By Tamar Snyder
When Sanford Greenberg lost his eyesight at age 19, he vowed to do everything in his power to ensure that no one else suffered the grief brought about by blindness.
In December 2020, the noted entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist made good on that promise by awarding The Greenberg Prize to 13 research scientists who are playing a critical role in curing blindness. The generous awards, totaling $3 million, were granted from his donor advised fund at Jewish Communal Fund as part of the End Blindness by 20/20 campaign. Dr. Greenberg recently published a moving memoir, “Hello Darkness, My Old Friend,” in which he recounts how his good friend Art Garfunkel helped lift him out of the darkness that engulfed him when he became blind and the grit that led him to pursue a successful career. In this exclusive interview with Jewish Communal Fund, Dr. Greenberg talks about growing up poor in Buffalo, N.Y., the mentors who taught him the importance of helping the vulnerable, and why these donations to end blindness are the most meaningful philanthropic gifts he’s ever made.
TS: What values drive your involvement in charitable giving?
SG: I was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in a flimsy wooden house. My father, Albert, escaped Germany in 1939 and came to the United States penniless. We were very poor. I still remember him putting me in a chair in the center of room and suspending a stick of gum over my head. As he dropped the gum, he told me that it was a treat coming from heaven. And it was. He died when I was 5. His death devastated me. He left my mother, Sara, with $54 and three children age five and younger to care for. My mother was quiet, thoughtful, and deliberate. As the Israelis say, she was like a sabra: tough on the outside, but sweet on the inside. Some years later, she married my Uncle Carl, who was my second father. Carl was a junk dealer who dealt with scrap metals. One day, a disgruntled employee threw a brick in his face, resulting in the loss of one eye. Carl was stronger than I am in many ways. I overcame, but Carl endured. Incidentally, my maternal grandmother, who was born in Poland, also needed a prosthetic eye. At night, my brother and I went to my grandmother’s room, and we could see the prosthetic eye staring back at us. Her death when I was 17 took something sacred from me but left something sacred, too.
These four people—my father, my mother, Carl, and my grandmother—provided strength and guidance without ever once giving me a sermon about hard work. Despite being focused on survival, they shared this innate value that the key to life is helping other people. My mother, even in old age, was still giving out Meals on Wheels to other elderly people. My father Carl helped many members of his family come to the States. He was always helping neighbors and friends—he cosigned mortgages, made sure they had enough cash for the next meal. I’ve spent most of my life trying to follow their example in helping other people.
TS: Can you share with us the charitable causes that are meaningful to you?
SG: I lost my eyesight in 1961, after a long series of misdiagnoses. After surgery that failed to save my eyesight, I came back to the hospital room where my mother was sitting and crying. I had metal pads on my eyes. It was very painful, but that wasn’t my primary pain. The worst pain for me was watching my mother see her eldest son go blind. That was intolerable. My mother and I could never talk about my blindness, not then and not for the rest of her life. It was too painful.
I detest knowing there are so many people suffering. In that hospital bed, I developed an unspoken mandate to help others, particularly people who are vulnerable. I promised God that I would do everything I could for the rest of my life to make sure no one else suffered the grief brought about by blindness.
On December 14, 2020, we held a ceremony where we awarded $3 million to the most promising researchers around the world who are working to end blindness. You can visit www.endblindness2020.com to learn more about these 13 researchers and their groundbreaking advances.
TS: What other charities do you support?
SG: I’m a big believer in education. Over the years, I’ve supported my alma maters: Columbia and Harvard, as well as Johns Hopkins.
I was very close friends and neighbors with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Justice officiated at my daughter’s wedding. Her son, Jim, set up a not-for-profit classical music record company called Cedille Chicago. I’ve supported him from day one.
TS: Any advice for those first getting started with philanthropy?
SG: The most important mentor I ever had was David Rockefeller. He took me under his wing in the ‘60s. I was one of the poorest guys on the planet, and he was the richest man in the world. He was the Chairman of the White House Fellows Commission, and I was a White House Fellow in the second class of the program. Over the years, we talked about finance and what was happening in the business world, general philosophy, and philanthropy. He taught me to lead with your heart and all else will follow. He believed that people who are interested in the sciences and the humanities should pursue both—they are equally critical to the progress of civilization. David would anonymously find young talented people and make sure they received funding to continue their education. I have strived to live up to all of his teachings.
TS: How has JCF played a role in your philanthropy?
SG: I’ve had a donor advised fund with JCF for decades. A wonderful human being by the name of Dan Shapiro recommended JCF. Dan and I went to college together, and he became my lawyer. He was head of the Jewish Federation and very committed to Judaism. I’ve been very happy at JCF. The staff is wonderful, particularly Sue Dickman and Melanie Marchfeld. My wife, Sue, and I created a special End Blindness fund at the Jewish Communal Fund for this campaign—I wanted to make sure that money went strictly to research. Giving through JCF is easy and organized; JCF is a fabulous custodian of philanthropic funds.
TS: What are your thoughts about giving priorities now, in the midst of the pandemic?
SG: In these troubled times, philanthropy is more important than it ever has been. Tens of millions of our citizens are suffering in a deep and profound way. It would be a great mitzvah were people to provide funding to charitable groups trying to assist them – a true tikkun olam.
TS: What has been your most meaningful gift?
SG: Obviously the End the Blindness research grants. When you make a promise to the Almighty, you do your best to live up to it.