Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation supports children, foster youth, at-risk youth, health, and hospitals in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California.

IP TAKE: Million-dollar grants are increasingly common with this low-profile funder, prompting more child-focused nonprofits in Los Angeles to contact Petersen for support.

PROFILE: Established in 1997, the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation is a private family foundation based in Pasadena, California. Robert Petersen was the founder and chairman of Petersen Publishing, created Hot Rod magazine, and established the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Robert Petersen passed away in 2007, and Margie Petersen passed away in 2012. The foundation’s grantmaking areas of interest include children, foster youth, at-risk youth, health, and hospitals.

Grants for Public Health and Access and Community Development

The Petersen Foundation lacks transparency and does not maintain a website outlining its overall funding strategy, mission, or grantmaking goals for the future. However, it makes large grants to children and youth causes and in the form of unrestricted funds. This foundation also steadily supports causes for foster youth, transition-age youth, and at-risk youth in the local communities where it is based. Health and housing for youth are also important issue areas for this foundation.

Past major grantees include Five Acres, a child and family services nonprofit, Hillsides, a Southern California foster care organization, and United Friends of the Children for a foster youth housing program. It has also consistently given millions to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, St. Anne's Maternity Home, and Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation.

Other Grantmaking Interests

In addition to support for youth and health, the Peterson Foundation has also given over $20 million to the NRA Foundation and $75 million to Petersen Automotive Museum.

Important Grant Details

This foundation regularly awards grants in the $1 million to $5 million range, although a substantial number of grants are less than this as well. Although the foundation does not appear to have strict geographic restrictions in place, almost all giving takes place in Los Angeles and elsewhere in Southern California.

The Petersen Foundation does not publish guidelines or deadlines for the local nonprofit community. It also does not appear that the foundation accepts unsolicited grant proposals. The foundation’s phone number is 626-395-0860.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

131 N. El Molino Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101-1873