Music Moves Us

In deciding to spend down, the Levitt Foundation is a rarity amongst arts funders. Traditionally, foundations are established to last in perpetuity, and in the U.S., foundations are legally obligated to spend only a minimum of 5% of their assets for charitable purposes each year. More recently, a small yet growing movement in philanthropy has taken root to spend down assets at an accelerated pace, realizing that resources are most impactful when used to support the needs of communities today. Founded in 1966 as a way for philanthropists Mortimer and Mimi Levitt to support the arts, culture, and education in New York City, the Levitt Foundation has evolved over the decades into a national creative placemaking funder. Their daughter and former Board President Liz Levitt Hirsch, a passionate champion of music and social justice, was instrumental in this evolution—supporting the Foundation’s mission to harness the power of free outdoor concerts to create social and economic impact in towns and cities across the U.S.

By becoming a spend down, the Levitt Foundation will increase the number of communities receiving grants for free concerts in public spaces and will continue to nurture the Levitt network of nonprofit venues and concert sites with additional support—including capacity building and robust resources to ensure their free concert series continue beyond our sunset. More than half of the communities no longer receiving Levitt funding continue to present free outdoor concerts; strong evidence that the Levitt Foundation’s funding is leveraged for sustained community support.