SOURCE OF WEALTH: Actor
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture, Environment & Animals, Education & Youth, Health, Human Rights
OVERVIEW: Alec Baldwin and family do their grantmaking through the Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation. The family's grantmaking prioritizes New York City and Long Island, but grants have gone elsewhere. Baldwin has a number of interests including environmental causes, education, youth, health and more.
BACKGROUND: Alec Baldwin was born in 1958 in Amityville, New York and grew up on Long Island. He majored in political science at George Washington University but later moved to Manhattan, where he enrolled at NYU with the intention of becoming an actor. Baldwin's career began in television. He landed a role on the NBC soap opera The Doctors. In 1986, he made his Broadway debut in Loot. His film debut was in the movie Forever Lulu. Alongside Tina Fey, Baldwin starred on the television sitcom 30 Rock. For his portrayal of NBC executive Jack Donaghy, he received seven Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globes, the Television Critics Award, two Emmy Awards as Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: Some of the foundation's largest grants are in this category. Grantees include Roundabout Theatre Company, American Ballet Theater, Guild Hall of East Hampton, The Hamptons International Film Festival (where he is co-chairman), and The New York Philharmonic, where he has served as a radio host and is also on the board of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York.
ENVIRONMENT & ANIMALS: Baldwin has long been critical of the country's dependence on fossil fuels. Grantees include NRDC, Peconic Land Trust, and Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The foundation's grantmaking has supported Baldwin's alma mater, New York University. Other grantees include Stony Brook University Foundation and Bent on Learning, "a nonprofit committed to teaching yoga to New York City public school children." It is worth noting that Baldwin's wife, Hilaria, is a yoga professional. Some grantmaking in this area also involves arts education.
HEALTH: Baldwin has steadily supported the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, created by Baldwin's mother Carol, a breast cancer survivor. Other grantees have included Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, a "no-fee camp for youth with cancer and serious blood diseases, who reside in New England, New York or New Jersey"; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; JDRF; and Elton John AIDS Foundation.
HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL LIBERTIES: Past grantees include the Southern Poverty Law Center, RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights,and Death Penalty Focus.
LOOKING FORWARD: Only in his 60s, Baldwin has quite a few interests. His foundation has only been around a while and should be watched for increased grantmaking down the line. In addition, funds have supported historic preservation, LGBT efforts, and supporting the local Long Island Community. For instance, in 2014, a large $1 million grant went to The East Hampton Library.
CONTACT:
The Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for grantseekers to get in touch, but below is an address:
The Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation
509 Madison Ave., c/o Smith & Co.
New York, NY 10022
LINK: