The Louis and Harold Price Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation located in Los Angeles, California. The foundation was seeded in part by the wealth of California businessman Harold Price, who died in 2004. Price was known for supporting business education and encouraging others to build their own businesses. ¹

While the bulk of the foundation’s grants are to politically noncontroversial organizations dealing with education, combating hunger, and supporting Jewish religious causes, heath care research, and the arts, the organization has also donated to left-of-center causes and organizations, including population control organizations and groups in the Los Angeles-based “Check the Sheriff” coalition. ^{2 3}

Overview and Founders

The Louis and Harold Price Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation located in Los Angeles, California. It was established in 1951. ⁴

The foundation was seeded by the wealth of Louis Price and his son Harold, both pioneers in the frozen-food business. The elder Price co-founded the Joe Lowe Corporation, which popularized the Popsicle after buying the rights of the product from its inventor in 1925. The Joe Lowe Corporation, after a series of mergers and subsidiaries, later became the frozen foods company Sara Lee. ⁵ Harold Price ran one of the subsidiaries, Cottage Donuts. ⁶

After Harold Price’s retirement, he focused on promoting entrepreneurship and changing the way business education was taught in universities. Before Price died in 2004, he donated $15.5 million to university-based entrepreneurship programs. ⁷

Grantmaking

Currently, the foundation has a moratorium on new grant requests and will only make grants to existing grantees or organization it invites to apply to grants. The organization makes the bulk of its grants to organizations based in Southern California and Colorado. ⁸

While the organization does the bulk of its giving towards politically noncontroversial causes such as the arts, charities dealing with hunger, Jewish religious causes, business education, and education, it does make some donations to left-of-center groups and causes, most notably population control. ⁹

Among the donations it made in 2019 were $30,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, $60,000 to the Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles, $55,000 to the Natural Resources Defense Council, $5,000 to Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, $5,000 to Planned Parenthood New York City, $5,000 to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, $10,000 to the population control organization Population Connection, and $40,000 to the radical-left Southern Poverty Law Center. ¹⁰

In 2016, it gave a $10,000 grant to Venice Community Housing (VCH). VCH is a member of the “Check the Sheriff” in Loa Angeles. The coalition seeks the resignation of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (D) and an investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office by the California Attorney General. ¹¹

Leadership

Bonnie Vitti is the president of the foundation. ¹²

Linda Vitti-Herbst is the chairman of the board of trustees. ¹³

Finances

According to the 2019 tax return, the foundation had revenue of $2,386,863 and expenses of $4,648,876. It had assets of $90,185,999. ¹⁴

1. Woo, Elaine. “Harold Price, 95; Executive Funded Business Education.” Los Angeles Times. Feb. 6, 2004.  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-06-me-price6-story.html.
2. Louis and Harold Price Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2019/136/121/2019-136121358-202033219349101698-F.pdf.
3. “About.” Check The Sheriff Coalition. Accessed September 27. https://www.checkthesheriff.com/about.
4. “Price Foundation.” Price Foundation. Accessed September 27. http://www.pricefoundation.org/home.
5. Woo, Elaine. “Harold Price, 95; Executive Funded Business Education.” Los Angeles Times. Feb. 6, 2004.  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-06-me-price6-story.html.
6. Woo, Elaine. “Harold Price, 95; Executive Funded Business Education.” Los Angeles Times. Feb. 6, 2004.  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-06-me-price6-story.html.
7. Woo, Elaine. “Harold Price, 95; Executive Funded Business Education.” Los Angeles Times. Feb. 6, 2004.  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-06-me-price6-story.html.
8. Price Foundation.” Price Foundation. Accessed September 27. http://www.pricefoundation.org/home.
9. Form 990. 2019. Ebook. Guidestar. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2019/136/121/2019-136121358-202033219349101698-F.pdf.
10. Louis and Harold Price Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2019/136/121/2019-136121358-202033219349101698-F.pdf.
11. “About.” Check The Sheriff Coalition. Accessed September 27. https://www.checkthesheriff.com/about.
12. “Price Foundation – Executive Staff And Board Of Trustees.” Price Foundation. Accessed September 27. http://www.pricefoundation.org/our_board_and_staff.
13. “Price Foundation – Executive Staff And Board Of Trustees.” Price Foundation. Accessed September 27. http://www.pricefoundation.org/our_board_and_staff.
14. [1] Louis and Harold Price Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2019/136/121/2019-136121358-202033219349101698-F.pdf.