Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Snapchat
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Arts, Health & Human Services, TBD
OVERVIEW: Evan Spiegel and Snapchat co-founder Bobby Murphy announced the creation of the Snap Foundation, set to benefit youth, education and nonprofit arts programs. Spiegel is a member of the Berggruen Institute's 21st Century Council. Spiegel gave away $100 million, almost 1.6 million shares of Snap, in the first half of 2021 according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Spiegel also runs the Spiegel Family Fund with his wife, Australian model Miranda Kerr.
BACKGROUND: Born in Pacific Palisades in 1990, Spiegel completed design classes at the Otis College of Art and Design, and at the Art Center College of Design. He attended Stanford University, and in 2011, co-founded Snapchat with Murphy, his fraternity brother. Snapchat allows users to send photos and messages that disappear after a few seconds. Spiegel became the youngest public company CEO when Snap began trading in March 2017.
ISSUES:
SNAP FOUNDATION: Spiegel and Murphy announced the creation of the Snap Foundation and reportedly plan to donate 13 million Class A shares of Snapchat stock to the foundation over the next 15 to 20 years. With its last private valuation at some $25 billion, the donation could mean hundreds of millions of dollars for the initiative when the company goes public. The donations are set to benefit primarily youth, education and nonprofit arts programs.
Snap is not new to philanthropy. It teamed up with (RED) to raise money for AIDS research and made a name for itself through charitable giving and community service in Venice, California, where the company is headquartered.
EDUCATION: In 2018, Spiegel gave $20 million to Stockton Scholars, a scholarship program in Stockton, California. He and Kerr, through their Spiegel Family Fund, paid off all student debt for 285 graduates of Otis College of Arts and Design in 2022. Other Spiegel Family Fund education grantees include code.org, Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, Episcopal School of Los Angeles, Ojai Foundation, Stanford University, and the Stockton Scholars Program.
ARTS: The Spiegel Family Fund has given to Royal College of Art, Skystone Foundation, and Turnaround Arts.
HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS: Spiegel’s grantmaking for housing includes A Community of Friends, LA Family Housing, Safe Place for Youth, St. Joseph’s Center, and United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
HUMAN RIGHTS: Much of Spiegel’s grants stay in the Los Angeles area, but many of its human rights grants have gone to organizations across the globe. Grantees include Center for Justice and Accountability, Equal Justice Initiative, and Recidiviz.
OTHER: Spiegel is a member of the Berggruen Institute's 21st Century Council, which describes itself as a "forum for dialogue on global governance."
LOOKING FORWARD: Only in his early 30s, Evan Spiegel's giving is just beginning. It is possible that he and his wife Miranda Kerr will sign the Giving Pledge.
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