Kate Spade & Company
/OVERVIEW: The Kate Spade & Company Foundation supports women’s economic and empowerment organizations helping to lift women out of poverty. It also supports women’s mental wellbeing groups.
IP TAKE: This reasonably accessible funder awards grants for general operating support, specific projects, direct services, public policy, public awareness, infrastructure, and on occasion, capital needs. It prioritizes the Northeast, especially New York and New Jersey, but sometimes makes national grants to bigger, established organizations. The foundation unfortunately lacks a clear way to get in touch and apply for funding, which is not uncommon for corporate funders.
PROFILE: The Kate Spade & Company Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the lifestyle and luxury brand company Kate Spade. The foundation is “committed to providing women with access to the training, tools and access necessary to achieve economic independence,” by “supporting multi-dimensional programs that transition women from underserved communities into successful individuals that inspire the people around them.” The Kate Spade & Company Foundation focuses its grantmaking on three areas: women in entrepreneurship, women in technology, and women’s mental well-being.
Grants for Women and Girls
The foundation’s women in entrepreneurship grantmaking invests in women-owned businesses, focusing on those located in New York. The foundation’s women in tech grantmaking focuses on increasing the number of women in the technology workforce, while its women in the arts program supports organizations encouraging women to pursue careers in the arts.
The Kate Spade & Company Foundation prioritizes organizations located in New York City’s five boroughs and Hudson County, New Jersey; however, this funder awards a number of grants to organizations located outside of its geographic priority region. For example, Kiva Microfunds located in San Francisco, California is a past Kate Spade grantee, as is Pennsylvania Women Work, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Grants for Higher Education
Kate Spade supports higher education for women across each of its focus areas. Its entrepreneurship program aims to train and mentor women as they start businesses in the greater New York City area, prioritizing low-income and minority women. Its women in technology program helps women in the tech industry “find employment that can be creative, collaborative, innovative, and truly boundary-pushing.” And through women in the arts, the foundation aims to make arts careers “available to anyone, no matter their background.” Past grantees include Kean University, the University of California Berkeley, and William Paterson University.
Grants for Mental Health and Diseases
The company made over $1 million in mental health grants in 2023 and supported organizations like Crisis Text Line, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Fountain House, and the Jed Foundation. Additionally, while the Kate Spade Company does not name diseases as a stated priority, the foundation regularly supports organizations of this type. The foundation does not seem to limit itself to the New York City and New Jersey areas in this field. For example, past grantees include the Maryland-based Sarcoma Foundation of America and the Pennsylvania-based American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. Other grantees include the March of Times and the American Cancer Society. The foundation awards grants for general operating support, specific projects, direct services, public policy, public awareness, and infrastructure.
Grants for Animals and Wildlife
While animals and wildlife are not on the foundation’s list of giving priorities, it supports a number of related organizations across the country. For example, Best Friends Animal Society based in Utah is a past grantee as is the Washington, D.C.-based World Wildlife Fund.
Important Grant Details:
Kate Spade & Company grants vary widely in amount and can range anywhere from $25 to over $150,000. The majority of grants range from $1,000 to $10,000. This funder prioritizes organizations located in New York City and Hudson County, New Jersey, but sometimes awards grants to organizations located outside of its geographic priority region. The foundation’s single page otherwise offers very limited information and transparency.
The foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from February 1 to March 1. Grantees must submit their applications to foundation@katespade.com.
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