1994

  Added Effective Citizenry and Arts programsStrategy

  Background

  The foundation continued diversifying its grantmaking beyond its earlier environment and community revitalization work.

  Action taken

  Surdna added programs focused on civic participation and the arts.

  Aftermath

  These additions broadened the foundation’s programmatic reach into public life and culture.

  Source

• 1991

  Initiated the Comprehensive Community Revitalization ProgramStrategy

  Background

  Surdna sought to support broad quality-of-life improvements in the South Bronx while working through community development corporations and collaborating with other funders.

  Action taken

  The foundation initiated a collaborative $10 million effort involving 21 foundations and corporations.

  Aftermath

  The program formally concluded in 1998 and pursued the creation of an independent institution that could continue the work.

  Program value. $10 million (1991 initiative)

  Source

• 1989

  Expanded professional grantmaking into environment and community revitalizationStrategy

  Background

  Third- and fourth-generation Andrus family trustees sought to broaden the foundation’s effectiveness beyond its established memorial institutions and family charitable traditions.

  Action taken

  The board created environment and community revitalization programs and enlarged the professional staff.

  Aftermath

  The change established the basis for a wider portfolio of professionally managed philanthropic programs.

  Source

• 2019

  Andrus descendants questioned Surdna Foundation's changing priorities[1]Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Some descendants of founder John Emory Andrus publicly questioned whether the foundation had departed from his original philanthropic goals. They said the foundation was planning to focus all of its efforts on racial equity.

1. 1Surdna Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2SURDNA Foundation official websitesurdna.org