A friend and associate of the British philanthropist, Thomas Coram, White worked tirelessly to raise funds enabling the establishment of Coram's Foundling Hospital in 1739. He became one of the founding Governors, and it was in White's London house that the announcement for its first intake of infants was drawn up. Along with Coram and the Duke of Richmond, White and his fellow Governors were present on the evening of 25 March 1741 when the first children arrived. He became a key figure in running the institution, serving as its Treasurer from 1745 until his death, and was largely responsible for the establishment of the Hospital's branch in Ackworth, West Yorkshire. A portrait by Francis Cotes of White working on his ledgers hung in the Committee Room of the Hospital along with works by william Hogarth and George Lambert, and is now in the care of the Foundling Museum. A keen art collector himself, White was instrumental in building up the Hospital's famous art collection, persuading many of the leading artists and Collectors of the day to donate works to it. He also commissioned a large marine painting from Charles Brooking for the Committee Room and a painted glass window from william Peckitt for the Hospital's chapel.