Rosenthal Family Foundation
OVERVIEW: The California-based Rosenthal Family Foundation supports a wide range of human rights, arts and disease-related organizations across the United States.
IP TAKE: The Rosenthal Family Foundation keeps a low-profile, making it difficult to understand the goals and priorities of its grantmaking. Grantmaking prioritizes SoCal, but disease and arts funding is conducted nationally.
PROFILE: The Rosenthal Family Foundation was established in 1946 by Richard Sr. and Hinda Rosenthal, who were strong patrons of the arts. It has become the personal foundation of their son, the director and producer Rick Rosenthal, and his wife, Nancy Stephens. Born in 1949, Richard “Rick” L. Rosenthal Jr., graduated from the Choate School, Harvard University and the American Film Institute. He helped launch Sean Penn’s career when he cast the then-unknown actor in the 1983 film “Bad Boys.” Rosenthal worked on the Emmy-winning ABC series “Life Goes On,” as well as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Smallville.” In recent years, Rosenthal has turned to the independent film world.
The foundation does not operate a website or employ a formal staff, making it difficult to understand this funder’s goals and priorities.
Grants for Security and Human Rights
Rosenthal backs a variety of human rights organizations and does not appear to prioritize specific groups or geographic areas in its funding. According to recent tax filings, human rights and anti-discrimination groups appear to receive more of Rosenthal’s grants than nonprofits in any other funding area.
Rosenthal awards a majority of its funds to larger national organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Rescue Committee.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
Many of Rosenthal’s disease-related grants are awarded to the larger, better-known national organizations, such as the American Cancer Society and local chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association. In addition to its grants, Rosenthal has sponsored awards in clinical medical research through the American College of Physicians, the American Heart Association, the American Association for Cancer Research, and others.
Grants for Film, Writing, and Visual Arts
Rosenthal’s grants related to film, writing and visual arts support an array of organizations and work.
The Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for Fiction of $10,000 has been awarded annually since 1957 to a young novelist.
The Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for Painting of $10,000, meanwhile, has been awarded annually since 1960 to a young painter of distinction.
Rosenthal also funds two awards in fiction and painting through the American Academy and National Institute of Arts and Letters: The first is “for a work of fiction published during the preceding year that is a considerable literary achievement;” the second supports “a young artist of distinction” in painting.
Other grantees in these areas include the American Film Institute, Lincoln Center Theater, Utah Film Center, Film Forum Inc., Hammer Museum, Americans for the Arts, Center for Media and Democracy, and PEN Center USA, which has received particularly strong support. The foundation also makes program related investments in educational documentary films such as “The Genius of Marian,” a film about Alzheimer’s disease, and “American Promise,” a film about students of color in New York City prep schools.
Grants for SoCal and California
Grantmaking appears to prioritize the Los Angeles region; however, it funds some organizations across California. Past grantees include the Big Brothers Big Sisters of LA, Homeboy Industries, UCLA, LA Philharmonic, Young Storytellers Foundation, Chabad of Greater Los Feliz, and the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.
Grants for Women and Democracy
For some two decades, Nancy Stephens has been an active political fundraiser in Los Angeles for progressive Democrats. The family via their foundation supports organizations like California Women’s Law Center, Feminist Majority Foundation, National Partnership for Women and Family, People for the American Way, and Liberty Hill Foundation, a social justice organization in Los Angeles.
Important Grant Details:
With only a few exceptions, Rosenthal’s grants are modest, typically ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
The Rosenthal Family Foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications and requests for funding.
The foundation does not offer any specific formats for submissions nor does it have deadlines for applications.
Past tax filings show a preference for California-based organizations, however, and it has awarded grants to groups in other states.
This funder does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. The foundation’s phone number is (818) 981-3115
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CONTACT:
Rosenthal Family Foundation
137 N. Larchmont Blvd., # 803
Los Angeles, CA 90004-3704
(818) 981-3115