OVERVIEW: The Zients Family Foundation focuses its global development grantmaking on women’s social and economic empowerment and education.
IP TAKE: This funder often awards multi-year support to its grantees. Newcomers may have a difficult time securing funding from Zients. It lacks transparency, which restricts further grantmaking information. It’s also not an accessible funder, but you’re welcome to reach out to them by snail mail, which it puts in place given its limited staff.
PROFILE: The Zients Family Foundation was created by Jeff and Mary Zients and makes grants that closely align with the couple’s interests. While the foundation does not cite specific geographic restrictions regarding beneficiary population locations, tax filings reveal that Zients supports education and work on the global stage, particularly in South Africa, where Mary was born.
Jeffrey Zients graduated from Duke University, then founded and managed private equity firm Portfolio Logic. Zients went into government as President Obama’s principal economic policy advisor as director of the National Economic Council. Zients also served in the Office of Management and Budget as acting director, and deputy director, management, and federal chief performance officer. He helped spearhead the turnaround of the healthcare.gov website launch.
Grants for Global Development and Global Health
The foundation’s work in global development focuses primarily on South Africa. Zeints has supported the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund-USA, which supports NGOs in South Africa that provide services to children and youth. Other grantees include Bantwana Initiative, which works toward "improving the wellbeing of vulnerable children and their caregivers and families affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty," as well as African Leadership Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Ubuntu Education Fund, and Women for Women International, where Mary sits on the board.
Grants for Women and Girls
Zients funds a variety of projects concentrating on women and girls, including those related to women’s rights, peace-building efforts and women’s empowerment. Past grantees include Women for Women International and the Nomi Network. The foundation does not specifically state geographic restrictions, but its tax filings indicate that it prioritizes organizations located in Washington, D.C., and East Coast states.
Grants for Higher Education
Zients supports Jeff’s alma mater Duke University and Harvard, Mary's school. Zeints co-founded Urban Alliance (UA), an inner city high school jobs and mentoring program serving young people in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Chicago. The organization has worked with “over 500 businesses to put some 3,000 young people on a path to economic success." Other grantees have included City Year Washington, DC, Teach for America, St. Albans School, Phillips Exeter, Posse Foundation, College Track, Maret School, and City Year South Africa, a youth service community program in Johannesburg.
Important Grant Details:
Grants can range from $1,000 to $50,000, but most range from $1,000 to $10,000. The Zients Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funding and prefers a proactive approach in its giving. The foundation does not operate a website, but has one paid staff member. While this may offer a way in for new grantseekers, gaining funding from this foundation may still prove difficult.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
CONTACT:
Zients Family Foundation
4500 Garfield Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007