The Barbra Streisand Foundation is the primary vehicle for the philanthropy and left-of-center activism of actress and singer Barbra Streisand. Mostly using relatively small donations, under $30,000, the foundation has distributed over $25 million to more than 800 organizations.¹ Some organizations, however, particularly the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, have received substantial donations totaling millions of dollars—at least $13 million between 2008 and 2010.² Cedars-Sinai is the home of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center. In 2015 the Barbra Streisand Foundation reported assets of $8,078,352.³

Background

Streisand established the Barbra Streisand Foundation in 1986.⁴ Streisand has been active in support of left-of-center politics and the Democratic party throughout her career.

Funding

Since its founding, the Streisand Foundation has made grants totaling over $25 million to more than 800 organizations.⁵ Individual donations tend to be less than $30,000, though some organizations have received more substantial funds.⁶ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles received at least $13 million between 2008 and 2010.⁷ It is the site of Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center. In 2008, Streisand funded the Barbra Streisand Women’s Cardiovascular Research and Education Program at Cedars-Sinai.

Other recipients of grants include Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.⁸ The Streisand foundation has also given to the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Rape Foundation, and Brennan Center for Justice. In left-of-center media and policy, grants have gone to Mother Jones, Media Matters for America, Center for Economic Policy Research, the Nation Institute, Consumer Watchdog, and the Advancement Project. On environmental issues, donations have been given to Environmental Media Association, Heal the Bay, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Climate Reality, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Environmental Working Group. The foundation has also given to Teach for America, the UCLA Foundation, College Track, Juilliard, PEN Center USA, and the Cambodian Children’s Fund.

The foundation no longer accepts unsolicited inquiries or proposals after updating its grantmaking guidelines.⁹

On October 18^th, 2021, it was announced that the Barbra Streisand foundation would be funding the creation of a new institute on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). ¹⁰ Focused within new centers within the UCLA’s division of Social Science, the goal of the new institution is to research and solve societal problems including gender discrimination and climate change. ¹¹

During the fiscal year 2021, the Barbra Streisand Foundation donated roughly $786,000 in grants to left-of-center organizations including Advance Democracy Inc, the Center for American Progress, NEO Philanthropy, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, New Venture Fund, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, ProPublica, and the Brennan Center for Justice. ¹²

In May 2022, volunteer nonprofit organization Utah Cold Case Coalition announced ¹³ that the Barbra Streisand Foundation would be contributing towards the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Identification Project, an initiative to identify victims of the Massacre. ¹⁴ The contribution was intended to fund more DNA test kits utilized by the Project to better identify human remains and other findings from the excavation of a local cemetery in 2021. ¹⁵

Leadership

Francis Smith is the Executive Director of the Barbara Streisand Foundation, a position they have held since 2013. Smith also serves as a political advisor to the Democracy Alliance. ¹⁶

Margery Tabankin is the Treasurer of the Foundation, who previously worked as a philanthropic consultant for different charity groups including American filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation. ¹⁷

Barbara Streisand’s son, Jason Gould, serves as a board member for his mother’s Foundation. ¹⁸

1. Inside Philanthropy. “Barbra Streisand.” Accessed February 20, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/glitzy-giving/barbra-streisand.html.
2. Inside Philanthropy. “Barbra Streisand.” Accessed February 20, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/glitzy-giving/barbra-streisand.html.
3. Pro Publica. “Barbra Streisand Foundation.” Accessed February 8, 2017. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132620702.
4. Adeniji, Ade. “A Star Who Actually Gives: Three Things to Know About Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. September 1, 2015. Accessed February 8, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/1/a-star-who-actually-gives-three-things-to-know-about-barbra.html.
5. Adeniji, Ade. “A Star Who Actually Gives: Three Things to Know About Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. September 1, 2015. Accessed February 8, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/1/a-star-who-actually-gives-three-things-to-know-about-barbra.html.
6. Inside Philanthropy. “Barbra Streisand.” Accessed February 20, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/glitzy-giving/barbra-streisand.html.
7. Adeniji, Ade. “A Star Who Actually Gives: Three Things to Know About Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. September 1, 2015. Accessed February 8, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/1/a-star-who-actually-gives-three-things-to-know-about-barbra.html.
8. Adeniji, Ade. “A Star Who Actually Gives: Three Things to Know About Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. September 1, 2015. Accessed February 8, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/1/a-star-who-actually-gives-three-things-to-know-about-barbra.html.
9. Adeniji, Ade. “A Star Who Actually Gives: Three Things to Know About Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. September 1, 2015. Accessed February 8, 2017. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/1/a-star-who-actually-gives-three-things-to-know-about-barbra.html.
10. Newsroom, UCLA. “Barbra Streisand to Fund Forward-Looking Institute at UCLA Focused on Solving Societal Challenges.” UCLA. UCLA, October 18, 2021. https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/barbra-streisand-institute-at-ucla.
11.  Stokes, Liv. “Barbra Streisand to fund new UCLA institute for social issues.” Daily Bruin, November 8, 2021. https://dailybruin.com/2021/11/08/barbra-streisand-to-fund-new-ucla-institute-for-social-issues
12. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Streisand Foundation. 2021. Part XIV. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132620702/202243189349104049/full
13. “Utah Cold Case Coalition.” Facebook, Accessed October 20, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/ColdCaseCoalition
14. Nickel, Dana. “Tulsa Race Massacre Identification Project Receives Donations from Barbra Streisand’s Foundation.” FOX23 News. FOX23 News, May 24, 2022. https://www.fox23.com/news/tulsa-race-massacre-identification-projects-receives-donations-barbra-streisands-foundation/PGKRTDLZVZG4JKHUQVP5PYQTBY/.
15. Nickel, Dana. “Tulsa Race Massacre Identification Project Receives Donations from Barbra Streisand’s Foundation.” FOX23 News. FOX23 News, May 24, 2022. https://www.fox23.com/news/tulsa-race-massacre-identification-projects-receives-donations-barbra-streisands-foundation/PGKRTDLZVZG4JKHUQVP5PYQTBY/.
16. Adeniji, Ade. ”
    What’s New With Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy?” Inside Philanthropy, January 26, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/1/26/whats-new-with-barbra-streisands-philanthropy
17. Adeniji, Ade. “What’s New With Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy?” Inside Philanthropy, January 26, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/1/26/whats-new-with-barbra-streisands-philanthropy
18. Adeniji, Ade. “What’s New With Barbra Streisand’s Philanthropy?” Inside Philanthropy, January 26, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/1/26/whats-new-with-barbra-streisands-philanthropy