Laemmle Charitable Foundation Grant

The Laemmle Charitable Foundation, founded in 2000, aims to enhance community well-being beyond entertainment. Through flexible funding, it supports non-profits addressing critical social and environmental issues in Los Angeles. The foundation, initiated by Greg Laemmle after a sabbatical, focuses on meaningful contributions, both financial and personal, to neighborhoods that support Laemmle Theatres. Each year, the board allocates available funds to multiple charities, ensuring a broad impact.

NOTE: The board generally considers requests immediately following Thanksgiving for grants to be paid out before the end of the year.
Background
With the desire to be more than just theatres and entertainment, the Laemmle family took a leap into what is now one of their significant ventures, and created The Laemmle Charitable Foundation in 2000. After taking two months off on sabbatical, Co-Owner, Greg Laemmle, came back to work with the desire to lend his hand once again to the community, but in a way the Laemmle Theatres had not done before. By stepping beyond the entertainment community, Greg hoped to channel the company’s efforts and make the family’s vision of a sustainable community a reality. He sought to create a private charitable foundation that would work by giving money to other charities, while investing in the community and sharing this company and family’s ideals. Greg knew that this foundation would give more meaning to the business as a whole and act as a platform for continued community involvement. After nearly 62 years of successful business, and the recent opening of Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, the time had come for the next great Laemmle project, and the foundation was born.
The Laemmle Foundation was designed in a way that allowed the family to give back to those neighborhoods and communities that have supported the theatres and made them what they are. A flexible approach is also paramount, allowing the foundation to respond swiftly to shifting times and the needs of the day. Each year, the board determines how much funds are available and then makes allocation decisions. The foundation has made an effort to always distribute funds to multiple charities and over the years has been fortunate enough to give more than just money, but also their time.

Eligibility

Specifically, the foundation benefits non-profits agencies working to improve life in Los Angeles through addressing social and environmental issues critical to the region.