SOURCE OF WEALTH: Hellman & Friedman
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture, Education & Youth, Policy
OVERVIEW: Tully and Elise Friedman conduct their philanthropy through the Tully and Elise Friedman Fund. According to available tax filings, the fund awarded around $1.2 million in grants in 2017. Their main priority is the Bay Area. Friedman’s board memberships include co-chairman of American Enterprise Institute.
BACKGROUND: Tully M. Friedman graduated with an A.B from Stanford University and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Friedman co-founded Hellman & Friedman, which from 1984 through early 1997 established private equity partnerships representing more than $2.5 billion. Friedman went on to found FFL Partners.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: Friedman and his wife have supported Telluride Film Festival, Friends of the San Francisco Symphony, Mountain Film Society, California Shakespeare Theater, and the Pinhead Institute, a Smithsonian Affiliate organization in Telluride, Colorado. Friedman serves as vice chair of the Telluride Foundation, and as a director of the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
POLICY: Tully Friedman serves as co-chairman of the board of American Enterprise Institute, which the couple supports.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Grantees have included Prep for Prep, Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco, Junior League of San Francisco, St. Paul’s School (which received a seven-figure gift recently), and San Francisco Rock Project, a nonprofit music school.
LOOKING FORWARD: Besides a large gift to St. Paul’s School, which put the foundation’s annual grantmaking above $1 million, the couple’s gifts via their foundation have not been overwhelming. In general, the Friedmans stick to the Bay Area and Colorado. Friedman reportedly plans to stick with TFL for a few more years, so perhaps after that more money will start to move through the fund.
CONTACT:
The Tully and Elise Friedman Fund does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
Tully and Elise Friedman Fund
One Maritime Plaza Ste. 2200
San Francisco, CA 94111
