NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ? The Starr Foundation, led by Maurice Greenberg, former chief executive officer of insurer American International Group Inc., gave $25 million to Harlem Children?s Zone to help expand its programme in upper Manhattan.

The gift, to be paid over five years, will be matched by $25 million from Stanley Druckenmiller, founder of Duquesne Capital Management LLC and chairman of Harlem Children?s Zone?s trustees.

That money, along with donations from other trustees, will go toward the creation of a $150 million endowment.

The Starr gift will allow Harlem Children?s Zone to serve half the children in central Harlem, said Geoffrey Canada, president and chief executive officer. The number of low-income children able to be helped by the nonprofit organization will rise by 4,500 to 14,000.

?Without education, there is no hope, and without hope, what kind of future do you have?? Greenberg, chairman of Starr, said at the announcement yesterday.

Druckenmiller?s pledge to the endowment fund will also be paid over five years.

Other gifts from trustees include $5 million from Mark Kingdon, president of Kingdon Capital Management; $1 million from Ken Langone, chairman of Invemed Associates Inc., and $1 million from Gary Cohn, co-president and co-chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Harlem Children?s Zone was founded in 1970 to keep children at school.

It serves a 60-block zone of the New York neighbourhood from 125th Street to 132nd Street, offering parenting and computer courses, a pre-kindergarten programme, charter school, recreation and community programs.

The Starr gift allows it to cover blocks to 143rd Street, its third expansion.

?Given our financial resources, I had all but given up going ahead with Phase 3 six months ago,? Druckenmiller said in a statement.

?Starr?s gift, and its energising effect on our board, has given us the wherewithal to proceed.?

Starr was started by AIG founder Cornelius Vander Starr and has assets of about $3 billion.

The Harlem Children?s Zone grant is its largest to a single human services organisation.

It also gives money to support education, culture, health care, public policy and the environment, president Florence Davis said.