Winiarski Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Winiarski Family Foundation supports education, conservation and preservation and human services in Northern California and the Napa Valley region.
IP TAKE: The Winiarski Family Foundation is a funder whose website is under construction, which shows that it’s looking to increase its presence and raise its profile. This could signal its grantmaking may be ramping up soon. For now, however, this funder does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding and pre-selects its beneficiaries. The foundation is inaccessible and does not provide a way to get in touch, but Warren Winiarski’s personal website offers a method of contact.
PROFILE: Established in 2007, the Winiarski Family Foundation (WFF) is an independent foundation based in Napa, California. Napa Valley winemaker Warren Winiarski founded WFF following his success as the founder and proprietor of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Winiarski was born in Chicago, moved to the Napa Valley in the 1960s. He also owns and operates Arcadia Vineyards. Winiarski serves as the foundation’s president, and family members serve as the other officers and directors. Grantmaking supports education, conservation and preservation, and human services.
Grants for Higher Education
The foundation gave a $50 million gift to St. John’s College to help reduce tuition at the institution. The couple attended St. John’s in Annapolis. It also committed $3.3 million to build the most comprehensive collection of wine writers’ work in the world at the library at the University of California, Davis. The foundation has also supported If Given a Chance Foundation, a community service organization that provides underprivileged students with a financial award they can apply toward higher education.
Grants for Bay Area & NorCal, and Community Development
While WFF maintains a sparse website, the funder has generously supported education and local causes in the Napa Valley region in recent years. Past grantees include the Land Trust of Napa County, the Napa County Open Space District, and the Jack L. Davies Napa Valley Agricultural Preservation Fund.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The foundation is not a large supporter of the arts, but it has given to several significant cultural institutions, primarily for projects that promote wine culture or preserve the history or winemaking. Winiarski supported the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s American Food & Wine History Project in 1996, and it contributed to the Smithsonian for “wine and food history research, collecting wine and food objects, programs, public events, as well as the annual Winemakers’ Dinners that support those efforts.”
Important Grant Details
Foundation grants range between $5,000 and $25,000. It had $17 million in assets at the end of a recent year. Review the funder’s recent tax records to learn more about its local giving. The foundation’s giving is largely focused on the Napa Valley region of Northern California. Other grantees are located in Davis and Yountville, California.
This foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. The foundation’s webpage is currently under construction; however, Warren Winiarski’s personal website provides a method of contact. The phone number to reach the foundation staff is 707-224-8822.
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