Winnick Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Winnick Family Foundation was founded by Los Angeles-based couple Gary and Karen Winnick. The Foundation’s program areas include education, literacy, health care, art, culture, animal welfare and the needs of the worldwide Jewish community.
IP TAKE: The Foundation encourages project-specific programs but also selectively supports capital campaigns and unrestricted gifts to grantee organizations. Winnick is not an approachable or receptive funder as it does not accept phone call or e-mail grant applications – only snail mail requests that clearly define the project’s mission, management team, and funding sources. This is a proactive funder that prefers to seek it’s own projects to fund, so getting on it’s radar will be challenging and require a lot of networking directly with the family.
Groups based in Los Angeles will do better than those from elsewhere. Projects with a focus on Jewish culture will be most successful.
Winnick was once on the billionaire's list during his Global Crossing days, and he has still has managed to retain some of his wealth. Grantmaking also appears to be on the rise at the foundation of late, so expect the Winnicks to continue steadily supporting their select interest areas.
PROFILE: Established in 1983, the Winnick Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Gary Winnick and his wife Karen. Winnick grew up in a Jewish family in Long Island, New York, where his father owned a restaurant supply business. He graduated from Long Island University in 1969. Winnick was a senior executive at Drexel Burnham Lambert in its high yield and convertible bond group and founded Global Crossing and Asia Global Crossing. Winnick is currently chairman and CEO of Winnick & Company, an investment firm based in Los Angeles. The Winnick Family Foundation prioritizes projects in New York and Los Angeles, as well as those that have an international component. Its grantmaking involves several different areas, including education, literacy, health care, art, culture, animal welfare, and the needs of the worldwide Jewish community.
Grants for Jewish Causes
An important element of this funder's grantmaking focuses on the Jewish community, particularly in Los Angeles and Israel. Winnick is a trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, a museum focusing on racism in America and on the history of the Holocaust. In 2000, the Winnick Foundation contributed $40 million for a peace and tolerance institute being built by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, resulting in a named project called the Winnick International Conference Center of the Simon Wiesenthal Center/Jerusalem. Significant support for this organization has continued throughout the years.
Other past grantees include the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, the Skirball Cultural Center (including the named Winnick Hall there), the Center for Jewish History, Birthright Israel and the Jewish Federation. Some of the work the foundation has supported via the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles includes a literacy program called KOREH L.A. ("Koreh" is the Hebrew word for "read".) It also supports a number of Hillels, including a significant gift to Syracuse University (Karen's alma mater) that resulted in the Winnick Hillel House there.
Support of worldwide advocacy for the Jewish people and related platforms comes via support of the World Jewish Congress and the National Jewish Congress. Previous grantees in Israel include PEF Israel Endowment Funds, the Jerusalem Foundation, American Friends of Israel Museum, American Friends of Hebrew University, Birthright Israel Foundation, and the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind.
Grants for Literacy, K-12, and Higher Education
The foundation supports both K-12 education groups and programs and institutions of higher education; however, the greatest support goes to the latter. In K-12 education, the foundation gave a naming grant to create the Winnick Winners Mentoring Program for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Other grantees have included The Center for Early Education, Brentwood School, and L.A.’s Best Afterschool Program.
In higher education, the Winnick Foundation has strongly supported Winnick's alma mater Long Island University, including a $10 million gift last decade. The school is home to the Winnick House and Arnold S. Winnick Student Center. They have also given millions to Karen's alma mater, Syracuse, and have supported Stanford, Brown, and UCLA, as well.
Karen Winnick is a children's book author and has a particular interest in literacy. The Winnicks have supported outfits like the Wonder of Reading and Los Angeles Central Library.
Grants for Public Health and Access
The Winnick Family Foundation makes grants for health in Los Angeles, too. Past grantees include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which has received millions, and is home to the Winnick Family Clinical & Translational Research Center. Other grantees have included American Cancer Society and Lange Foundation, for specialty hospital care.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Winnick’s arts and culture program is not clearly defined or explained in any depth; however, according to tax records, it appears to prioritize support for established arts and culture organizations over smaller groups or programs. Past grantees include LACMA, Music Center, LA Opera, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Aquarium of the Pacific, Center Theatre Group, and Skirball Cultural Center. Another grantee, Skirball, is home to Winnick Hall. Winnick is a member of the boards of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, both of which have received especially strong support from the foundation.
Grants for Community Development, Animals and Wildlife, and Los Angeles
The foundation also supports animal organizations in Los Angeles. Karen has a particular interest in animal welfare and has served as a member of the board of commissioners for the Los Angeles Zoo. Grantees include Spay Neuter Project of Los Angeles, Stray Cat Alliance, Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, and the Lange Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to saving impounded companion animals.
Important Grant Details:
Grants typically range from $500 to $50,000; however, most grantees only see $1,000 in support.
New grantseekers can get a better idea of the types of projects the foundation supports by looking over the Grants page. The foundation does not accept phone call or e-mail grant applications. It only accepts written requests that clearly define the project’s mission, management team, and funding sources. Winnick’s mailing address is here.
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