Kenneth T. and Eileen L Norris Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Norris Foundation supports Southern California nonprofits in the areas of health, education, youth, arts and culture. It works throughout Southern California, but names San Diego as an area of interest.
IP TAKE: The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation makes over one hundred grants each year to organizations of every size in Southern California. New grantseekers will have a difficult time getting in the door here, however, as the foundation prefers to maintain ongoing relationships with its existing grantees and does not respond to letters of inquiry. A connection to a member of the board or a past grantee may be the only way to gain this funder’s attention.
PROFILE: The Kenneth T. and Eileen L Norris Foundation is based in Long Beach, California. Kenneth T. Norris founded Norris Stamping & Manufacturing Company, which manufactured steel products. He and his wife, Eileen, established the foundation, and their son Kenneth T. Norris Jr. helped run it, along with his wife, Harlyne. Kenneth Jr. was known as the primary benefactor of the USC/Kenneth T. Norris Jr. Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital before he passed away in 1996. Harlyne passed away in 2016 and is remembered for her support for USC and local contributions to health and the arts. The Harlyne J. Norris Pavilion at Palos Verdes Performing Arts and a cancer research center at USC are named after her.
The Norris Foundation’s mission involves “enhancing quality of life through medicine, education, and the arts in Southern California.” The foundation makes grants in the areas of arts and culture, youth and community, medicine, education and science and community development for the San Diego area. Southern California is the main site of this funder’s giving.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
Health is the Norris Foundation’s largest area of giving. Although the foundation does not articulate goals for its health giving, large grants support some of Southern California’s large health and hospital systems. The foundation has made large grants to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, the Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Children’s Burn Foundation and the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Grants for Education, STEM and Youth Development
The Norris Foundation makes grants for education and youth via its youth and community and education and science focus areas, although it does not outline specific strategies for its work in these areas. Tax filings suggest that giving for K-12 populations focuses on out out-of-school learning and development, special education and vulnerable populations, while giving for higher education focuses on STEM.
Grantees serving K-12 populations include the California Science Center, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor, School on Wheels, the Painted Turtle camp programs and Reading is Fundamental of Southern California. Of note are grantees providing special education services to children with disabilities, including the Blind Children’s Center and the John Tracy Center, which provides services to children with hearing loss.
Higher education grantees include Occidental College, the University of California at Irvine, the California Institute of Technology and the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California.
Grants for Arts and Culture, Arts Education
This funder’s arts and culture grants support performing and visual arts organizations of all sizes. Many of Norris’s grantees in this area are organizations that have broad appeal and offer participatory or educational programming. Grantees include Palos Verdes Performing Arts, the Grammy Museum, the American Film Institute, the Autry Museum of the American West and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Grants for San Diego
The Norris Foundation names the San Diego area as a funding priority but does not articulate priorities for its giving here. Tax filings suggest a strong interest in human services and organizations working with vulnerable people. Grants to San Diego area organizations have provided support to the San Diego Rescue Mission, Just in Time for Foster Youth, Workshops for Warriors and Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego.
Important Grant Details:
With the exception of a few large gifts of over $1 million, the Norris Foundation’s grants range from $3,000 to to $800,000.
This funder works mainly in Southern California, although it supports organizations of all sizes.
Many of Norris’s grantees enjoy ongoing support, as this foundation likes to “foster long-term relationships with organizations.”
Health grantees receive the largest sums.
This funder does not accept applications for funding or respond to letters of inquiry.
For information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s highlights page or its recent tax filings.
Submit general inquiries to the Norris Foundation via email at grants@ktn.org or by telephone at (562) 435-8444.
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