Dyson Foundation

Charles H. (1909-1997) and Margaret M. Dyson (1914 -1990) started the Dyson Foundation to serve as a vehicle for family giving. In its earliest years, the Foundation gave modestly to a wide variety of organizations and causes, with an emphasis on college scholarships to young people. In the late 1960s the Foundation’s focus changed to more general purpose funding. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the Foundation’s total grants ranged from $50,000 to $200,000 per year.
Charlie Dyson was succeeded by his daughter as the Foundation’s president in 1979. Dr. Anne E. Dyson, a pediatrician, increased levels of funding in the areas of medicine and child health. The Foundation’s annual giving exceeded $1 million per year in the 1980s, increasing again to over $10 million by the late 1990s. Anne E. Dyson died in 2000 and was succeeded by her brother Robert R. Dyson, who continues to serve as Chairman of the Board to this day. The Foundation’s current annual giving now averages between $10 and $11 million annually.

When the Dyson Foundation was started in 1957, there were only about 4,000 foundations in the United States; today there are over 86,000. Since its founding, the Foundation has paid out over $390 million in grants to organizations large and small, national and local, in the Mid-Hudson Valley and beyond. The Dyson Foundation’s current grantmaking includes a significant grants program in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York State that seeks to improve the quality of life in the region, create opportunities and support for economically disadvantaged individuals and families, and strengthen the nonprofit sector. The Dyson Foundation also supports a number of organizations and causes that are tied to Dyson family interests. In 2020, the Dyson Foundation awarded grants totaling more than $9.3 million, and its assets at year-end were over $224 million.