Ryan Kavanaugh
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Relativity Media
FUNDING AREAS: Children & Education, Animals, Medical Research, Jewish Causes
OVERVIEW: Ryan Kavanaugh and family engage in philanthropy via their Kavanaugh Family Foundation, which supports protecting and rescuing animals, education, and other causes. Recent apparent grantmaking out of the foundation has been modest, though the Kavanaughs may have other more direct avenues of giving.
BACKGROUND: Ryan Kavanaugh attended the University of California, Los Angeles, but did not appear to graduate. He began his entertainment industry career working on slate-financing arrangements for major studios. He founded Relativity Media in 2004 and serves as its co-CEO; the company filed for Chapter 11 in 2015. Relativity Studios has produced, distributed or structured financing for more than 200 motion pictures, generating more than $17 billion in worldwide box-office revenue and earning 60 Oscar nominations. Kavanaugh has been on the Forbes billionaire list.
ISSUES:
CHILDREN & EDUCATION: The Kavanaughs via their foundation have supported organizations like Fulfillment Fund, whose goal is to empower youth through education.
ANIMALS: Kavanaugh supports Dog for Dog, which feeds dogs in need. Kavanaugh also acquired FreeHand, a pet food company working to end euthanasia for the nearly four million animals each year that live in shelters and pounds, waiting to find a caring home.
MEDICAL RESEARCH: Kavanaugh is involved with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, whose board of governors honored him with the 2010 Hollywood Humanitarian Award. It is unclear what funds have flowed through this grantmaking category. Kavanaugh supports The Art of Elysium, which encourages actors, artists, and musicians to work with children battling serious medical conditions.
JEWISH ISSUES: Kavanaugh been an avid supporter of Israel and anti-semitism, such as Anti- Defamation League, America's Voices in Israel, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), and Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, toward Hadassah Medical Organization.
LOOKING FORWARD: Kavanaugh is only in his 40s and is very much engaged in business. He has been embroiled in several legal battles, one which forced him to rescind a $1 million dollar donation to Habitat for Humanity L.A. in 2007. He continues in philanthropy, and more work can be expected.
CONTACT:
Kavanaugh Family Foundation
16030 Ventura Blvd., Ste.380
Encino, CA United States 91436
LINK:
