Barry and Wendy Meyer
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Warner Brothers
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Children's & Civil Rights, Arts & Culture, Health & Human Services, Humanitarian, Jewish Causes
OVERVIEW: Barry Meyer and his wife Wendy conduct their philanthropy through the Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation, which made a little less than in $1 million in grants in a recent year. The Meyers are strong patrons of USC, particularly its School of Social Work. The family is strongly interested in children in foster care. Other funding priorities include the arts. Los Angeles is a region of grantmaking.
BACKGROUND: Barry M. Meyer was born into a Jewish family in New York. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Meyer joined the Warner Bros. Entertainment in the early 1970s as Director, Business Affairs for Warner Bros. Television. He eventually rose to be chairman and CEO, retiring after 42 years with the company.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: A licensed clinical social worker, Wendy Smith Meyer has worked at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work for more than two decades. The couple established the Meyer Endowed Scholarship in 2001, awarding grants to students who were committed to careers in the field of child welfare. In 2008, they created the Frances Caple Book Fund to help students pay for books. In 2012, they established two scholarships for former foster youth. The school is also home to the Wendy Smith Endowed Staff Recognition Fund, which Wendy announced in conjunction with her impending retirement.
Meyer supports University of California, Berkeley, Westside Neighborhood School, and CalArts.
CHILDREN'S & CIVIL RIGHTS: 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. She is a volunteer advocate with Human Rights Watch, working on juvenile justice. The couple supports quite a few children's organizations as well as civil rights and other progressive organizations. Grantees include ACLU Foundation of Southern California, Alliance for Children's Rights, Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), Feminist Majority Foundation, The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and United Friends of the Children, which has received particularly strong support of late.
Wendy also serves on the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families, another grantee.
ARTS & CULTURE: Grantees include LACMA, Library Foundation of Los Angeles, PBS SoCal, Southern California Public Radio, Geffen Playhouse, International Documentary Association, and National Museum of African American History and Culture.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Grantees include Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Planned Parenthood, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, and Venice Family Clinic.
HUMANITARIAN: The couple has supported Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders.
JEWISH CAUSES: Grantees include Friends of Israel Defense Forces and the Jewish Federation, among others.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the Meyer family's active philanthropy to continue.
CONTACT:
The Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation
16030 Ventura Blvd, Ste 380
Encino, CA 91436
(818) 905-9500
