Wyncote Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Wyncote Foundation’s recent areas of interest include the performing arts, conservation, public media and journalism. Geographic priorities include greater Philadelphia, where the foundation is based, and Seattle, where it maintains a secondary office.
IP TAKE: The Wyncote Foundation’s recent grantmaking has focused on performing arts in Philadelphia, public media and environmental conservation. The foundation also makes grants for the restoration and preservation of historic organs and runs a Northwest funding initiative that supports conservation, housing and human services. Wyncote tends to partner closely with its grantees, offering ongoing support to organizations working in its very specific areas of interest.
This funder is not accessible, but it is approachable. Organizations working in Wyncote’s funding areas should get in touch via email or telephone.
PROFILE: The Wyncote Foundation was established by John C. Haas in 2009 with funds from the Otto and Phoebe Haas Charitable Trusts. Haas, who died in 2011, was the chair of the Rohm and Haas chemical company and the William Penn Foundation. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Seattle, Washington, the Wyncote Foundation supports organizations that “strengthen and enrich culture, community and the natural environment.” Current grantmaking areas of interest include arts and culture, journalism and public media and the. Grantmaking is national in scope, but the states of Pennsylvania and Washington are areas of geographic priority.
Grants for Arts and Culture, Music, Dance, and Theater
Arts and culture represent the Wyncote Foundation’s largest area of grantmaking in recent years. The foundation names historic organ preservation and performance arts as specific areas of interest. Historic organ preservation grants are awarded to cultural and music organizations to “enhance musical programming and encourage pipe organ recognition.” Recent grants have gone to Pennsylvania’s Bryn Athyn Cathedral, the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia and the Historic Organ Restoration Committee, which used funding to restore the Midmer-Losh pipe organ at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The Wyncote Foundation’s Performance Arts Fund supports “developing organizations that inspire and energize audiences” in Pennsylvania. Recent grants have gone to Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater, the People’s Light Theatre Company in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Fringe Arts, a contemporary performance art venue in Philadelphia.
Wyncote has made several recent grants outside of its two stated focus areas, with many grants supporting Philadelphia’s landmark cultural institutions, including Opera Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Kimmel Center and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. Outside of Pennsylvania the foundation has made grants to American Documentary, Inc. and New Jersey’s Eagle Theater.
Grants for Journalism
The Wyncote Foundation established its Public Media and Journalism program in 2018. Grantmaking in this area aims “to encourage innovation and adaptation in legacy institutions” and to support “experimentation and scaling of actors offering new approaches.” Specific areas of interest include legacy public broadcasters, new approaches to journalistic accountability, independent production in public media, field building and the use of public media to strengthen civic and cultural institutions. Grantmaking prioritizes the greater Philadelphia area. Recent grant recipients include the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the Association of Independents in Radio, Chalkbeat, the WGBH Education Foundation, Resolve Philadelphia and multiple public television and radio outlets in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Grants for Environmental Conservation
Wyncote’s recent conservation grantmaking has gone to national organizations and organizations and initiatives operating in the states of Pennsylvania and Washington. National grantees include the Environmental Defense Fund, the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy and EarthJustice. In Pennsylvania, the foundation has given to the Natural Lands Trust and the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. Environmental grantmaking also stems from Wyncote’s Northwest funding initiative, which has awarded grants to the Western Environmental Law Center, the Seattle Tilth Association and the Washington Trail Association.
Grants for Climate Change and the Northwest
Grantmaking for climate change and clean energy stems mainly from the Wyncote Foundation’s Northwest funding program, through which the foundation has provided ongoing support to Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development and the Washington Environmental Council, which uses funding for its policy development and voter education programs.
The Wyncote Foundation has developed a strong presence in the Northwest and operates an office in Seattle, Washington. The foundation’s funding for the Northwest prioritizes the environment, housing and human services. The foundation has provided ongoing support to organizations including the Low-Income Housing Institute, the Real Change Homeless Empowerment Program, Seattle’s KEXP public radio station and Seattle’s Town Hall Association. Other recent grantees of the Northwest program include Solid Ground Washington, which aims to end poverty and racism through direct services and advocacy, and Seattle’s Pike Place Market Foundation, a neighborhood development and improvement organization.
Grants for Education
The Wyncote Foundation does not name education as a grantmaking priority, but grants regularly support both K-12 and higher education institutions. Recent K-12 grantees include the Philadelphia Outward Bound School, Open Connections and the Friends Central School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Higher education grantees include American University, Johns Hopkins University, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Important Grant Details:
The Wyncote Foundation has recently made between $20 and $32 million a year in grants. Grants range from $5,000 to over $1 million, with an average grant size of about $75,000. This funder tends to provide ongoing support to its core grantees in greater Philadelphia and Seattle, but also supports special projects in its specific areas of interest, including organ restoration, performing arts and public media. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s individual program pages or its recent tax filings.
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications for funding, choosing instead to initiate grantmaking with organizations working in its specific areas of interest. General inquiries may be directed to the foundation’s staff via email or telephone at 215-557-9577.
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