The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is a nonprofit based in New York and San Francisco founded by publishing and journalism giant William Randolph Hearst that provides grants supporting youth political engagement and journalism, culture, education, health, and social services. ^{1 2 3}

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is managed jointly with Hearst Foundation Inc., which was founded in 1946. Both organizations have the same funding guidelines, leadership, and staff; however the organizations are recognized by the IRS as two separate entities and have two separate tax filings. Together, the William Randolph Heart Foundation and Hearst Foundation Inc. are known as the Hearst Foundations. ⁴

History

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation was originally established in 1949 as the California Charities Foundation. ⁵ The California Charities Foundation was renamed the William Randolph Hearst Foundation in 1951 shortly after the death of William Randolph Hearst that same year. ⁶

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is managed jointly with Hearst Foundation Inc., which was founded in 1946. Both organizations have the same funding guidelines, leadership, and staff, however the organizations are recognized by the IRS as two separate entities and have two separate tax filings. Together, the William Randolph Heart Foundation and Hearst Foundations Inc are known as the Hearst Foundations. ⁷

The Hearst Foundations have two offices. Its headquarters in New York City reviews grant proposals from East of the Mississippi River and its headquarters in San Francisco reviews grant proposals from west of the Mississippi River. ⁸

Programs

The Hearst Foundations have two flagship programs, the United States Senate Youth Program, and the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. ⁹

Each year the Senate Youth Programs brings two students from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity to Washington, D.C., to participate in a one-week, all-expenses-paid program in the nation’s capital. Students in the program hear speeches from senators, Cabinet members, and officials from the State Department, Defense Department, and other federal agencies. The participants also often meet the President and a Supreme Court Justice. Participants receive a $10,000 college scholarship and are encouraged to pursue studies in political science and history. To be selected, students must hold a leadership position in student government or a civic organization and be a resident of the state or jurisdiction they would represent. In 2024, the Senate co-chairs of the Senate Youth Program were Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY). ^{10 11}

The Hearst Journalism Award Program was founded in 1960 and awards scholarships to college journalists and matching grants to the journalists’ schools. In 2024, the Hearst Journalism Awards Program offered up to $700,000 in awards to be distributed to the winners of five writing competitions, two photojournalism competitions, one audio competition, two television competitions, and four multimedia competitions. Participants must be undergraduate journalism majors enrolled in an accredited university in America and be actively involved in student journalism. ¹²

Grantmaking

The Hearst Foundations provide grants devoted to culture, education, health, and social services. ¹³ The foundations reports receiving over 1,000 grant requests each year and providing funding roughly 300 of these grant requests. ¹⁴

For culture, The Hearst Foundations support arts and science programs that focus on youth engagement. Supported organizations include theaters, symphonies, performing arts centers, operas, museums, ballets, and arts schools. ¹⁵

For education, the Hearst Foundations predominantly fund higher education and a smaller number of early childhood, K-12, and professional development education institutions devoted to “preparing students to thrive in a global society.” ¹⁶

The Hearst Foundations support regional hospital, medical centers, and specialized medical institutions as well as programs to increase the number of healthcare practitioners and educators. ¹⁷ As part of its health funding, Hearst Foundations gave over $50 million in special grants devoted to COVID-19 pandemic relief. ¹⁸

For social services, the Hearst Foundations focus on alleviating chronic poverty, facilitating economic independence, and strengthening families. Preference for these grants is given to organizations devoted to affordable housing, domestic violence victims, economic development focused on environmental sustainability, food banks, job creation, prion reentry programs, legal services, and youth development. ¹⁹

According to tax filings, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s top grant recipients in 2022 included the Metropolitan Opera ($2,500,000), the Lincoln Center ($1,600,000), the University of Texas Health Science Center ($500,000), V Foundation ($500,000), Harvard University ($500,000), and George Washington’s Mount Vernon ($350,000). ²⁰

As of March 2024, the Hearst Foundations report having made over 22,730 grants totaling over $1.5 billion to 6,400 organizations. ²¹

People

The president of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation is William R. Hearst III, the grandson of Willaim Randolph Hearst. ²²

Funding

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the Hearst Foundation Inc. collectively received approximately $137 million from the Hearst Corporation in 1975. ²³

According to tax filings, in 2022 the William Randolph Hearst Foundation received most of its revenue ($25,080,984) from dividends and interest from securities. ²⁴

Collectively, the Hearst Foundations reported assets of $1.3 billion as of March 2024. ²⁵

1. “Hearst Foundations: Helping Nonprofits & Americans for Nearly 70 Years.” Hearst. July 1, 2013. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearst.com/-/hearst-foundations-helping-nonprofits-americans-for-nearly-70-years.
2. “William Randolph Hearst Foundations.” Philanthropy News Digest. April 16, 2002. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/on-the-web/william-randolph-hearst-foundations.
3. “Grant Request Evaluation Process.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/grant-request-evaluation-process
4. “About.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024.
5. “About.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024.
6. “William Randolph Hearst Foundations.” Philanthropy News Digest. April 16, 2002. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/on-the-web/william-randolph-hearst-foundations.
7. “About.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/about
8. “William Randolph Hearst Foundations.” Philanthropy News Digest. April 16, 2002. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/on-the-web/william-randolph-hearst-foundations.
9. “Hearst Foundations: Helping Nonprofits & Americans for Nearly 70 Years.” Hearst. July 1, 2013. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearst.com/-/hearst-foundations-helping-nonprofits-americans-for-nearly-70-years.
10. “United States Senate Youth Program.” United States Senate Youth Program. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://ussenateyouth.org/.
11. “How to Apply.” United States Senate Youth Program. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://ussenateyouth.org/selection_process_qualify/.
12. “General Information.” Heart Journalism Awards Program. Accessed March 8, 2024. http://www.hearstawards.org/about/general-information/.
13. “General Overview.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/general-overview.
14. “Grant Request Evaluation Process.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/grant-request-evaluation-process.
15. “Funding Priorities in Culture.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/culture/funding-priorities.
16. “Funding Priorities in Education.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/education/funding-priorities.
17. “Funding Priorities in Health.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/health/funding-priorities.
18. “Hearst Foundations Announce Over $50 Million in Special Grants to American Nonprofits Impacted by Pandemic.” Hearst Foundations. April 16, 2020. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearst.com/-/hearst-foundations-announce-over-50-million-in-special-grants-to-american-nonprofits-impacted-by-pandemic.
19. “Funding Priorities in Social Service.” Hearst Foundations. March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/social-service/funding-priorities.
20. William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2022.
21.  “About.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/about
22. William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2022.
23. “About.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/about
24. William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2022.
25.  “About.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hearstfdn.org/about