Clive Davis
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Record Producer
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Arts & Culture, NYC Community
OVERVIEW: Clive Davis does his grantmaking through the Clive J. Davis Foundation. Davis' largest grants supported his alma mater, NYU, home to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Health, particularly cancer research, is another interest.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1932 in Brooklyn, Clive Davis attended NYU and Harvard Law School. After completing his studies, Davis joined a law firm that worked with Columbia Records. Davis was later employed by Columbia, first in the legal department, eventually working his way up to become president. While there, Davis signed artists such as Aerosmith and Janis Joplin. In the 1970s, he started Arista Records, where he mentored artists like the late Whitney Houston. Davis later created J Records.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Davis supports his alma mater NYU, home of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, the "first and only program of its kind to provide professional business and artistic training toward a BFA in Recorded Music." He has also supported the Laurence School.
HEALTH: Davis has supported health organizations such as the T.J. Martell Foundation, which was founded by fellow music mogul Tony Martell and whose goal is to support "innovative groundbreaking research for leukemia, cancer and AIDS." Grantees also include American Cancer Society, the Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Network, and Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research.
ARTS & CULTURE: Clive Davis steadily supports the Grammy Museum. Other grantees include Friends of Georgia Music Festival, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.
NYC COMMUNITY: Grantees include New York Restoration Project, a Bette Midler-founded effort that works to create and restore parks and community gardens. Other grants support the Fund for Park Avenue, and The Doe Fund, a "New York nonprofit organization helping formerly homeless men and women achieve independence and self-sufficiency."
LOOKING FORWARD: Davis is in his 80s and his largest grants have supported his alma mater. Expect this to hold.
CONTACT:
The Clive J. Davis Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for grantseekers to get in touch but below is an address
Clive J. Davis Foundation
220 E. 42nd St., 32nd Fl.
New York City, NY 10017
