The Eisner Foundation

Special Initiatives

Since its founding in 1996, The Eisner Foundation has undertaken several major initiatives that illustrate its focus on innovative programs that promote the health, education and well-being of children and families in Southern California.

These special initiatives include:

California Institute of the Arts' (CalArts) Community Arts Partnership (CAP) has received a $1.25 million grant from The Eisner Foundation to provide free, after-school and school-based arts programs for youth from some of Los Angeles' most underserved neighborhoods. The Eisner Foundation grant lends support to CAP's new media programs and endows scholarships for former CAP participants who plan to continue their education at CalArts.
The Foundation awarded $7 million to California State University, Northridge (CSUN) to establish The Center for Teaching and Learning within the University's Michael D. Eisner College of Education. The Center prepares teachers, parents and clinicians to support the educational and emotional needs of all types of learners.
The Eisner Foundation partnered with the Ford Foundation to bring Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) Los Angeles to the Southern California community. This college outreach program prepares K-12th grade students in the Northeast San Fernando Valley to enter and succeed in college.
Located in Downtown Los Angeles, The Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center is a quality-focused, community health center that offers comprehensive services including prenatal care; medical care for infants, children and adolescents; a women's health center; adult medical, dental and mental health care; and a child development center.
The Foundation has also focused its efforts on the public health issue that claims more lives each year than all other causes of death with a special $7 million grant to fund cardiovascular research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Launched in 2011, the Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence is a $100,000 cash award given annually by The Eisner Foundation. The Foundation is interested in programs utilizing multiple generations, specifically seniors and children, to address society's biggest challenges. We believe that the most complicated and complex challenges we face as citizens require solutions that target more than one generation. Only by empowering all of our citizens will we find ways to tackle our community's most persistent obstacles to access and opportunity.