Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund

OVERVIEW: The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund supports democracy, higher education, health, human rights and Jewish Causes. 

IP TAKE: The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund provides significant support for progressive reform to the democratic process and elections in the U.S. Its grantmaking in this area has increased significantly over the past few years. This funder maintains a low profile and does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals. While it is clearly a progressive funder, it is not particularly accessible, especially to smaller organizations.

PROFILE: The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund was established in 2001 at the behest of the late Leonard and Sophie Davis, who together founded the Colonial Penn Insurance Group in 1963. After selling the company in 1984, the couple became active philanthropists, supporting progressive causes, education, health and arts and culture. The couple endowed the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and provided ongoing support and New York’s City College, where the couple met as students decades earlier. Today, Alan, the couple’s son, oversees the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund, which gives towards democracy, higher education, health, human rights and Jewish Causes. 

Grants for Civic Engagement and Democracy

The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund’s grantmaking for democracy has increased significantly in recent years. Funding prioritizes progressive organizations working in the areas of economic policy, election reform, liberal judicial policy, community activism, human rights and civil liberties. One grantee, the Tides Foundation, provides consultation services to nonprofits, corporations and social change leaders. Its recent work has been dominated by immigration issues and COVID-19 response. In the area of election reform, the fund has supported EVERY VOICE, INC., which organizes and promotes “small-donor elections programs” as a means of reducing the influence of wealthy donors and corporations in the political process, and Fairvote, a nonpartisan organization that has recently promoted ranked choice voting. Other past grantees include the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, New York University’s William J. Brennan Center for Justice and the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

Grants for Higher Education

Higher education has traditionally been the fund’s largest area of giving. While the Davises supported their alma mater, CUNY’s City College, during their lives, higher education funding has recently shifted West. The University of Southern California, the alma mater of Alan Davis, is the home of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the Sophie Davis Art Gallery, which was established in 2013, have both received support recently. Other recipients include the University of San Francisco and Dakota Wesleyan University. In New York, the fund has supported the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Mount Sinai. 

Grants for Diseases 

While the Davis Fund does not outline goals for its health grantmaking, its funding tends to focus on specific diseases. Recent grantees include the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, the Histiocytosis Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the University of California at San Francisco’s Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. The fund has also given to a local Planned Parenthood chapter in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Grants for Jewish Causes 

The Davis Fund’s support for Jewish causes has increased in recent years, supporting organizations in the U.S. and Israel. Past grantees include the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Institute of Technology, the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Houston’s Congregation Emanu-El. 

Grants for Security and Human Rights

Security and human rights funding has tapered off in recent years in order to make more room for work centered on civic engagement and democracy in the U.S. However, the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund supports Amnesty International and Nonviolence International on a yearly basis. 

Important Grant Details:

This funder makes around $4 million in grants each year, on average. Grants range anywhere from a few thousand to over $1 million, with an average grant size of about $25,000. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s recent tax filings. 

This funder does not maintain a website or provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. General inquiries may be made via email, and an address, email and phone number are provided below. 

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CONTACT:

The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund

P.O. Box 590780 

San Francisco, CA 94159-0780

Telephone: (212) 245-5900 

E-mail: gerard@lsdfund.org