The Jerry and Anita Zucker Family Foundation is a low-key private foundation based in North Charleston, South Carolina that maintains a commitment to local nonprofits and accessible grantmaking program. This grantmaker is the philanthropic legacy of the late Jerry Zucker, an inventor who started a chemical manufacturing company called InterTech Group. His wife Anita serves as the CEO of the company today and also leads the foundation’s giving.
Here are a few important things to know about the Jerry and Anita Zucker Family Foundation for organizations that operate in this part of the country.
Strong support for Jewish organizations
The most notable thing about the Zucker Family Foundation’s giving is its support for Jewish causes. Anita Zucker is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and has been involved with numerous Jewish organizations, such as the Addlestone Hebrew Academy and Yeshiva University. The foundation has made donations of at least a million dollars to Jewish groups in recent years, including the Center for Advancing Holocaust Survivor Care.
Education and other interests
Aside from Jewish causes, the Zucker Family Foundation also supports educational institutions, especially higher education. Large grants have gone to Trident Technical College, the University of South Carolina and the University of Florida. Personal and family connections, including where family members graduated from school, seem to play a role in where grants go. Even though Anita Zucker was an elementary school teacher for several years, far fewer grants go to early childhood education and K-12. General community development and recreation programs are also of interest for this foundation.
A focus on the Carolinas
The Zucker Family Foundation prefers to keep its grantmaking pretty close to home. Many grants go to groups in North Carolina and South Carolina, such as the College of Charleston Foundation, City of North Charleston Recreation Department and the Jewish Community Center of Charleston. The only major exceptions to this rule are the occasional alma mater grant and a few national nonprofits based outside of the Carolinas.
Requesting a grant
According to the most recent tax records available, the Zucker Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited funding requests and only makes contributions to preselected organizations. But in the past, the foundation has been open to unsolicited grant applications, so it may be worth a phone call to verify the current policy. In past years, the funder accepted application materials via mail and did not have any submission deadlines, restrictions or limitations on awards.
For more information, check out IP’s donor profile of Anita Zucker and full profile of the Jerry and Anita Zucker Family Foundation in our Southeast funding guide.