Steve Tisch
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Film Producer; New York Giants
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Arts & Media, Youth, Health & Human Services, Jewish Causes
OVERVIEW: Steve Tisch recently gave $10 million to Tel Aviv University to elevate its film school, now known as the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television. Steve Tisch does his grantmaking through a family foundation, and a smaller organization called the Steve Tisch Foundation. Tisch's philanthropy involves education, supporting K-12 as well as colleges and universities like his alma mater Tufts. Tisch also supports the arts and media. In health, Tisch prioritizes cancer and HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Tisch supports Jewish causes.
BACKGROUND: Steven E. Tisch was born in 1949 in New Jersey. He graduated from Tufts University and began his entertainment career at Columbia Pictures. Later, he partnered with Jon Avnet to form Tisch/Avnet, the company behind such hits as Risky Business. In 1986, Tisch formed his own company and produced a wide array of films. He was the executive producer of American History X and Snatch, among others. Tisch also serves as chairman of the NFL's New York Giants. His father, Preston Robert Tisch, was the president and co-CEO of Loews Corp., former U.S. postmaster-general and a partial owner of the Giants. The Tisch family is worth $6 billion.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: In the 1980s, the Tisch family endowed the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Steve Tisch's philanthropy has also involved education. Grantees include Fund for Public Schools, which "builds private-public partnerships to stregnthen schools and create opportunities for students," L.A's Best, which provides after-school enrichment programming, Riverdale Country School, and Young Eisner Scholars. Tisch has also made grants toward higher education. Recent grantees include New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, the UCLA Foundation, which has received millions, and Stanford University. Tisch gave $10 million to establish the Steve Tisch Family Endowed Scholarship for Arts, Sciences and Engineering at his alma mater Tufts University. Additionally, Tisch is the naming benefactor of the new sports and fitness center at Tufts.
ARTS & MEDIA: Given Tisch's long career in Hollywood, it is no surprise that a component of his philanthropy involves arts and media. Tisch's board memberships include The Geffen Theatre and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Tisch has strongly supported LACMA lately. He has also supported culture bastions in NYC, including The Met, Whitney Museum, and Lincoln Center for Performing Arts. In terms of film and media, Tisch has recently funded the American Film Institute, the Paley Center for Media, and the Filmmakers Collaborative, a Boston-area nonprofit of independent documentary filmmakers, among others. Tisch has also supported Geffen Playhouse.
YOUTH: Recent grantees include Camp Del Corazon, a "nonprofit corporation providing a summer camp for children with heart disease or history of heart disease," Child Success Foundation, Manhatttan Youth Football, and NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Tisch recently gave a $10 million gift to UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine's BrainSPORT Program, which studies ways to diagnose, prevent, and treat sports concussions, especially in young athletes. Tisch has two children who play contact sports. Other recent health grantees via Tisch's family foundation include AMFAR - Foundation for AIDS Research, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, and Baby2Baby, which supplies low-income children with new diapers, gently used clothing, cribs, car seats and other necessities. Tisch appears to prioritize cancer and HIV/AIDS, a concern perhaps influenced by his mother Joan, an AIDS advocate and philanthropist who funded the Tisch Building at Gay Men's Health Crisis in Manhattan.
Another important grantee, here, is the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF). MPTF is the entertainment industry's charity, providing healthcare, financial services, and retirement living.
JEWISH CAUSES: Lately, Tisch has strongly supported American Friends of Tel Aviv University, home to the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, created with a recent $10 million gift. He has also recently funded organizations like Temple of the Arts and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
OTHER: Tisch has supported environmental organizations NRDC and Tusk, "a dynamic and pioneering organisation with 25 years of experience initiating and funding conservation, community development and environmental education programs across Africa." He also makes grants that support the local New York and Los Angeles communities, including $500,000 to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles in 2020.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Steve Tisch's philanthropy to continue focusing on the West and East Coasts. It is worth noting that Tisch is the only one of his brothers who moved west.
CONTACT:
The Steve Tisch Family Foundation and the The Steve Tisch Foundation don't have a clear avenue of contact, but below are addresses:
The Steve Tisch Family Foundation
655 Madison Ave, 11th Fl.
New York City, NY 10065
(and)
The Steve Tisch Foundation
655 Madison Ave., 11th Fl.
New York City, NY 10065
LINKS:
