OVERVIEW: The Binder Foundation is the philanthropic arm of financier Gordon Binder and his wife Adele. The foundation's Los Angeles grantmaking supports education, youth, the arts, and more. It has made grants of around $1 million in recent years.
IP TAKE: The Binder Foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals
PROFILE: Former Amgen CEO and Chairman Gordon Binder founded the Binder Foundation in the late 1990s with his wife Adele. The foundation's grantmaking primarily supports Los Angeles and Massachusetts; in a recent year the charity had $18 million in assets and made grants of around $1.1 million.
Grants for Los Angeles and SoCal
In Los Angeles, though, grants support organizations in education, youth, the arts, health, and human services. The Binders also support a few Jewish organizations through the Binder Foundation.
Los Angeles grantees have included Caltech, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, The Colburn School, Oakwood School, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy, and Union Rescue Mission.
Massachusetts is a secondary site of grantmaking, with the foundation having given over $100,000 each to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Children's Hospital Corporation.
Important Grant Information
The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals. Many Binder Foundation grants are $50,000 and under; the largest grantee is the Washington D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute, where Binder sits on the board.
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CONTACT:
The Binder Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the couple but below is an address:
Binder Foundation
225 S. Lake Ave., Ste. 300
Pasadena, CA 91101