OVERVIEW: Founded by the late Jerry Moss and his wife, Tina, the Moss Foundation make grants for the arts, especially to music education, health, the environment, and education predominately in Los Angeles, but also across the U.S.
IP TAKE: Moss Foundation’s philanthropy is not quite as large-scale as his former business partner, Herb Alpert’s, and the foundation does not have much of an online presence. Still, Moss has steadily supported several key interests over the years. It will be interesting to see if the Foundation continues to support its current interests following the death of its founder, Jerry Moss, in August 2023. While this funder prioritizes Los Angeles, grantmaking — especially in the arts and health — extends across the U.S. While it is not transparent or accessible, it does welcome contact at the information provided below.
PROFILE: Established in 1990, the Moss Foundation was created by the late Jerry Moss. Moss grew up in the Bronx, received a degree in English from Brooklyn College, and served briefly in the army before moving to Los Angeles to become a music promoter. With Herb Alpert, he formed A&M Records. Releasing artists such as Carole King, Joe Cocker, and Peter Frampton, A&M became the world’s largest independent record label in less than a decade. It was eventually purchased by Polygram in 1989. In 2006, Alpert and Moss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their contributions to the music industry. Jerry Moss died in August 2023.
Grants for Arts and Culture
As a Foundation created by a music mogul, Moss unsurprisingly supports music and arts philanthropy. In Los Angeles, this has included grants to Hammer Museum, Geffen Playhouse, the Los Angeles Opera Company, and the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, MoCA, and LACMA.
The foundation also supports music education, including Adopt the Arts Foundation in West Hollywood, a nonprofit founded by a former Guns N’ Roses drummer that supports arts programs in public elementary schools, and A Window Between Worlds in Venice, an arts program for domestic violence victims. It has also made grants to New Roads School in Santa Monica, where in 2013, the Ann and Jerry Moss Theater opened to the public. The space is part of the larger Herb Alpert Educational Village on the school’s campus. In 2020, the foundation donated $25,000,000 to The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The couple also awarded the Music Center in LA a $25 million grant to establish new programming initiatives, including an annual free summer concert on the new Jerry Moss Plaza, and the creation of arts partnerships with local community organizations to support BIPOC artists.
Select organizations outside Los Angeles have also received funding, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the San Juan Community Theater in Friday Harbor, Washington, and the Music Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
Grants for Health
Grants in health run the gamut from organizations in Los Angeles providing local services to national organizations that focus on just about every type of disease imaginable. The Pediatric AIDS and Childhood Diabetes Foundations have been some of the biggest grantees, but the Mosses also support causes including Alzheimer’s, cancer research, and Huntington’s disease.
On a local level, several community health centers and free clinics have received funding, along with City of Hope and the Rape Foundation. The couple has also supported the Painted Turtle Foundation, a camp for children with serious medical conditions.
In health, Moss has also made grants to Los Angeles organizations such as Cedars Sinai Medical Center and City of Hope.
Grants for Education
Most of Moss’s educational focus is in the Los Angeles area, and UCLA, Accelerated Charter Schools, and New Visions, which supports educational programs for underserved and at-risk youth in both Los Angeles and Nashville.
While Moss attended Brooklyn College in New York, his foundation has been a regular supporter of UCLA. Moss is a member of the UCLA Board of Visitors of the School of the Arts and Architecture. In 2004, the couple established the Moss Scholarship at the School of Arts and Architecture with at least $500,000. In recent years, Moss has made grants to UCLA organizations such as UCLA Center for East West Medicine, UCLA Athletics Department, and UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.
On a national scale, they have supported organizations like Communities in Schools, the United Negro College Fund, and the Council for Exceptional Children, which provides professional development tools and publications for special needs teachers, and advocates on behalf of gifted children, as well as those with learning disabilities.
Grants for the Environment and Wildlife
Moss has also given more than $75,000 to the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, Florida, but his biggest grant in this area supports Global Green, an organization that promotes sustainability.
Other organizations that have received funding include the Earth Island Institute, Oceana, William Holden Wildlife Fund, and the Rainforest Foundation.
It is worth noting that Moss is also a long-time thoroughbred horse breeder and owner, and his horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Breeder’s Cup. Moss has served as the California Horse Racing Board commissioner in the past.
Important Grant Details:
Annually, grants rarely exceed $50,000, but can go up to about $1 million or more.
The Moss Foundation does not have a website or offer a clear way for grant seekers to get in touch.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Moss Foundation
421 N. Beverly Drive
Suite 260
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
rbarchie@themossfoundation.org
