SOURCE OF WEALTH: Screenwriter, Producer; Wolf Films
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Community
OVERVIEW: Dick Wolf has moved philanthropy through the Wolf Family Foundation, which historically has focused on education. The current status of the vehicle is unclear.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1946, Dick Wolf attended Phillips Academy and graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1969. He worked as a copywriter at Benton & Bowles while writing screenplays in hopes to break into the film industry. He moved to Los Angeles and eventually became a staff writer on the television series Hill Street Blues, where he received his first Emmy nomination. Wolf moved to the show Miami Vice, where he was supervising producer. Debuting in 1990, Wolf’s Law & Order was one of the television’s most successful franchises.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Dick Wolf has strongly supported University of California Santa Barbara, home to the Carsey-Wolf Center, where Wolf sits on the external advisory board. He has also supported UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science. Wolf has supported his alma mater UPenn, as well.
COMMUNITY: Through the Wolf Family Foundation, Wolf made a multi-million dollar gift for a training and education center at the new Cancer Center of Santa Barbara with Sansum Clinic. He also supported the MOXI: The Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation. The Wolf Family Foundation made a gift to the Television Academy creating the Wolf Theatre. The gift included an endowment for collaboration between the Academy’s Foundation and the Alliance for Children’s Rights, designed to build a bridge for foster youth and the television industry. Wolf has supported Paley Center for Media as well.
LOOKING FORWARD: In the wake of a divorce, it is unclear what direction Wolf’s foundation will take. He should be watched for more grantmaking to Southern California institutions, however.