SOURCE OF WEALTH: Actress, Author
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Environment
OVERVIEW: Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband, the filmmaker/actor Christopher Guest, make grants through the Syzygy Foundation, which has given a little over $100,000 annually in recent years. Los Angeles serves as an important site of philanthropy. The couple’s funding interests include education and arts.
BACKGROUND: Born in Los Angeles, Jamie Lee Curtis is the daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. She attended the University of Pacific but did not finish. Curtis starred in horror classic Halloween, Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda, among other film and television productions. She is also a children’s book author. Christopher Guest is a British-American actor, director, and screenwriter. He co-starred in This is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride. He wrote and directed the mockumentary films A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, and Waiting for Guffman. He is the fifth Baron Haden-Guest, of Saling in the County Essex.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: As a student, Curtis considered majoring in social work before going into acting. Curtis and Guest, via their foundation, support Arete Prep and Carpenter Community Charter in Los Angeles. They also support Exceptional Minds, “the first American computer animation studio and nonprofit digital arts school for young adults on the autism spectrum,” and Share Our Strength, which deals with childhood hunger. The couple also steadily supports Berklee College of Music. It is worth noting that Guest studied classical music.
HEALTH: Grantees include the ALS Association, Challenged Athletes Foundation and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
ENVIRONMENT: The couple supports environmental organizations NDRC, Conservation Lands Foundation, Treepeople and Wood River Land Trust.
OTHER: Curtis and Christopher Guest support veterans organizations Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans Of America (IAVA) and progressive organization People for the American Way. They also support Los Angeles public radio station KCRW.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Curtis and Guest to stick with their select interest areas. It is unclear if they will increase their grantmaking in coming years, though they may have more direct avenues of giving and some important grants may be missing from this rundown.
CONTACT:
SYZYGY Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
SYZYGY Foundation
5420 W. 61st Pl., P.O. Box 918
Shawnee Mission, KS 66201
