10.05.2006 - 12:54pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK -Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation announced today that it has received a $100,000 donation from Carnegie Corporation of New York, through an anonymous donor, in support of the foundation's mission of providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts.

Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation is one of two hundred seventy-three small and medium-size artistic and cultural organizations chosen by Carnegie Corporation to receive a grant for its service to New York City's citizens. Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, selected a total of five hundred eighteen diverse artistic, cultural and social service institutions within New York City to receive a one-time donation, in an effort to reflect the donor's wishes to reach out to a mixture of neighborhood organizations that touch the artistic life of the city and help to meet the myriad of social needs of its citizens.

"New York thrives because of its rich and varied cultural life," said Gregorian. "The diversity of the city and its people is reflected in organizations receiving grants today, which is also a testament to the deep cultural strength and energy so vibrantly reflected in all five boroughs."

The 11-year old Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation was co-founded by Russell Simmons and his two brothers, visual artist Danny Simmons, and recording artist Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons to provide arts education and access to underserved NYC youth, as well as exposure and exhibition opportunities to emerging artists and artists of color.

"This gift couldn't have come at a better time in our expansion," says Tangie Murray, Executive Director of Rush Philanthropic. "We are currently in a fundraising campaign for our 11,000 square-foot arts and resource center in East New York, Brooklyn, a building that was given to the foundation by United Homes CEO Ron Hershco, which we plan to open in the coming months. The Carnegie Corporation's donation will hopefully be the first of many similar grants that will help us bring the arts, and other needed resources, to this important area of our city."

Since its inception, Rush Philanthropic has provided more than 620 grants to non-profit organizations, including New York Scores, Urban Word, Free Arts NYC, Peter Westbrook Foundation, Boys & Girls Harbor, Harlem School of the Arts, Streb, Friends of Island Academy, Working Playground, Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band, Brotherhood/Sister Sol, The Ghetto Film School, Staten Island Children's Museum, The Point, and the Northside Center for Child Development, and has served countless visual artists through the exhibitions and activities of the Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center.

Most recently, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation raised $1.39 million at its seventh annual ART FOR LIFE EAST HAMPTON benefit gala, held at the Hamptons home of Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons. Funds raised through the benefit will provide continued support to underserved youth in New York City.

ABOUT RUSH PHILANTHROPIC ARTS FOUNDATION

Founded in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny and Joseph Simmons, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation is dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, as well as providing exhibition opportunities to under-represented artists and artists of color. While its primary emphasis is the arts, Rush Philanthropic is committed to the general well being of young people by considering a wide range of concerns. A 501(C)3 organization, Rush Philanthropic fulfills its mission through three core programs: grants, exhibitions and mentoring. The Rush Community Grants Program annually provides direct funding to over 50 nonprofit organizations that offer education programming in all disciplines of the arts to New York City youth. Rush also runs two arts exhibition and education facilities: Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center in Manhattan's Chelsea arts district and the Corridor Gallery in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill neighborhood. Our Rush Kids Visual Arts Mentorship Programs use arts education to create a spark that fires the imagination and creativity of the urban youth we serve. The Rush Impact Mentorship Initiative allows the foundation's leadership to reach out to young people by taking them behind the scenes at Rush Communications' headquarters for in-depth Q&A sessions with Russell Simmons and executives in music, fashion, and creative-related professions. Rush Philanthropic believes in the vital importance of lifelong exposure to the arts, nurtured in early childhood, and anchored in sustained, creative experiences throughout one's life.

For more information please contact: