Righteous Persons Foundation
/OVERVIEW: Founded by film director Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, the Righteous Persons Foundation supports organizations that contribute to and express Jewish values of human dignity and social justice.
IP TAKE: The Righteous Persons Foundation’s grantmaking works nationally in the areas of social justice and the arts. While many grantees are large, well-known Jewish organizations, some smaller organizations working in education, arts and culture have recently received funding for projects that clearly articulate the foundation’s messages of Jewish values, human dignity and justice.
Righteous Persons is accessible and runs two annual grantmaking cycles and accepts two-page letters of inquiry in January and February for spring grants and July and August for fall grants. This funder is also more attentive and acknowledges applications typically in two week, while full proposals are accepted by invitation only.
PROFILE: Based in Los Angeles, California, the Righteous Persons Foundation was established in 1994 by the film director, producer and writer Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, with proceeds from Spielberg’s academy award winning film Schindler’s List. Since its founding, the foundation has made more than $100 million in grants to support “innovative approaches that inspire activism for social justice, help bring people together across lines of difference; unlock the power of art and storytelling; make Jewish history and tradition more accessible; and ensure that the moral lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten.” Grantmaking supports Jewish causes and, to a lesser extent, arts and culture.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The Righteous Persons Foundation’s grantmaking for Jewish causes spans the areas of religion, culture, education, history and human and social services, with a significant portion of grants going to organizations based in Los Angeles and New York City. Many large, well-known Jewish organizations that operate nationally enjoy ongoing support from Righteous Persons, including the Antidefamation League, the Jewish Funders’ Network, the Union for Reform Judaism, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Bend the Arc, a network of progressive Jewish organizations “uniting to resist the Trump agenda.”
The foundation has also made sizeable contributions to some smaller and local Jewish organizations. In the Washington, D.C.-area, the foundation has given to Jews United for Justice, which “participates in local campaigns for racial, economic, and social justice.” Another small organization to received funding, Dayenu, was launched in 2020 to help Jewish communities in the U.S. to “confront the climate crisis on a systemic level with the kind of bold, collective action needed to avert climate disaster.”
The Righteous Persons Foundation has also prioritized organizations working with young people through education and cultural programs. Recent grants have gone to Repair the World’s Serve the Moment initiative, which engaged Jewish young adults in COVID-19 relief across the U.S. Another recent grantee, Facing History and Ourselves, aims to “use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate." The foundation has also provided ongoing support to religious educational institutions including the Union Theological Seminary and the Auburn Theological Seminary, both in New York City.
Grants for Arts and Culture
A significant portion of the Righteous Persons Foundation’s grantmaking supports arts and culture organizations whose work overlaps with the foundation’s mission of “supporting a meaningful and relevant Jewish community.” Not surprisingly, the foundation’s arts and culture grantmaking prioritizes filmmaking, with recent grants having gone to organizations including the Filmmakers Collaborative, Storycorps and the International Documentary Association. The foundation has also supported the Jewish Film Institute’s Completion Grants Program, which “provides finishing funds to emerging and established filmmakers for original stories that promote thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, and identity.”
The foundation has also supported several organizations working in other artistic and cultural media. One recent grant went to the New York City-based Reboot, “an arts and culture non-profit that reimagines and reinforces Jewish thought and traditions.” Other arts and culture grantees include New York’s Center for Jewish History, Jewish Story Partners, Asylum Arts of Brooklyn and the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Important Grant Details:
The Righteous Persons Foundation’s grants range from $5,000 to $500,000.
This funder supports a broad range of Jewish organizations, including large national outfits and small, newer organizations responding to contemporary issues in Jewish life.
The foundation’s arts funding mainly goes to Jewish-oriented film and arts organizations, but non-Jewish organization that work toward goals of equity and acceptance have also received funding on occasion.
This funder accepts two-page letters of inquiry from nonprofits working to contribute to and express Jewish values of human dignity and social justice. Letters of inquiry should include a description of the applicant organization as well as a detailed budget and a clear statement of the amount of the grant requested. Letters are accepted in January and February for spring grants and July and August for fall grants.
The Righteous Persons Foundation does not make grants to individuals, synagogues, day schools, capital or building campaigns, scholarships or endowment funds. This funder does not support organizations based outside of the U.S., and current grantmaking prioritizes organizations with national scope.
For additional information about the Righteous Persons Foundation’s past grantmaking, see its recent grantees and grants archive pages.
For additional information about the application process see the foundation’s letters of inquiry and/or film application pages.
For general inquiries, the foundation may be reached via email or telephone at 310-314-8393.
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