The John DeWitt Gregory Charitable Trust was established through the generosity of its namesake, John DeWitt Gregory.  After a lifetime of contributing time, effort, and money to a variety of philanthropic causes, John Gregory left the bulk of his estate to this trust so that the organizations and causes he cared about would continue to benefit from his generosity. 

Over the course of John Gregory’s life, he became not only a successful lawyer and law professor but also a committed philanthropist.  He cared deeply about civil rights as well as the performing arts.  He was a regular and generous contributor to a large number of organizations such as Southern Poverty Law Center, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, National Museum of African-American History, Museum of Modern Art, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Schomburg Center, Hofstra Law School, American Red Cross, Lincoln Center, Roundabout Theater Company, New York City Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, public radio and television, and a variety of hospitals and other health causes.  In addition to his charitable giving, John Gregory developed a strong personal interest in supporting the work of marginalized writers.

The overarching purpose of this trust is to carry on the social activism and generous philanthropy of its grantor.