OVERVIEW: The Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation funds grantmaking related to arts and culture, foster youth, mental health, human rights and criminal justice reform. K-12 education, health and Jewish causes are other areas of interest. Grantmaking is mainly limited to Southern California.
IP TAKE: The foundation keeps a low public profile, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. The foundation lacks transparency and does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. While this funder does not accept applications, Los Angeles area organizations that feel they are a good match may wish to network with past grantees to gain an introduction here.
PROFILE: The Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation was established in 1999. It was founded by former Warner Brothers Entertainment CEO and Chairman Barry Meyer and his wife, Wendy, a clinical social worker. Barry M. Meyer was born into a Jewish family in New York. He graduated with a bachelor’s from the University of Rochester and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Meyer later joined the Warner Bros. Entertainment in the early 1970s as Director, Business Affairs for Warner Bros. Television, where he rose to be chairman and CEO, retiring after 42 years with the company.
Tax filings suggest the Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation funds grantmaking related to arts and culture, foster youth, mental health, human rights and criminal justice reform. To a lesser extent, the foundation gives for K-12 education, health clinics and Jewish causes. Grantmaking is mainly limited to the Los Angeles area, but a few national organizations have also received funding in recent years.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Meyer Foundation’s giving for arts and culture appears to prioritize organizations and initiatives for film and television, which is not surprising given its founder’s involvement in the film industry.
Grantees include Brave New Films, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, the Koce-TV Foundation and the Utah Film Center. Other arts grantees include Southern California Public Radio, Museum Associates, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
Grantees also include LACMA, Library Foundation of Los Angeles, PBS SoCal, Southern California Public Radio, Geffen Playhouse, and the International Documentary Association.
Grants for Youth Development and Mental Health
Wendy is a founding board member of the National Foster Youth Institute and was a board member of United Friends of the Children for nearly two decades. She served on the board of Venice Family Clinic, and on the board of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
Foster and otherwise vulnerable youth appear to be a main giving priority for the Meyer Foundation. Grantees include the National Foster Youth Institute, the Children’s Law Center of California, the Everychild Foundation and the Rape Foundation of Santa Monica.
Grants for Human Rights and Criminal Justice Reform
Tax filings show that the Meyer Foundation has broadly given to several organizations supporting human rights and criminal justice reform. Wendy is a volunteer advocate with Human Rights Watch, working on juvenile justice.
Human rights grantees include Human Rights Watch, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alliance for Children’s Rights. Grantees supporting criminal justice reform and services for justice-involved people include the Anti Recidivism Coalition, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and A New Way of Life Reentry Project.
Grants for K-12 Education
Meyer has made grants to several K-12 schools in the Los Angeles area, but it does not name specific goals for this grantmaking. Grantmaking is laser-focused on local outfits. Grantees include the Seed School, the Westside Neighborhood School and the Archer School for Girls, all of Los Angeles.
Grants for Public Health
Public health is a smaller area of giving for this funder, but it steadily supports a few health care organizations in the Los Angeles area. Grantees include the Venice Family Clinic and Friends of the Los Angels Free Clinic.
Grants for Jewish Causes
They Meyer Foundation has steadily supported Jewish organizations over the years, although these grants tend to be among the foundation’s smallest. Grantees include the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles. Grantees have also included Friends of Israel Defense Forces and the Jewish Federation, among others.
Important Grant Details:
This foundation’s grants range from $500 to $600,000, although most grants stay below $75,000.
This funder mainly works in Southern California, with only a few grants supporting national organizations or organizations operating in other parts of the U.S.
Grants support organizations of all sizes, and many grantees receive ongoing support.
This funder does not accept grant requests. It gives only to preselected organizations.
For additional information about Meyers’ past giving, see the foundation’s past tax filings.
This funder does not provide a direct way of getting in touch. Its phone number is 818-905-9500.
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CONTACT:
The Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation
16030 Ventura Blvd, Ste 380
Encino, CA 91436
(818) 905-9500
