It's funny we mention Manny and Tom Brady when discussing who could be the next wave of Boston philanthropists; down here in New York people ask, "Oh, you're from Boston? Great sports teams. ... But what else is up there?"
It's unfortunate, if you ask me, that all people know about the city is that the Patriots are undefeated and the Red Sox finally won the Fall Classic ... and now don't stop winning.
Who are the banner companies these days? We've still got lots of shoes, from Reebok and New Balance to Stride Rite and Clarks, but the insurance firms, banks, ocean-faring trade and industry that made Boston wealthy and powerful have taken a hit due to mergers in the last decade: big arts and nonprofits patrons Fleet, Shawmut, Bank of Boston and BayBank are now ... nothing; John Hancock was bought by a Toronto-based insurer; and Gillette is now owned by some (very rich and globally dominant) hucksters in southern Ohio.
There's still lots of life sciences (Biogen, Genzyme, Charles River, Boston Scientific, Millennium, Quest, not to mention healthcare management firms), insurance (Liberty Mutual, Sun Life), tech and software (EMC, Akamai, Analog Devices, Bose, MathWorks, Teradyne), private equity (Bain, Thomas H. Lee) and other financial (State Street, Fidelity, Putnam Investments, Boston Capital, Wellington, BCG, Bain), not to mention major hospitals and universities, publishing (Houghton Mifflin), engineering (Arthur D. Little, Raytheon), retail (Staples, Shaw's, TJX) and law firms.
So ... even though marquee names like the once philanthropically generous four banks, John Hancock and Gillette have packed up, there's still a huge corporate base in the Boston area. But who has picked up the philanthropic slack? State Street seems good and often talks about how they want clients to come to Boston and feel they're in a world-class city; other than that, I can't even tell you. Maybe firms are giving with less fanfare -- I don't want to suggest they aren't -- but we should be able to look to the area's corporate base for philanthropy.
Right now, there's big cultural projects ranging from this one (which would certainly be prime for biotech investment, given its location) to the MFA to the Gardner to the MoS Boston Museum, Greenway cultural center, YMCA and botanic garden. There's also a huge mess of university expansion projects, all dependent on private giving. The city's in the middle of an arts (and nonprofit science and hospital) boom, and the companies who know how important a thriving arts, cultural and education scene is for attracting employees should be investing for their own enlightened self-interest.
Re. Manny -- I'm afraid all the Sox' home games will sell out in February whether or not there's a Constellation Center. And judging by his personal tastes, I think Manny would be more likely to invest in an R&B club than an opera/organ/silent film venue. Not that that's a bad thing -- I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Constellation Center, but I'd probably make just as much use of the R&B club.