Ascendant Philanthropists Make $23 Million Donation to Met
2May 5, 2026
TheMetropolitan Museum of Artannounced last week that it has received a donation of $23 million from recently elected trusteeJennifer Rubioand her husband,Stewart Butterfield, via the Rubio Butterfield Foundation. Rubio, the cofounder and former CEO of Away luggage, and Butterfield, the cofounder of the workplace team messaging application Slack, also made an additional donation in support of the Museum’s newTang Wingfor modern and contemporary art, which is set to open in 2030.
The principal donation will go towards endowing the Met’s long-standing internships for undergraduate and graduate students in perpetuity. As such, beginning in September 2026, the college and university student internship program will be named after the couple.
“My own path has been made possible by access—by people and institutions that opened doors early on, and by formative experiences that shaped how I came to see the world,” Rubio said in a statement. “Expanding that kind of opportunity has become central to my philanthropic work. Internships are often the first meaningful point of entry into this field, yet too often that pathway depends on circumstance rather than talent. Stewart and I are proud to support The Met in making that entry point more equitable, ensuring that emerging voices, perspectives, and expertise help define the future of the Museum and the broader cultural landscape.”
Rubio and Butterfield have steep art world ambitions—their collection, which they began to put together under a decade ago, already includes works by Kara Walker, Simone Leigh, Joan Mitchell, Vija Celmins, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cy Twombly, and Rubio is presently the youngest member of the board of trustees at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she also co-funds their Free Friday Nights program.