Time Warner Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Time Warner Foundation makes grants for film and theater, prioritizing diversity and the development of film and theater professionals from groups underrepresented in these fields.

IP TAKE: The Time Warner Foundation supports a broad range of theater and film organizations and appears to prioritize programs, fellowships and residencies for the development of artists who are underrepresented in these industries. Most grants fund organizations operating in California or New York, but grantmaking is not strictly limited to these areas. It is worth noting that grantmaking has declined significantly over the past several years.

This progressive funder dismantled its website and does not run a formal grant application program. It is not accessible and prefers proactive grantmaking. Prospective grantees may reach out to the foundation using the contact information provided below to learn more about how the foundation is evolving.

PROFILE: Based in Dallas, Texas, the Time Warner Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Warner Media, LLC and its many subsidiary companies. The foundation seeks to support the “next generation of storytellers” through its grants for film and theater. This funder does not currently maintain a website, making it difficult to identify the goals of its grantmaking, although it has supported several programs aimed at developing talent from groups that are underrepresented in the film and theater industries. New York and California appear to be areas of geographic priority.

Grants for Theater

Time Warner’s theater grants support a broad range of theater companies, festivals, playwriting programs and residencies. An area of focus appears to be the development of playwrights from groups that are underrepresented in the field. Recent grants have gone to New York City’s Signature Theater, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Los Angeles’s Center Theatre Group, the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater and the Billie Holiday Theatre’s playwriting festival in Brooklyn, New York.

Grants for Film

The Time Warner Foundation’s film grants support fellowships, workshops, residencies, festivals and other types of film-related productions and events. Diversity and support for the development of filmmakers from underrepresented groups appear to be grantmaking priorities. The foundation has funded full-tuition fellowships for underrepresented students at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles and made a grant to support an online master class for young filmmakers at the Ghetto Film School in New York City. The foundation has also given to the Sundance Film Festival’s Diversity Initiative, the Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent and the Black Filmmaker Foundation.

Important Grant Details:

Time Warner’s grantmaking ranges from about $10,000 to $500,000, totaling about $4 million a year over the past several years. However, grantmaking seems to be decreasing over time. Its grants generally range from $25,000 to $100,000 and support a broad range of film and theater organizations. Organizations operating in New York and California receive most of the grants, but funding has gone to projects and organizations in other parts of the U.S. on a few occasions. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.

This funder does not maintain a website or run a formal grant application program. Prospective grantees may reach out to the foundation at the contact information provided below.

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CONTACT:

Time Warner Foundation 

208 S. Akard St., Rm. 120056

Dallas, TX 75202

(800) 591-9663