David Bohnett Foundation
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| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Founder | David Bohnett |
| Type | Private foundation |
| 95-4735846 | |
| Focus | Los Angeles initiatives, LGBT rights, Leadership initiatives and voter education, gun violence prevention, animal language research |
| Location | |
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Area served
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United States |
| Method | Grantmaking |
| Owner | David Bohnett |
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Key people
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David Bohnett, founder and president Michael Fleming, executive director |
| Disbursements | More than $100 million |
| Mission | We pursue our mission by providing funding, state-of-the-art technology and technical support to innovative organizations and institutions that, in addition to meeting our funding guidelines, share our vision. |
| Website | bohnettfoundation.org |
The David Bohnett Foundation is a global private foundation that gives grants to organizations that focus on its core giving areas – primarily Los Angeles area programs and LGBT rights in the United States, as well as leadership initiatives and voter education, gun violence prevention, and animal language research. As of 2017, the foundation has donated over $100 million to nonprofit organizations and initiatives.
Immediately after selling his popular internet social-network company GeoCities to Yahoo! in 1999, David Bohnett turned his attention to activism, and created the David Bohnett Foundation to make grants in activist areas most important to him. According to the Los Angeles Times Magazine, he "invests where he can actually improve lives, empower individuals and build viable communities in meaningful ways". To serve as executive director and strategist for his foundation he hired Michael Fleming, who had been a media leader for the American Civil Liberties Union.
In 2000, the foundation's first full year, it donated $2 million to LGBT organizations, AIDS services, gun control programs, and voter registration initiatives. Bohnett's initial grants included large donations to GLAAD, the Family Equality Council, and the Human Rights Campaign. A prime aim for Bohnett is to "create an environment which destigmatizes homosexuality", and to that end he has funded both national gay rights organizations and also local LGBT organizations and centers across the U.S. The nationwide LGBT centers he has funded and created include numerous LGBT CyberCenters – safe-haven internet cafes where LGBT young people and seniors, and disadvantaged, troubled, or closeted gays, can find support and resources, including computers and internet access. Bohnett created the first CyberCenter in 1998, and as of 2017 there are over 60 David Bohnett CyberCenters in the U.S.
The David Bohnett Foundation provides grants to outside nonprofit organizations and projects supporting several primary funding areas: The Fund for Los Angeles, supporting a broad spectrum of arts, educational and civic programs; LGBT-related causes; graduate school leadership programs at the University of Michigan, New York University and Harvard University;voting rights and registration initiatives; supporting research and public policies to reduce the impact of firearm violence; leadership training initiatives for political public service; and animal research and rights.
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