Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation grants $1 million to PBS’s American Experience
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has announced it has granted $1 million to the PBS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Public Broadcast System (PBS), in support of PBS’s historical documentary series “American Experience.”
The grant will bolster the 35-year-old award-winning program’s operating budget, supporting its television broadcast as well as the online streaming of the series made available to classrooms across the United States through PBS LearningMedia, a free online resource. With the latest grant, the Gardiner Foundation has contributed $3 million to PBS since 2017.
“As America’s home for documentary storytelling, PBS is committed to shining a light on untold stories and examining our shared past,” said PBS president Paula Kerger. “We could not be more grateful to Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation for its generous support of this important work and for bringing viewers across the country more of the award-winning storytelling that has made American Experience America’s most-watched history series.”
ABOUT THE ROBERT DAVID LION GARDINER FOUNDATION
The mission of the Foundation is to educate, cultivate and encourage the study and understanding of Long Island and New York’s historic role in the American experience. The Foundation also supports scholarships and historic preservation, including study, stewardship and promotion of Long Island’s historic educational aspects.
The Foundation was established by Robert David Lion Gardiner in 1987. Robert David Lion Gardiner was, until his death in August 2004, the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island, NY. The Island was obtained as part of a royal grant from King Charles I of England in 1639. The Gardiner family and their descendants have owned Gardiner’s Island for 385 years. The Island remains private and is owned and maintained by direct Gardiner descendants to this day. The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation remains inspired by Robert David Lion Gardiner’s personal passion for Long Island and New York history. Since 2015, the Foundation has awarded over $45 million to support historical societies, museums, archives, research, scholarships and renovation, restoration and adaptive reuse of historic sites.
