David Mitnick and Rebecca Mai: Donor Grants
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Domain Skate, LLC
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Policy & Global, Human Services
OVERVIEW: David Mitnick, his wife Rebecca Mai, and family move philanthropy through the Mai Family Foundation. Interests include education and organizations that work to overcome discrimination and promote reconciliation. Work is concentrated in South Africa, where the family has ties, and in the United States.
BACKGROUND: David K. Mitnick graduated with a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School. He spent spent a decade as an intellectual property lawyer with Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP in New York. Mitnick is the founder and president of Domain Skate, LLC, an internet company that focuses on domain name arbitration disputes.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The Mai family is strongly interested in education, including early childhood development. Foundation Vice President Vincent Mai once chaired the board of trustees of Sesame Workshop. Other grantees include Bank Street School, Prep for Prep, New Visions for Public Schools, Juilliard School, and St. Charles Education Foundation, the recent recipient of a 7-figure sum. Mitnick has also supported his alma mater Brooklyn Law School, where he’s part of the alumni association.
POLICY & GLOBAL: Mai Foundation board member Anne Mai sits on the board of Network 20/20, whose mission is to “develop foreign policy fluency in rising and established leaders from diverse backgrounds.”
Other grantees include Brennan Center for Justice, International Center for Transitional Justice, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and Shared Interest, which engages in “impact investing in Southern Africa through loan guarantees for businesses and farms.”
HUMAN SERVICES: Rebecca Mai is a psychologist. The family supports the Fountain House, which provides services for people with severe and persistent mental illness and also advocates on their behalf. The family has steadily supported the organization. Mitnick is on the board of New York Stem Cell Foundation.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the family to remain consistent with their giving interests. It’s unclear if the various board members will personalize their giving through other philanthropic vehicles down the line.
CONTACT:
The Mai Family Foundation
135 E. 57th St., 31 Fl.
New York City, NY 10022
