Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams Family Foundation’s grantmaking interests include education, women and girls, the arts, Southern California and more.
IP TAKE: This low-profile funder tends to provide ongoing support to a diverse group of grantees, many of which operate in Los Angeles and its environs. It’s very supportive of grantees over time, but not particulalry accessible or transparent by design. The foundation does not accept proposals or operate a website, making it difficult to gain its attention. Contact information is provided below.
If your work intersects with women and girls in SoCal, this is the funder for you - if you can get on their radar.
PROFILE: The Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams Family Foundation was established in 2012 in Encino, California. J.J. Abrams is a filmmaker who is known for his work on popular films including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, among others. He has also worked in extensively in television. His wife, Katie McGrath, works in public relations. The McGrath Abrams Family Foundation maintains a low profile, but tax filings suggest interest in a broad range of grantmaking areas including education, arts and culture, women and girls, racial justice and health. Grantmaking appears to prioritize the greater Los Angeles area.
Grants for K-12 Education
Education appears to be the McGrath Abrams Family Foundation’s largest area of giving in recent years, with grants going to both higher education and K-12 initiatives. A significant portion of higher education funding has gone to historically women’s colleges including Sarah Lawrence College, Barnard College and Simmons College. Recent K-12 funding has mainly gone to organizations in the greater Los Angeles area including Santa Monica’s Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles’s Archer School for Girls, the L.A. Promise Fund and the YES Scholars Program, which supports underserved high school students who exhibit exceptional potential for success in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The McGrath Abrams Family Foundation’s arts and culture giving appears to prioritize organizations working to support film, filmmakers and other professionals in filmmaking industry. Grantees include the Motion Picture and Television Fund, Women in Film, the SAG-Aftra Foundation and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Other arts grantees include PEN America, Arts in the Armed Forces, the Array Alliance, which advances social justice through art, and the Points North Institute, which aims “to develop the next generation of nonfiction storytellers.”
Grants for Women and Girls
In addition to its support for women’s and girls’ education and arts initiatives, this funder has given to organizations involved in women’s mental health, safety and economic opportunity. One recent grant supported Los Angeles’s Jenesse Center, which runs domestic violence intervention and prevention programs. Grants have also gone to the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House, the National Domestic Workers’ Alliance and the Time’s Up Foundation, which supports gender equality and gender-based harassment prevention in the workplace.
Grants for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform
Recent grantmaking in the areas of racial justice and criminal justice reform includes support for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition of Los Angeles, New York University’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Center for Justice, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Liberty Hill Foundation, a Los Angles initiative that supports grassroots organizing in “communities most impacted by systemic injustice to achieve social justice and equity.”
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
Over the past several years, the McGrath Abrams Family Foundation has supported health-related organizations working both nationally and in Los Angeles. National recipients include the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Locally, the foundation has given to the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles and the Women’s Guild of Cedars Sinai Medical Center. The foundation has also given to the Peer Health Exchange in Oakland, California.
Grants for Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid
Disaster relief is a smaller area of grantmaking for this funder. In a recent year, however, the McGrath Abrams granted $1 million to World Central Kitchen, the celebrity chef José Andrés’s initiative to serve food to people in the wake of natural disasters.
Grants for Los Angeles and Southern California
A significant portion of this funder’s grantmaking goes to Los Angeles community organizations working in a range of areas to improve the lives of the people of Southern California. Recent grantees include the California Community Foundation, the Mayors Fund for Los Angeles, the Immigrant Defenders Law Center of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Forgotten Dog Foundation and Santa Monica’s Health the Bay.
Important Grant Details:
This funder made just over $8 million in grants in a recent year. Grants ranged anywhere from $2,500 to $1 million, with an average grant size of about $25,000. Giving prioritizes the Los Angeles area and organizations run by and for women and women’s causes. McGrath Abrams supports organizations of all sizes and tends to support its grantees for multiple years. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
The Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding and does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch. An address and phone number are provided below.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams Family Foundation
16000 Ventura Blvd. 900
Encino, CA 91436
(310) 288-9970
