M. Night Shyamalan Foundation
OVERVIEW: The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation’s domestic interests support education reform in Philadelphia. Globally, the foundation focuses on livelihood opportunities, education, food and water access, and agricultural projects in Africa, India, and Central America.
IP TAKE: The foundation works with a select number of partners, and provides multi-year support, which makes this a crowded giving space. This funder works at the local level by investing in local leaders that best understand their communities’ needs. Grantseekers should note that MNSF’s Human Trafficking initiative is currently seeking organizations with which to partner.
MNSF provides an array of support. From unrestricted funding, advocacy and guidance to offering Increased exposure and access to our wide network. That said, MNSF makes very few grants a year, preferring to partner. It’s also not accessible, making it a tough nut to crack, but reach out with any questions.
PROFILE: Founded in 2001, the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation (MNSF) was created by Hollywood director-writer-producer M. Night Shyamalan and Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan. M. Night Shyamalan was born in India in 1970. As a child, his family moved to the Philadelphia, in the U.S., where he was raised. The son of physicians, Shyamalan developed an interest in film early on and attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1993. The filmmaker has gone on to make films like Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. Bhavna plays a strong role in the couple’s philanthropy. Born in India and raised in Hong Kong, she went on to get a PhD in clinical psychology from Bryn Mawr. She worked counseling young victims of sexual abuse and these days travels around the world to vet nonprofits.
Initially, the foundation focused its philanthropic efforts on financial support for American families that adopted children from India. Since then, MNSF has expanded its scope to include education reform in Philadelphia (where the couple lives) and supporting other organizations that work globally. MNSF seeks to “[s]upport the grassroots efforts of emerging leaders as they work to remove the barriers and eliminate inequities created by poverty.” MNSF’s partnerships often extend for several years in such countries as India, Tanzania, Guatemala, South Sudan, Nicaragua, Kenya, and Ghana.
Grants for Global Development and Violence Prevention
MNSF broadly funds global development and violence prevention, without naming specific grant programs or initiatives in these focus areas. However, it’s passionate mission and financials show a deep prioritization of international development work, as well as violence prevention work that focuses on preventing child human trafficking. MNSF does not name specific interests or projects that it’s willing to fund in these spaces beyond a broad focus on poverty elimination. Financials reveal a focus on education, human trafficking, nutrition, livelihood, and water.
MNSF is particularly interested in working with “leaders.” One such leader, Ghanian James Kofi Annan, was sold into slavery as a child before going on to found Challenging Heights last decade to help other children. In the past, MNSF has partnered with Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya; Tanzanian Children’s Fund; The Samburu Project, a nonprofit focused on drilling wells in Kenya; Nuevas Esperanzas, which works for the Nicaraguan poor; and the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to increase access to education in post-conflict South Sudan.
Grantseekers may find reading about MNSF’s “leaders” useful. Grantseekers should note that MNSF’s Human Trafficking initiative is currently seeking organizations with which to partner.
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