Maritz Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Maritz Family Foundation funds grantmaking related to Jewish causes and mental health and wellness. However, the young foundation’s principals are still developing their grantmaking interests.
IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities.
PROFILE: The Maritz Family Foundation was founded in 2015 by businessman Paul Maritz and his wife Michele, a social worker. Paul spent nearly a decade and a half at Microsoft, where he served as a member of the five-person executive committee that managed the company. He is currently chairman of Pivotal. The foundation does not maintain a website, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. According to tax records, the Maritz Family Foundation funds grantmaking related to Jewish causes and mental health and wellness. However, the young foundation’s principals are still developing their grantmaking interests.
Yaffa Maritz, a trained social worker with an interest in infant mental health, is involved with University of Washington’s Center for Child and Family Well-Being. The couple helped create a new initiative at the center promoting mindful living and practice, which aims to “promote the positive development and well-being of children and families by engendering, translating, applying and sharing knowledge about mindfulness with children, parents, practitioners and educators.” In a recent fiscal year, the family directed a $1 million gift to the University of Washington.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from $5,000 to $1 million. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $1.8 million. Past grantees include Compassionate Action Network, whose mission is to “support groups and initiatives that make our communities and our world more compassionate by delivering concrete and tangible impact beginning in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest,” New Israel Fund, Stroum Jewish Community Center, and Northwest Film Forum.
The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Maritz Family Foundation
Po Box 1743
Bellevue, WA 98009
