Foundation investments in the performing arts at public institutions can be a catalyst for increased private and public support and will enrich lives.

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY), for the design and construction of a new performing arts complex

In 2004, The Tow Foundation issued a challenge grant to Brooklyn College to significantly upgrade its performing arts complex. This grant provided seed funding and required the college to raise an additional $15 million in private funds towards the project, as well as sufficient funding from the City of New York to complete it.

In 2007, the Brooklyn College Foundation met the challenge. It also obtained significant additional public support that will enable groundbreaking to take place for the $76 million Leonard and Claire Tow Performing Arts Center in January 2009.  The new building will serve both the Conservatory of Music and the Department of Theater. It will include a new performance space, a recording studio, a student lounge area, a rehearsal room, a set construction shop, storage space for sets and props, 25 sound-proof practice rooms, nine teaching studios, a rehearsal/work space for music technology, and a piano technician workshop. The Leonard and Claire Tow Performing Arts Center is the largest public-private partnership ever undertaken in the CUNY system and will be a tremendous asset to both the college and the local community.