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 makes grants off the radar. Without a website or public-facing presence, it keeps a low profile. It prefers a proactive grantmaking approach rather than one that shares how it approaches funding. It does not accept unsolicited proposals. Getting on this funder’s radar will take deep networking.
PROFILE: The Bind Foundation was established in the late 1990s by Former Amgen CEO and Chairman Gordon Binder and Adele Binder.The son of two schoolteachers, Gordon M. Binder was raised in New Mexico and won a Navy ROTC scholarship to Purdue. After earning a degree in electrical engineering in 1957, Binder served on the aircraft carrier Intrepid and then received an MBA from Harvard Business School. Binder joined Ford and then Amgen, serving as CEO and chairman from 1988 to 2000. He later founded Coastview Capital, a firm that primarily invests in the life sciences sector.
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.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Grantees have included Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Greater Los Angeles Zoo, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Grants for Jewish Causes
A more limited area of funding, the Binders have supported Wilshire Boulevard Temple and Bet Tzedek, which provides “free, comprehensive legal services for low-income individuals and families in Los Angeles.”
Grants for Health
Health grants are broad in scope and prioritize established organizations that are large an can scale. Grantees have included Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Vincent Memorial Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Union Rescue Mission.
Important Grant Details:
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.
PEOPLE:
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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
