Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage - Philanthropy

Philanthropy

In 1905, Olivia Sage told Syracuse University that she would purchase Yates Castle and its surrounding property to house a teachers' college. This independent project demonstrated her attachment to Syracuse, her self-identification as a teacher, and her commitment to women's education.

Her greatest single gift was $10,000,000 in 1907 to establish the Russell Sage Foundation, which continues to study social issues and recommend solutions. In 1908 she donated $650,000 to Yale University, enabling the purchase of the Hillhouse property for Yale's expansion. In 1909, she donated Holder Hall to Princeton University, named after her Quaker ancestor Christopher Holder, persecuted for his religion in colonial Massachusetts.

Two years later, Sage gave $300,000 to Cornell University for the construction of a women's dormitory, Risley Hall, named after her mother-in-law. Her promotion of women's education also included funding the construction of the Olivia Josselyn House, named for her grandmother, at the then all-female Vassar College in 1912. That year she also acquired Marsh Island in the Gulf of Mexico and dedicated it as a refuge for birds and other wildlife.

In 1916, Sage founded Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. Later, in 1919 she gave $2,750,000 for the development of the Russell Sage Foundation Homes, a suburban community at Forest Hills Gardens, Queens. In addition she gave extensively to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and the Emma Willard School, both in Troy. She also contributed to the National Training School in Durham, North Carolina, founded by James E. Shepard for black teachers. Up to 1915, the sum total of Sage's gifts surpassed $23,000,000.

Olivia Sage also organized the effort to fund and build the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor. It was named in honor of her grandfather Major John Jermain, who fought in the American Revolution. Designed by Augustus N. Allen, the library was presented in 1910 as a gift to the people of Sag Harbor. The property was bought at a cost of $10,000, and was directly across from Sage's then summer home on Main Street.

Sage founded Russell Sage College as a comprehensive college for women. It is located within the historic district of Troy, New York. RSC offers liberal arts and professional degree programs to empower students to become women of influence in their careers and their communities.

Olivia Sage's residence for many years at Sag Harbor was later adapted for use as the town's Sag Harbor Whaling Museum.

The historian Ruth Crocker has studied how Sage provided in her will for distribution of more wealth: her legacy had fifty-two equal parts. Nineteen named educational institutions received one part, or about $800,000 each. She made larger bequests to the following of $1.6 million each: the Emma Willard School, the Woman's Hospital, the Children's Aid Society, the Charity Organization Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and Syracuse University. She also provided large donations in her will to a variety of churches, missions, and other religious causes.