The three wealthiest private foundations in the nation, and six out of the top 10, make donations to the performing arts, according to grant information on their websites. Three of the four remaining top 10 claim to support community or rural development projects, an area closely tied to the arts and arts education.
According to a listing this week by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the three wealthiest private foundations in America, and their estimated assets, are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($17.1 billion); the David and Lucile Packard Foundation ($13 billion); and the Ford Foundation ($11.4 billion).
The Gates foundation, based in Seattle, Wash., contributes to performing arts projects in the Pacific Northwest. The foundation recently granted $300,000 to the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton, Wash. The foundation was formed this week by the merger of the Gates Learning Foundation and the William H. Gates Foundation, making it the wealthiest private foundation in the country. The new foundation website, at www.gatesfoundation.org, has more information about the merger. Contact the Gates Learning Foundation at: P.O. Box 3189, Redmond, WA 98073, phone: (425) 882-1200, fax (425) 556-0218, or e-mail: info glf.org.
The Packard foundation gave $9,066,573 in arts grants in 1998, offering support mainly to California groups and projects, but also to a few East Coast organizations. The Packard foundation's website, www.packfound.org, has detailed information on grant application procedures. Letters of inquiry can also be sent to the foundation at: 300 Second St., Suite 200, Los Altos, CA, 94022.
The Ford Foundation, which is based in Manhattan, has a specific arts, education, media, and culture subdivision within its grants program. The New York Foundation for the Arts received a grant of $100,000 each from this division of the Ford Foundation in 1998. Visit www.fordfound.org for a list of all the recent grant recipients. For more information, write to the foundation, 320 E. 43rd St., NYC, 10017, phone (212) 573-5000, or fax (212) 351-3677.
The Rockefeller Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Pew Charitable Trusts, are also among the 10 wealthiest private foundations in America, and all three have specific, arts-related charitable programs.
The Rockefeller Foundation has an arts and humanities program, the details of which are described on the web page, www.rockfound.org. Grant applications can be obtained by writing to the foundation, at 420 Fifth Ave., NYC, 10018-2702, or call (212) 896-8500.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, www.mellon.org, has organized a variety of arts-related programs, including an orchestra forum in 1998. For more information, contact the foundation, 140 E. 62nd St., NYC, 10021, phone (212) 838-8400.
The Pew Charitable Trust provides a wide variety of arts funding, including several programs through the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for professional theatre. Pew Fellowships in the Arts, which are awarded to artists living and working in the Philadelphia five-county area, carry $50,000 in grants. Visit the organization's website, www.pewarts.org, for fellowship information. The organization is located at 2005 Market St., Suite 1700, Philadelphia, PA, 19103-7077, phone (215) 575-9050.