Jennifer Rubio and Stewart Butterfield Pledge $23M to Endow Met Internships
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has received a transformative gift from Trustee Jennifer Rubio and her husband Stewart Butterfield through their Rubio Butterfield Foundation. The pledge of over $23 million will permanently endow the museum's undergraduate and graduate internship program, ensuring it remains fully paid—the Met is already the largest art museum in the US offering 100% paid internships. Starting September 2026, the program will be renamed after the couple. Additionally, the foundation made a separate pledge to support the Met's new Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, slated to open in 2030. The gift aims to remove financial barriers and enhance access for student participants.
Key facts
- Jennifer Rubio and Stewart Butterfield pledged over $23 million through the Rubio Butterfield Foundation.
- The gift endows the Met's undergraduate and graduate internship program in perpetuity.
- The Met is the largest art museum in the US offering 100% paid internships.
- The internship program will be renamed after Rubio and Butterfield starting September 2026.
- An additional pledge supports the new Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, opening in 2030.
- Jennifer Rubio is a recently elected Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- The gift aims to enhance access and remove financial barriers to participation.
- The Rubio Butterfield Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle for the couple.
Entities
Institutions
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Rubio Butterfield Foundation
- Tang Wing
Locations
- New York City
- United States