Four Things to Know About the Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation
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Barry Meyer was Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Photo: Oscity/shutterstock
Based in Encino, California, the Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation operates quietly and often flies below the radar. This foundation is a strong supporter of Los Angeles-area organizations, but it does not have a website to guide grantseekers in search of funding opportunities.
Here are some details about the Meyer Charitable Foundation to help you get to know this grantmaker and what it cares about in Southern California.
1. Its founders have roots in entertainment and social work
Barry Meyer is best known as the former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television. Before that, he was its director of business affairs. He retired after 42 years with Warner Bros. and established a philanthropic foundation with his wife in 1999.
Wendy Meyer, meanwhile, is a licensed clinical social worker. She pursued a career at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work for over 20 years. This background led the Meyers to create the Meyer Endowed Scholarship, which provides funding for students committed to careers in child welfare. Wendy is now retired as well, and she announced the Wendy Smith Endowed Staff Recognition Fund at USC to perpetuate her work there.
2. Six broad giving interests
The Meyer Charitable Foundation takes a broad approach to grantmaking and funds a wide variety of causes that are important to Meyer family members. In the past, grants have mostly addressed work in the following interest areas: education, civil rights, health, human services, humanitarian aid and Jewish causes.
Overall, the needs of disadvantaged youth are this foundation’s top priority. The Meyers have provided scholarships for former foster youth, made donations to help students pay for books and have been involved with juvenile justice work. United Friends of the Children, Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth are foundation grantees.
3. Over $2 million in annual grantmaking
In recent years, the foundation has awarded around $2 million in annual grants. These grants range all the way from $100 to $1 million.
Los Angeles is the focal point for this foundation’s grantmaking, with local recipients including the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, Southern California Public Radio, the Venice Family Clinic and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. To a lesser extent, the foundation supports international causes — humanitarian aid following natural disasters and funding in Israel to support Jewish causes.
4. Unsolicited proposals not welcome
Unfortunately for Southern California grantseekers, the Meyer Charitable Foundation is not very transparent or accessible. According to the most recent tax records available, it does not accept unsolicited grant requests and only funds preselected organizations. This funder tends to stick with grantees that have personal connections to the family or that it is personally familiar with.
Learn more about these funders in IP’s profile of Barry and Wendy Meyer and full profile of the Barry and Wendy Meyer Charitable Foundation in our Los Angeles and Southern California funding guide.
