Robert Iger and Willow Bay

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Chairman and former CEO of The Walt Disney Company

FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Arts, Human Services, Los Angeles Community

OVERVIEW: Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay do their grantmaking through the Iger Bay Foundation, which appears to be fairly recently established. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation did around $1 million in grantmaking. The couple supports education, youth, and other areas. Many of Iger Bay Foundation's grantees are in Los Angeles. 

BACKGROUND: Born in 1951, Robert A. Iger grew up in New York and attended Ithaca College, with the goal of becoming a television news correspondent. After college, he worked as a television weatherman. In the 1970s, Iger joined ABC and went on to work in such roles as VP of programming for ABC Sports. Iger officially joined the Disney senior management team in 1996, as chairman of the Disney-owned ABC Group. Today, Iger serves as executive chairman of the Walt Disney Company. He was CEO from 2005 to 2020, and led key moves such as the acquisitions of Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm (including the Star Wars franchise.)

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & YOUTH: Iger and Willow through their Iger Bay Foundation have supported Campbell Hall in North Hollywood; Center for Early Education, a private primary school located in West Hollywood; Trustees of University of Pennsylvania; City Year; Phillips Academy; USC Annenberg; Young Eisner Scholars; and Ithaca College. Willow, by the way, is a University of Pennsylvania graduate and alum of Phillips Academy. 

ARTS: Willow is a vice chair of the board of LACMA, which the couple steadily supports. Other grantees include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater, and the Academy Foundation.

HEALTH: The couple have been steady supporters of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, an organization Willow has been involved with since since the early 1990s. They have also supported Children's Hospital Los Angeles Foundation, International Medical Corps, and Alzheimer's Association, among others. 

HUMAN SERVICES & LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY: Past grantees include Homeboy Industries, "the largest and most successful gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world," Catholic Charities, and the Rape Foundation. The couple also supports organizations in Los Angeles that work at a community level.  One example is grantee Community Partners, whose vision is a "vibrant society in which individuals and institutions use knowledge, resources, and relationships to build equitable, democratic and thriving communities." Through Community Partners, the couple has supported Baby2Baby, which "provides low-income children ages 0-12 with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that every child deserves." 

LOOKING FORWARD: Iger and Willow have also supported environmental organizations through their foundation. So far, the Iger Bay Foundation's track-record of giving has been modest, but expect more significant grantmaking down the line.

CONTACT:

The Iger Bay Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for contact, but here's an address:

Iger Bay Foundation
200 Bellevue Parkway, Suite 250
Wilmington, DE 19809