The Specifics
With our family foundation, we can actively and meaningfully give back to the community that has given our family such a great opportunity.
—Michael Eisner |
Our Programs:
For the children of Los Angeles, we seek to provide them with the tools they need to attain self-sufficiency and build productive lives. We do that by investing in access to high-quality public schools, primarily through charter school funding and school reform efforts for LAUSD. In addition, we fund innovative and enriching after-school programs in underserved communities that provide children with access to the academic and athletic opportunities their public schools do not. We also support endeavors to give children access to the arts, quality healthcare options, and new media and technology.
For the aging, we strive to provide lasting change in the lives of older adults, with a special emphasis on those that are especially vulnerable due to poor health or poverty. We pursue this objective by partnering with high-performing non-profit organizations that advocate on behalf of seniors to provide access to health care, safety in their environments, cultural enrichment, and the opportunity to age with dignity.
For each of these areas, we have specific outcome goals that we are seeking as a result of our funding, and we evaluate all programs, organizations, and grants in terms of reaching those goals. We are both a responsive grant-maker, reactive to the needs of our community, and an initiative-based funder, seeking out areas in which we are passionate and see opportunities to lead and engage other funders.
Our Geographic Focus:
The Eisner Foundation exclusively supports organizations in Los Angeles County, preferring to utilize our funding for the underserved children and elderly who live in our neighboring communities.
Our Grant Amounts:
The Eisner Foundation makes grants of two distinctive general amounts. The first grants range in size from $100,000 to $300,000, and in very rare and exceptional circumstances, can exceed $1 million. These grants are made to established, efficient, and effective organizations in Los Angeles County. These grants can be expected to produce established outcomes and long-term sustainable change and impact the maximum number of recipients. We seek minimal risk and maximum measurable results with these types of grants. These grants are approved at our quarterly board meetings.
The other kinds of grants we make are smaller and more aggressive in nature. We identify emerging, grassroots-oriented organizations that would greatly benefit from seed grants ranging from $10,000-$15,000. These grants are designed to encourage innovation and creativity and to reward entrepreneurial organizations with visionary leadership, big imaginations, and small budgets. These smaller grants are usually made only once to any particular organization and they come with few strings. Additionally, The Eisner Foundation provides technical assistance for these grantees each year--convening them during the summer and giving the non-profits access to experienced leaders that can help provide a roadmap that will allow the Eisner grantees to take their organizations to scale. Applicants for this type of seed funding can apply at any time, but should know that these proposals will be reviewed and approved at our June or December board meetings only.
Our Types of Grants:
The Eisner Foundation believes in identifying and partnering with high-quality non-profit organizations. As a result, we think that we are investing in those organizations, and it is therefore not always necessary to insist our funding only be utilized for special programs and new initiatives, as many foundations mandate. Individual charities worthy of our support are to be trusted and encouraged to allocate their funding in the most effective and results-producing way possible. Therefore, we are primarily a funder that provides general operating support to our partners, but we will consider proposals for funding capital campaigns, capacity building, and programs—new, expanding, or existing. We rarely accept proposals for endowments.
As a private family foundation, we do not fund individuals or for-profit organizations.
