Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, youth development, the arts, Jewish causes and human services.

IP TAKE: This funder lacks transparency and keeps a low public profile, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. Like it’s sister foundation focused on Social Justice, this foundation limits it’s work to Southern California, thought some of its funding for Jewish Causes and higher education offer support around the U.S. on a case by case.

PROFILE: Established in 1986, the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation was launched by art collector Audrey Irmas and her late husband, Sydney, a lawyer in Los Angeles. The foundation lacks transparency and does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. Tax filings suggest the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to human services, arts and culture, education, and health.

The Irmas Charitable Foundation should not be confused with the Irmas Foundation for Social Justice, which prioritizes Jewish causes in its grantmaking. While there is overlap between the two foundations and at times the distinctions are not always clear, Irmas seems to intend for them to operate with different funding goals in mind.

Grants for Housing, Homelessness, and Community Development

While the foundation does not appear to have delineated grantmaking programs or clear funding priorities, tax records indicate that Irmas does support organizations operating in this space. Audrey Irmas was once chair of the Los Angeles Family Housing Corp., which remains an important grantee. Additionally, Irmas created the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Youth Activity Center for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The foundation opened a similar youth center in conjunction with the Los Angeles Police Department. Other past grantees include Project Angel Food, The Maple Counseling Center, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, David Lynch Foundation and Exceptional Children's Foundation for developmental disability services.

Grants for Arts and Culture

An active arts collector and patron, Audrey was president and chair of the board of LACMA, home to the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Collection. Consequently, the Charitable Foundation has supported several arts institutions in the past, including Arts Division to promote arts education and the Hammer Museum, an art museum and cultural center affiliated with UCLA.

Grants for Higher Education

Irmas is also a steady backer of USC Law School, home to the Sydney M. Irmas Chair in Public Interest Law and Legal Ethics; Sydney graduated from the school. The foundation has also given over $500,000 to Bard College and almost $200,000 to Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

Grants for Public Health and Diseases

In recent years, Irmas has given heavily to support cancer research and in-patient care in California and throughout the U.S. The foundation has supported Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and given $300,000 to USC’s Norris Cancer Foundation. Other previous grantees include Elton John AIDS Foundation, The Maple Counseling Center, and The Trevor Project for crisis services and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth.

Grants for Human Rights

While Irmas does not seem to maintain a foundation with clearly delineated funding programs, tax filings suggest that this funder has an interest in this area. Previous grantees include American Jewish World Service, Inc., St. Anne's, Amnesty International of the USA Inc, Jewish Federation, Alliance for Justice, ProjectArt, and Oxfam-America. It also gave to the Trevor Project to support LGBTQ+ rights.

Grants for Jewish Causes

Jewish causes is not a top priority for the Charitable Foundation in the way it is for Irma’s other vehicle, the Foundation for Social Justice, which gave over $30 million to Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 2015. However, the Charitable Foundation has also given to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, but in much smaller amounts. Other past grantees in this space include Jewish Big Brohers and Sisters of Los Angeles, American Jewish World Service, Inc., Jewish Federation, and Hadassah - the Women's Zionist Organization of America.

Important Grant Details

Grants typically range from $200 to over $425,000. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation made grants totaling around $1.4 million. The foundation keeps a low profile but appears to be open to contact through son Matt Irmas, who helps steer the family foundation. It does not detail its application process, however.

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CONTACT:

Matthew Irmas
11911 San Vicente Blvd., Ste. 351
Los Angeles, CA 90049

(310) 476-0261