Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Lobbying client
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is the nonprofit that runs the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue, founded in 1937 and now overseeing a network of Guggenheim museums that also includes the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain. It has filed 8 lobbying disclosures since 2024 through Kasirer LLC, reaching 9 city council members on board and commission matters tied to advocacy and relationship building. The foundation holds $150,000 in active city contracts as of August 2026, part of $5,878,315 in city contracts since 2007.
- Council members lobbied
- 9
- Filings (since 2024)
- 8
- Lobbying compensation (since 2024)
- $97,000
- Industry (per city contracts)
- Construction Services
- City contracts (active)
- $150,000 · 1 contract
- Awarded all-time
- $5,878,316 · 25 since 2007, incl. expired
- Paid to date
- $5,619,331
- Won without a fresh bid
- 86% of contract value · $5,048,315 · 15 contracts
- Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
- $378,725 · 19 awards
- Funding history
- Funded 17 years (FY2009–FY2027), including each of the last 11
- Top officer pay (FY2024)
- $946,303 · Martine Westermann, Director/CEO
- Based in
- New York, NY
Lobbied these council members
- Eric Dinowitz Council Member, District 11 (Bronx)
- Rita C. Joseph Council Member, District 40 (Brooklyn)
- Julie Menin Council Member, District 5 (Manhattan)
- Shaun Abreu Council Member, District 7 (Manhattan)
Represented by lobbyist firms
- Kasirer LLC Lobbyist firm
Holds contracts at
- Department of Cultural Affairs City agency
- Department of Design and Construction City agency
- Department of Education City agency
Funded by these agencies
- Department of Cultural Affairs City agency
Lobbied former members
Members who have since left their seat
- Adrienne Adams
- Carlina Rivera
- Diana Ayala
- Erik Bottcher
- Keith Powers
What they lobbied on
subjects from their filings
- Determination of Board or Commission - Advocacy; Relationship Building
- Determination of Board or Commission - Relationship building
City contracts
Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).
- Arts Education Services Department of Education · MA104020259577010 $150,000
- Phase III - Restoration of the Guggenheim Museum in Man. Department of Design and Construction · CT185020121440849 · ended 2015 $980,000
- Guggenheim Museum Visitor Service Restoration Department of Design and Construction · CT185020100016512 · ended 2012 $980,000
- Guggenheim Museum Building Security & BMS/HVAC Upgrade Department of Design and Construction · CT185020151427872 · ended 2018 $911,000
- Arts Education Services Department of Education · MA104020199977898 · ended 2023 $245,834
- Arts Education Services Department of Education · MA104020139374646 · ended 2017 $229,167
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · CT112620201424049 · ended 2020 $202,390
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · CT112620191418416 · ended 2019 $192,720
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · CT112620171417659 · ended 2017 $186,380
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · CT112620121422592 · ended 2012 $186,375
Largest payments, by purpose
The organization's largest individual city payments (roughly $25,000 and up), grouped by purpose, to show what recent money was for. This is NOT a total — smaller payments aren't listed; see “Paid to date” above for the complete amount paid against its contracts. Fiscal years 2020 and later.
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · FY2020 · 2 payments $200,459
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · FY2022 · 2 payments $183,750
- SUPPORT GRANTEES MISSION AND CULTURAL EVENTS Department of Cultural Affairs · FY2021 $40,475
Discretionary funding received
City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.
- Public School 6M Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCA · FY2010 $20,000
- Public School 99Q Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCA · FY2010 $20,000
- Public School 6M Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCA · FY2011 $20,000
- PS 6 Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCA · FY2012 $20,000
- Public School 6 Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2014 $20,000
- P.S. 006 Lillie D. Blake Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2015 $20,000
- P.S. 006 Lillie D. Blake Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2017 $20,000
- Public School 6M - Lillie D. Blake School Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2018 $20,000
- PS 6 Lillie D. Blake School Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2019 $20,000
- Public School 6M (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2020 $20,000
- Public School 6M (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2021 $20,000
- PS 6M (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2022 $20,000
- Public School 006M Lillie D. Blake (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2023 $20,000
- Public School 006M Lillie D. Blake (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2024 $20,000
- Public School 006M Lillie D. Blake (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2025 $20,000
- Public School 006M Lillie D. Blake (02M006) CM Powers · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2026 $20,000
- Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) CM Maloney · Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) · DCLA · FY2027 $20,000
- Public School 6 Cultural After School Adventure (CASA) · DYCD · FY2009 $19,363
- Public School 99 Cultural After School Adventure (CASA) · DYCD · FY2009 $19,363
Funded by these council members
City Council members who steered discretionary (member-item) money to this organization, largest first (FY2020 and later, where the sponsoring member is disclosed). Sitting members link to their page.
- Keith Powers FY2020-2026 · 7 awards $140,000
- Virginia Maloney FY2027 · 1 award $20,000
Officer & key-staff pay
Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2024). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
- Martine Westermann Director/CEO $946,303
- Richard Armstrong Director Emeritus $737,425
- Martha Withington Dep Director, CFO And Interim COO $533,337
- Sarah G Austrian Dep Director, Gen Counsel & Sec. $514,625
- Naomi Beckwith Dep Director & Stockman Chief Curator $458,337
- Karole Vail Director, Peggy Guggenheim Collection $349,134
Officer pay over time
Total officer pay changed +9% from FY2020 to FY2024. Top-officer reportable compensation by year (org-paid only), with each year's share of total revenue. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 990 filings.
- FY2020 Richard Armstrong · 8.64% of revenue $1,504,081
- FY2021 Richard Armstrong · 7.24% of revenue $1,621,706
- FY2022 Richard Armstrong · 7.16% of revenue $1,590,428
- FY2023 Richard Armstrong Thru 0723 · 5.98% of revenue $1,258,022
- FY2024 Martine Westermann · 5.63% of revenue $946,303
Where their influence converges
Outside interests connected to this official through more than one independent channel — drawn straight from the records the rest of the site already shows. “Lobbied them” = a lobbying filing that named the member. “Outside spending” = an independent-expenditure committee the interest funds spent in
- Eric Dinowitz It lobbied them; it holds contracts at 2 agencies in their committees' jurisdiction
- Rita C. Joseph It lobbied them; it holds contracts at 1 agency in their committees' jurisdiction
- Shaun Abreu It lobbied them; it holds contracts at 1 agency in their committees' jurisdiction
Federal awards
Federal awards made directly to this organization in fiscal years 2023 through 2026. Each amount is what the federal government has OBLIGATED on that award as recorded on USAspending.gov as of 2026-08-31 — money committed, not money paid out. These are prime awards only: federal money this
- Institute of Museum and Library Services 45.301 Museums for America · Institute of Museum and Library Services · Grant $244,785
- National Endowment for the Arts 45.024 Promotion of the Arts Grants to Organizations and Individuals · National Endowment for the Arts · Grant $45,000
- National Endowment for the Arts 45.024 Promotion of the Arts Grants to Organizations and Individuals · National Endowment for the Arts · Grant $40,000