The JKW Foundation is a private foundation run by left-progressive commentator, and part-owner and former editor of the left-wing magazine The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel and her sister, actress and film producer Wendy vanden Heuvel. ¹ The organization mostly funds various performing arts projects, but also some left-of-center causes.

Background

The JKW Foundation is the private foundation of the children of Jean Stein and Carter administration U.S. Ambassador to the European Office of the United Nations William vanden Heuvel,² left-progressive commentator, and part-owner and former editor of the left-wing magazine The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel³ and actress Wendy vanden Heuvel. ¹ The JKW Foundation was incorporated as a charity in 1997 by their mother, Jean Stein. ⁴ Stein, a famous author and socialite, died from suicide in 2017. At the time of her death, Stein was worth $38.5 million and left the bulk of her fortune to her daughters and the JKW Foundation. ⁵

Grantmaking

In 2019, Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church in New York City received support from the JKW Foundation to establish a music series to celebrate the life of Jean Stein. ⁶ In May 2019, the support culminated in memorial concert with various works by Baroque composer George Frideric Handel. ⁷

The JKW Foundation financially supports SPACE on Ryder Farm, a nonprofit residency program and environmentalist-aligned farm in Putnam County, New York that caters to artists. SPACE supports left-progressive “social justice” and works to provide “artists and changemakers with time and space to create vital art and to foster necessary dialogue for lasting change.” ⁸ To encourage voter participation in the 2020 election, SPACE established a voter registration drive. ⁹

In the past, the JKW Foundation has supported Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights and which receives funding from various left-of-center foundations, including the Open Society Foundations. ¹⁰

The JKW Foundation is listed as a supporter of the 52^nd Street Project, ¹¹ of which Wendy vanden Heuvel is a board member. ¹² In 2009, money from the JKW foundation went towards a capital campaign to build a new clubhouse and theater for the organization. ¹³

The JKW Foundation also supports a number of other preforming arts projects, including the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art,¹⁴ Barrow Group Theatre Company,¹⁵A.I.M. (Abraham in Motion),¹⁶ Earth Celebrations,¹⁷ Chicken and Egg Pictures,¹⁸ St. Ann’s Warehouse,¹⁹ Anonymous Ensemble,²⁰ Film Forum,²¹ Working Theater,²² and Notch Theater. ²³

1. “Wendy vanden Heuvel.” IMDb. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1869649/
2. “William Vanden Heuvel.” Roosevelt Institute. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://rooseveltinstitute.org/authors/william-vanden-heuvel/.
3. “Katrina Vanden Heuvel.” The Nation. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://www.thenation.com/authors/katrina-vanden-heuvel/.
4. “JKW Foundation.: GuideStar. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-7127165
5. Marsh, Julia. “Author was worth $38.5M when she jumped to her death.” New York Post. May 14, 2017. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://nypost.com/2017/05/14/author-was-worth-38-5m-when-she-jumped-to-her-death/
6. “Jean Stein Memorial Concert.” Melius Consort. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.meliusconsort.com/jean-stein-memorial-series
7. “Past Performances – Inaugural Jean Stein Memorial Concert: ‘Virtuosic Handel’.” Melius Consort. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.meliusconsort.com/concerts
8. “Supporters.” SPACE on Ryder Farm. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.spaceonryderfarm.org/donate
9. “NY and Ct residents can drive-up and register to Vote at SPACE on Ryder Farm.” Yorktown’s Hamlet Hub. September 16, 2020. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://news.hamlethub.com/yorktown/politics/3536-ny-and-ct-residents-can-drive-up-and-register-to-vote-at-space-on-ryder-farm
10. “Human Rights Watch 2006 Report: Acknowledgements.” Human Rights Watch. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/wrd0706/6.htm
11. “Project Supporters” 52^nd Street Project. Accessed September 22, 2020. http://www.52project.org/how-to-help/project-supporters/
12. “Our Board.” 52^nd Street Project. Accessed September 22, 2020. http://www.52project.org/about/our-board/
13. “Supporters: Capital Campaign.” 52^nd Street Project. Accessed September 22, 2020. http://www.52project.org/about/capital-campaign-supporters/
14. “Annual Listing of Donors.” Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://massmoca.org/annual-listing-of-donors/
15. “The Barrow Group Theatre Productions.” Barrow Group Theatre Productions. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://www.barrowgroup.org/theatre-company
16. “About the Company. Abraham in Motion. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/a-i-m-abraham-in-motion/tQJSI11mfRtGJQ?hl=en
17. “Supporters.” Earth Celebrations. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://earthcelebrations.com/supporters/
18. “Supporters.” Chicken & Egg Pictures. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://chickeneggpics.org/about-board-item/supporters/
19. “Current Donors.” St. Ann’s Warehouse. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://stannswarehouse.org/support-us/current-donors/
20. “Contact.” Anonymous Ensemble. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://anonymousensemble.org/contact/
21. “Support Film Forum.” Film Forum. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/pdf/FF1_0109_p2final.pdf
22. “American Dreams.” Working Theater. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://theworkingtheater.org/events/american-dreams/
23. “Ten Dollars, 40 Quarters, 100 Dimes, 200 Nickels, 1,000 Pennies.” Notch Theatre. Accessed September 22, 2020. https://notchtheatre.weebly.com/tendollars.html