Lin-Manuel Miranda and Vanessa Nadal
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Broadway Playwright, Songwriter
FUNDING AREAS: Humanitarian, Latino Community, TBD
OVERVIEW: Lin-Manuel Miranda has supported humanitarian efforts in Puerto Rico. He has also raised money for an advocacy organization for immigrants. Miranda and his wife Vanessa do not appear to have a formal family foundation.
BACKGROUND: Born in New York City, Lin-Manuel Miranda graduated with a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 2002. He worked as a high school English teacher for a time and went on to write and star in the Tony-winning 2008 musical In the Heights. Miranda developed and starred in the musical Hamilton, a groundbreaking work with hip-hop/R&B musical forms and a black and Latino cast. The production won the Pulitzer Prize and 11 Tony Awards in 2016. In 2017, Miranda was nominated for an Oscar for composing "How Far I'll Go" from the animated film Moana.
ISSUES:
HUMANITARIAN: Lin-Manuel Miranda teamed up with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to donate $300,000 to Puerto Rico relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The grant aids arts and cultural workers who are struggling in the aftermath of the devastating storm. Miranda also donated his proceeds from his song "Almost Like Praying" for rescue efforts and disaster relief.
LATINO COMMUNITY: Back in 2016, Miranda matched a $25,000 grant from the Time Warner Foundation to jumpstart the Sol Project, a six-year, $3.8 million initiative whose goal is to "usher Latino artists into the mainstream of American theater." In 2020, he made a $1 million commitment to provide scholarships for theater students of color at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Theater Institute.
Miranda raised money for Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group of 12 partner organizations that provide services such as legal representation and advocacy for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. The coalition was spearheaded by the Hispanic Federation, whose first president was Luis A. Miranda Jr., Miranda’s father. In 2021, Miranda and his family gave $225,000 immigrant rights organizations and policy reform advocates throughout the country.
OTHER: Miranda, Vanessa, and Prizeo, an online platform that democratizes grantmaking, teamed up to invite Hamilton fans to make a donation to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and UK-based nonprofit 10:10, which deals with climate change.
LOOKING FORWARD: Only in his 40s, Miranda’s career is still on the rise, and he reportedly takes home $5.5 million per year from Hamilton alone. Miranda and Nadal's giving should be watched to identify emerging interests. Vanessa's background – she is an MIT and Fordham Law graduate who worked as an R&D scientist at Johnson & Johnson and as an associate at Jones Day – could come into play as well in the form of legal advocacy and policy, as well as the science research space.
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