Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation 

OVERVIEW: The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation runs funding initiatives for college access, health, arts education, Jewish life, Israel and the University of California. A significant portion of funding is directed at Los Angeles-based organizations. 

IP TAKE: Gilbert is a significant source of funding for college readiness, college access and arts education programs in Southern California. The foundation also funds Jewish causes in the U.S. and Israel and, to a lesser extent, health and community concerns in Los Angeles. This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding. Grantmaking prioritizes the greater Los Angeles area, and more than half of its grants serve organizations in the state of California. 

This is not an accessible funder, so grant seekers will need to contact the foundation’s devoted senior program officer for inquiries. Make sure to learn about evolving grant strategies and how your work fits in, while being ready to pitch your project.

PROFILE: The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation was founded by the late real estate developer Arthur Gilbert and his first wife, Rosalinde, who was a successful dressmaker. The couple got their start in London, but moved to Los Angeles in 1949. They are well-known for their large collections of objets d’art, the majority of which is on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Rosalinde passed away in 1995, and Arthur died 2001, since which time a significant portion of the couple’s estate has supported the foundation. The Gilbert Foundation’s stated funding initiatives are College Access, Health, Israel, Arts Education, Jewish Life, UC Berkeley and UCLA and Special Projects.

Grants for Jewish Causes

The Gilbert Foundation’s Israel and Jewish Life initiatives comprise its largest area of grantmaking. Funding for Israel prioritizes education and economic opportunities for disadvantaged populations including “secular and Orthodox Jews, Ethiopian-Israelis, Christians, Arabs and Bedouins.” Past grantees of the program include Tel-Hai College, the University of Haifa, Youth Villages Initiative for Excellence, the Jerusalem Business Development Center and the Israeli Association of Community Centers. Jewish life funding supports U.S.-based Jewish organizations involved in religious education, Jewish culture, youth programming and social action. Funding prioritizes but is not strictly limited to organizations based in the Los Angeles area. Past grantees of this program include Challah for Hunger, Jewish Life Television, Jewish Vocational Services, the Los Angeles Jewish Come, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish University. 

Grants for College Readiness 

The Gilbert Foundation funds college readiness programs via its college access program, which aims to support underrepresented and low-income students as they attain admission to and succeed in accredited postsecondary education programs. Some of the foundation’s college readiness grantees serve K-12 populations in academic achievement, counseling and financial assistance. Most grantees serve the Los Angeles area, but some national organizations have also received grants. One past grantee is South Central Scholars, a Los Angeles program that helps high-achieving students from low-income families apply to competitive colleges and universities. Another California-based grantee is United Friends of the Children, which provides academic support and counseling services to children in foster care. Other college readiness grantees include the Southern California College Advising Corps, College Match and Heart of Los Angeles Youth, which provides after school academic and enrichment programs to underserved children in low-income areas. 

Grants for Higher Education 

Higher education receives support from Gilbert’s college access program, which names postsecondary success and the “elimination of systematic barriers” to college completion as areas of priority. Grants support advice and academic and financial support. The foundation has supported California State University’s expository reading and writing curriculum, the Campaign for College Opportunity and the Southern California Access Network. 

Through a separate initiative, the foundation supports the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Los Angeles. The initiative supports academic programs, research and named chairs and professorships in areas of interest to the foundation. At the Los Angeles campus, the foundation has endowed chairs in Israel studies, law and clinical pharmacology and supported programs in urban economics, computational medicine and criminal justice. Several funded programs at UCLA operate in collaboration with colleges and universities in Israel. At Berkeley, the foundation supports the Bancroft Library, the Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies and a Chair in Law, Business and Economy. 

Grants for Arts Education 

The Gilbert Foundation’s work in arts education aims to provide K-12 students with learning experiences in the performing and visual arts. Grantees include out-of-school programs at museums, cultural institutions and community centers, in-school arts programs and media outlets. Most of Gilbert’s arts education grantees operate in Southern California. Past arts education grantees include Inner City Arts, the Los Angeles Ballet, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, the Center Theatre Group, the art collections of the Huntington Library and National Public Radio. 

Grants for Public Health and Disease Research

Public health funding stems from Gilbert’s health initiative, which names diabetes and obesity prevention and support for family caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients as focus areas. In the area of diabetes and obesity prevention, the foundation invests in broad access to preventative healthcare and the support and maintenance of Los Angeles’s parks and outdoor spaces as areas for exercise and health recreation. Grantees include the Trust for Public Land, L.A. Recreation and Parks Department, Sound Body Sound Mind and the Prevention Institute, an Oakland-based national organization that prioritizes health equity through accessible preventative care. Alzheimer’s care grantees include the Family Caregiver Alliance, Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles and the Alzheimer’s Association of California. 

Gilbert’s health initiative also supports research on Alzheimer’s disease, prioritizing early-career scientists studying the causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s. Past grantees include the American Federation for Aging Research, the University of Southern California Los Angeles and the National Institutes of Health.

Grants for the Greater Los Angeles Area

While the Gilbert Foundation prioritizes the Los Angeles area across all areas of grantmaking, it also runs a special projects initiative that prioritizes community and urban development in Southern California. Recent grantees include the Los Angeles Business Council, AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, the California Science Center and CicLAvia, which runs “vehicle free” street events in Los Angeles to support local businesses and community building. 

Important Grant Details:

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation makes about $10 million in grants each year, with grants ranging from a few thousand to $500,000. The foundation’s average grant size is about $35,000. This grantmaker strongly prioritizes the Los Angeles area, although national organizations, organizations in other areas of California and organizations based in Israel also receive funding. Information about past grantees is available at the foundation’s individual focus area pages. 

The Gilbert Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding but invites interested grantseekers to contact senior program officer Sean Ostrovsky via contact form

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