Mr. Houghton said that Mr. Diller, the chairman of IAC and Expedia, and Ms. Von Furstenberg, the designer, were introduced to Signature by the actor Edward Norton, who is a board member of the theater company and a co-chairman of its capital campaign.The couple’s foundation has donated to New York education, arts, and civic organizations since its creation in 1999, including a $20 million gift this fall for further expansion of the High Line park on the West Side of Manhattan.

The $66 million Signature Center project, designed by Frank Gehry, includes city financial support and several major gifts from board members and others, including a $5 million donation in honor of the playwright Romulus Linney, whose name was bestowed on one of its three new theaters. Signature, which Mr. Houghton founded in 1991, is moving into the center on West 42nd Street this winter from its single-theater home farther west on the same street.

On Wednesday night, the conservancy took a major step toward that goal when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a $20 million gift to the High Line from the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation.

The gift, which will help build up the park’s endowment and pay for the design of the last section, is the single largest donation ever made to a New York City park, according to city officials.

It follows two previous donations totaling $15 million to the High Line from Barry Diller, chairman of IAC and Expedia, and his wife, the designer Diane von Furstenberg.

“It’s not surprising that Barry and Diane — visionaries that they are — got in early on the High Line project,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “But even better, they are seeing it through. Their generosity is leading the way for the High Line to become a New York icon that will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

The High Line is an unusual public-private partnership. The city paid most of the construction costs of the first two sections (the second opened earlier this year), which together run from Gansevoort to 30th Streets.

But Friends of the High Line, the conservancy that rallied to save the railway from demolition and raised money for its transformation into a park, assumed full responsibility for the cost of the operations from the start.

With three million annual visitors, 10 times what the founders of the conservancy initially envisioned, wear and tear, as well as educational programming, is a constant challenge for the 60-member staff.

“If you ask Josh or me what keeps us up at night, it’s not next year or whether we complete it — we know it will get done,” said Robert Hammond, co-founder of Friends of the High Line along with Joshua David. “It’s the maintenance, and this gives us security. Having an endowment gives us another revenue stream to fall back on in hard times.”

Annual operating costs for the park come to $3 million.

But perhaps just as important is the gift’s ability to propel Friends of the High Line toward the finish line: the railway’s endpoint at 34th Street. Now the curvaceous teak benches and ornamental grasses that make up the park’s northern landscaping stop abruptly at that chain-link fence.

On the other side is a jumble of weeds, rocks and old ladders. The future section, which hugs the West Side Railyards, runs west to 12th Avenue and then continues north to 34th Street.

That segment is owned by CSX Transportation, which is now in negotiations with city officials, as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other interested parties, on an agreement that would allow for public access. In 2005, CSX donated the portion of the High Line south of 30th Street to the city.

Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said the talks dealt with a “very complicated site.” But he added that “everyone wants for the city to eventually” obtain the site for the High Line park.

Mr. David and Mr. Hammond estimate that the final half-mile stretch will cost up to $75 million to build, about the same as each of the first two half-mile sections. Given the constraints on the city’s budget, private sources will have to cover the initial capital expense, they said. Before the new gift, Friends of the High Line had raised about $65 million toward its $150 million fund-raising goal.

In a statement, Mr. Diller took the long view. “In a hundred years, people will be amazed that this park was ever built, and during all that time it will have given pleasure to such great numbers of people,” he said. “I’m glad that our family is able to pay a small role in making the High Line a reality.”

In a city of deep-pocketed philanthropists, the donation from Mr. Diller and Ms. von Furstenberg turned heads, not least because it went to a park rather than a cultural or educational institution. Previously, the largest private gift to a park was $17 million from the philanthropist Richard Gilder in 1993 to Central Park.

Friends of the High Line hopes that the $20 million donation will inspire additional giving.

That happened once before. After the Museum of Modern Art mounted a small exhibition of designs for the park in 2005, the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation made its first gift of $5 million, generating interest in the project. Then came a gift of $10 million from the foundation in 2009. Earlier this year, Tiffany and Company Foundation gave a $5 million challenge grant.

The return on those investments has been substantial; the first two sections of the High Line have generated more than $2 billion in planned or new development, city officials said. The park has also become a major tourist attraction, drawing a quarter of its visitors from outside the United States.

Gazing at the unfinished segment, Martin Oeggerli, 37, a photographer visiting from Switzerland, said he would like the park to keep going. “It would go straight to the Hudson and give you a great view,” he said.

Last week, when Mr. Diller told Friends of the High Line of the gift over the phone, the conference room erupted. “A large number of people on our staff burst into tears,” Mr. Hammond said.

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For additional coverage of the pledge, please click on the link below:

http://thehighline.org/news/2011/10/28/diller-von-furstenberg-family-foundation-makes-historic-20m-commitment

Alex von Furstenberg accepts the 2010 American Art Award

The Whitney Museum will pay tribute Alex von Furstenberg and The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation for their “sustained commitment to the artistic and cultural heritage of the arts in America” at the Museum’s 19^th annual gala dinner on May 6^th.

The gala signifies the inaugural event at The Whitney’s future downtown site at Gansevoort and Washington Streets in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.  Alex von Furstenberg will be presented with the American Art Award, which will be accompanied by the unveiling of a large-scale collaborative commission from American artists Wade Guyton and Kelley Walker.  The first of three installations in an exhibition collectively titled “Whitney on Site: New Commissions Downtown,” Guyton/Kelley’s work can be viewed publically from the High Line from May 8^th through June 23^rd; subsequent six-week installations by Tauba Auerbach and Barbara Kruger will follow.

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For more coverage of the May 6^th event, please click on the links below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703674704575234430135310668.html?mod=WSJ_article_RecentColumns

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/whitney-supporters-try-out-a-new-locale/

Chon will be honored at the inaugural DVF Awards ceremony on March 13^th alongside three international winners—Sadiqa Basiri Saleem of Afghanistan, Danielle Saint-Lot of Haiti, and Ingrid Betancourt of Columbia.  Each woman’s organization will receive $50,000 from The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation to encourage their work.

 For a look into the evening’s event, click on the links below:

http://inside.dvf.com/dvf_magazine/2010/04/29/awards-video/ 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/14/AR2010031401301.html

The DVF Awards Board of Advisors has selected five women from the United States whose passion and courage have inspired them and who are working to make changes in their communities and beyond.

The winner of the “People’s Voice” Award will receive $50,000 in support of their associated organization (U.S. 501c3) from The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation.  Voting begins at 12:00 am EST on February 10, 2010 and ends at 11:59 pm EST on February 28, 2010.  The Award will be presented on March 13th, 2010.

To view DVF’s appearance on Good Morning America, please click on the link below:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/designer-diane-von-furstenberg-creates-dvf-awards-women/story?id=9791919

Roy W. Roberts, II – Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club (WWBGC) is pleased to announce a special gift from The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation that will help sustain Club facilities and provide support towards the organization’s newly created Symphony Orchestra program.

Alex von Furstenberg, Director and Secretary of The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, met with WWBGC’s Executive Director Les Jones in September to learn more about the organization and the youth that it serves. He made a $50,000 commitment to improving the Los Angeles Club before he left the grounds.

“I am a big admirer of what this organization is achieving and I truly enjoyed visiting the Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club” said Alex von Furstenberg. “I feel strongly that during these difficult times we should be generous with our time and resources, particularly in areas like this that tend to be ignored for what seems like more urgent issues. Inspiring and enabling young people can’t wait for better times and is a key objective of our Foundation.”

Responded Les Jones, “This investment by The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation adds value to our community because it provides hope and opportunity to disadvantaged, underserved youth. We address the emotional, intellectual, social and physical needs of each of our members so they grow beyond high school to become productive and responsible citizens. As important as it is to help them graduate from high school and go on to college, it is also important to provide them with access to cultural programs to which they have no access at all.”

This $50,000 grant will enable Watts/Willowbrook to jumpstart their Symphony Orchestra music program which will include instruction, appreciation, and access to a diverse array of music. Children will learn to play violins, viola, cellos and bass instruments by teachers trained in “El Sistema,” the world-renowned music outreach and education program in Venezuela.

The WWBGC Symphony Orchestra held its first orientation with youth and their parents on December 9, 2009.

Alex von Furstenberg has announced a $50,000 total donation to the Los Angeles Mission and the Anne Douglas Center for Women.

Herb Smith, President of the Los Angeles Mission thanked the foundation for the financial gift. “The Mission’s work is supported by thousands of donors,” said Smith. “We are especially grateful for this gift, as it will provide the means to serve hundreds of homeless men and women who are in desperate need in our community.”

Alex von Furstenberg, director and secretary of The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, met with Donor Relations Coordinator Nuria Mora at the Los Angeles Mission in September to learn more about the organization’s needs and the people that it serves.
Alex von Furstenberg

“It was immediately apparent what a true and powerful impact the Los Angeles Mission is having on people in need,” said Alex von Furstenberg. “I was particularly inspired by the stories of women who have regained their way through the rehabilitation and career development program at the Anne Douglas Center, and I am honored to support such a significant cause. I am in awe of what this organization is achieving.”

The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation supports a variety of organizations that are effecting meaningful, lasting change in communities of all size, from neighborhoods to nations.

Foundation contributions support the day-to-day efforts that drive each organization. Such efforts include afterschool programs; salaries that permit social workers to reach more people in need; endowments to educational institutions at all levels; programs to encourage artistic literacy and individual achievement in children, and much more. For more information please visit www.alexvonfurstenberg.org.

For more than 70 years, the Los Angeles Mission has served the people of Skid Row, providing emergency services such as shelter, food, clothing, as well as professional medical and dental services. In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs including education, job training/placement, transitional housing and counseling.

Members of the Diller – von Furstenberg family, including Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, Alex von Furstenberg, and Tatiana von Furstenberg, have long been supporters of the High Line. Visiting from Los Angeles with his children a few weeks ago, Board member Alex von Furstenberg remarked how great it was to see people actually using the space, after so many years of planning. We thank The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation for their generous

The donation ranks among the four largest ever given by individuals to New York City parks, said the parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe. “There’s something about New York and parks that brings out extraordinary generosity,” he said.

This marks the second major donation to the High Line from Mr. Diller and Ms. von Furstenberg, who provided a $5 million gift in 2005. Both have offices near the High Line, Ms. von Furstenberg on 14th Street and Mr. Diller’s IAC headquarters at 18th Street. “They were involved in supporting the High Line from the beginning,” said Joshua David, a co-founder of Friends of the High Line.

The total cost of the walkway’s first section is $86.2 million, Mr. David said, and the second phase — which extends to 30th Street — is expected to cost $66 million. The budget for the third section, which wraps around Hudson Yards, has yet to be determined.

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To view this article in its entirety, please visit: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/10-million-gift-for-high-line-project/?emc=eta1