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research dossier

The William Nelson Cromwell Foundation

New York, NY · EIN 136068485 · Form 990PF · FY2023 · NTEE T03 · Philanthropy & Grantmaking · Small ($100K-$1M)
revenue
$345K
expenses
$59K
net assets
$2.7M
employees
profile · synthesized from sources

The William Nelson Cromwell Foundation is a private foundation based in New York that supports scholarly research in legal and American revolutionary history. It awards grants to individuals and institutions for projects related to historical writings, archival access, and academic recognition through prizes for early-career scholars, dissertations, articles, and books. The foundation does not conduct direct services or public programs.

named programs · 7 · from sources

What they call their work

Article Prize
Recognizes excellence in legal history articles; includes a $5,000 award
Book Prize
Awarded to recognize outstanding scholarly books in the field of legal or American revolutionary history
Dissertation Prize
Supports doctoral research in legal or American revolutionary history with a $5,000 award
Early Career Scholar Grant
Provides $5,000 grants to early-career scholars conducting research in legal or American revolutionary history
Legal History Article of the Year Prize
Honors the most significant legal history article published annually
Prize Papers of the American War of Independence
Supports archival access and research into captured British naval records from the American Revolution
The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson
Grant-funded project to compile and publish comprehensive writings and correspondence of Founding Father John Dickinson
activities · 2 groups

What they do

  • Legal Education Scholarships and Fellowships 5 activities
    • Awarding Article Prizes in legal history
      Recognizes excellence in legal history scholarship through Article Prizes.
    • Awarding Book Prizes in legal history
      Recognizes outstanding scholarly publications in legal history through annual Book Prizes.
    • Awarding Dissertation Prizes in legal history
      Recognizes exceptional doctoral research in legal history through Dissertation Prizes.
    • Awarding Early Career Scholar Grants in legal history
      Provides grants to support emerging scholars in the field of legal history through its Early Career Scholar Grants program.
    • Awarding the Legal History Article of the Year Prize
      Honors distinguished contributions to legal history scholarship through the annual Legal History Article of the Year Prize.
  • Historic Preservation Support Grants 2 activities
    • Funding preservation and access to the Prize Papers of the American War of Independence
      Funds preservation and access to the Prize Papers of the American War of Independence through a grant to The National Archives (UK).
    • Funding publication of The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson
      Funds the publication of The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson through a grant to Jane E Calvert - The Dickinson Writings Project.
financials · form 990PF · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$345K
Contributions & grants
Program service revenue
Investment income$106K31%
Other revenue$239K
expenses
Total expenses$59K
Program expenses
Admin / overhead
Fundraising
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$162K
balance sheet
Total assets$2.73M
Cash
Investments
Liabilities
Net assets$2.73M
5 years on record · 2019–2023 · YoY revenue +74.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023

Who runs it

board members · 15
  • Charles T Dowling — Trustee, Treasurer, Assist. Secretary
  • Faiza J Saeed — Trustee
  • George A Davidson — Trustee
  • H Rodgin Cohen — Trustee
  • Hon Caitlin J Halligan — Trustee
  • Hon Jed S Rakoff — Trustee
  • Hon Joseph A Greenaway — Trustee
  • Hon Reena Raggi — Trustee
  • John D Gordan III — Trustee, Secretary
  • John S Kiernan — Trustee, Chair
  • Kathleen M Sullivan — Trustee
  • Prof John Fabian Witt — Trustee
  • Prof John H Langbein — Trustee
  • Prof Sarah Barringer Gordon — Trustee
  • Robert B Fiske — Trustee
relationships · 2

Who they work with

  • Jane E Calvert - The Dickinson Writings Project Partner — Recipient of a grant to support the publication of The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson.
  • The National Archives (UK) Partner — Recipient of a grant for the preservation and accessibility of the Prize Papers of the American War of Independence.
strategies · 2

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Incentivize High-Quality Scholarship Through Competitive Prizes
    methodology: scholarly-prize-incentive
    By recognizing and rewarding outstanding scholarly work with competitive prizes, we elevate the quality and visibility of research in legal history because public recognition motivates rigorous and impactful contributions.
  • Support Early-Career Scholars to Advance Legal History
    methodology: early-career-scholar-support
    By providing financial awards to early-career researchers, we strengthen the pipeline of scholarly work in legal history because sustained investment in emerging scholars leads to long-term field advancement.