Philanthropy
BNY Mellon Showcases Upper East Side Office
BNY Mellon Wealth Management was flexing its muscles in New York today, opening a newly renovated Manhattan office in an upper east side brownstone and hosting a holiday reception for a major local philanthropic event, The Children’s Aid Society’s “Miracle on Madison Avenue.”
The showpiece office in the heart of one of Manhattan’s wealthiest neighborhood is a symbol of the firm’s allegiance to the New York market, said Doris Meister, BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s regional president for the New York Tri-State region.
“We’re very committed to New York,” Ms. Meister said. “Our business here is growing nicely, and we’ve definitely benefited from the flight to quality the industry has seen over the past year.”
Philanthropy has also been a major focus of activity over the past year, according to Ms Meister.
“The average size of charitable gifts has gone down, and there’s been a rationing of donations,” she said. “We work with clients to help them understand how much they can afford to give, and that service has been very much in demand.”
That demand mirrors a nationwide trend, detailed in the FWR story “Philanthropy Hurt by Recession, Wealth Managers See Opportunity,” 30 November.
A number of New York-area charities have been particularly hard-hit by the Bernard Madoff scandal and lost money, Ms Meister noted.
“Some charities have had to shut down, and it’s put an additional stress on philanthropy in the New York market,” the BNY Mellon Wealth Management executive said.
Robert Kelly, BNY Mellon’s chief executive and David Lamere, chief executive of BNY Mellon Wealth Management will join Ms Meister and Richard Buery, chief executive of the Children’s Aid Society, at Tuesday night’s “Miracle on Madison Avenue” reception.
BNY Mellon is underwriting the event, and will also be the presenting sponsor of “Miracle on Madison Avenue”, which takes place on Sunday afternoon, December 6th.
Over 75 merchants on Madison Ave. between from 57th street to 86th street will donate 20 percent of the day’s sales to The Children’s Aid Society.
