Charles and Karyn Bendit
/NET WORTH: Unknown
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Taconic Partners, CBC Properties
FUNDING AREAS: Jewish Causes, Arts & Culture, Education, Health & Human Services
OVERVIEW: Charles and Karyn Bendit conduct philanthropy through the Bendit Family Foundation, which often focuses on health, the arts, and Jewish causes. Grantmaking has been modest in recent years.
BACKGROUND: Charles Bendit graduated from George Washington University with a B.B.A. He was a managing director at Jones Lang Wootton. Bendit founded CBC Properties, Inc., where he acquired, repositioned and managed more than one million square feet of office properties in New York and Washington, D.C. He went on to co-found Taconic Partners.
ISSUES:
JEWISH CAUSES: Grantees have included American Jewish World Service, Nechama-Jewish Disaster Response, Congregation Rodeph Sholom, and Friends of Rodeph Sholom School. The couple are Rodeph Sholom School parents.
ARTS & CULTURE: Karyn is an art collector and appears to drive work in this area. The family has supported places like Studio Museum, National Public Radio Foundation, and Manhattan Theatre Club.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The family’s education funding prioritizes institutions with which it has a personal affiliation, and does not fund public schools or school projects that benefit the vulnerable. Bendit supports his alma mater George Washington University, where he serves on the board of trustees. Other grantees have included PENCIL, which aims to create innovative and impactful models of ongoing collaboration between business and public schools; Franklin and Marshall College, where the couple are parents; Brown University; and George Jackson Academy.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Grantees have included Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, and LGBT Youth Out Loud.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the family to stick with their established interest areas.
CONTACT:
The Bendit Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the family, but below is an address:
The Bendit Family Foundation
111 Eighth Avenue
New York City, NY 10011
