Open Hearts Foundation

What Open Hearts Foundation does

Open Hearts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity founded in 2010 by actress Jane Seymour and filmmaker James Keach, headquartered in Westlake Village, California. The foundation operates an annual grantmaking program awarding $15,000 to $25,000 to emerging 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with budgets of $1 million or lower whose leadership has turned personal adversity into mission-driven work, alongside a volunteer engagement program offering virtual and in-person experiences. Since inception the foundation has invested over $1.9 million across more than 60 charity partners and inspired thousands of volunteers through the "Open Hearts Movement."

The foundation is not a technology company: it operates no proprietary platform, API, or mobile app, and its digital presence is limited to a Squarespace-hosted website used for donations, grant information, and volunteer signup. Revenue is generated through individual donations, monthly giving, cause-marketing partnerships (originally seeded by the Kay Jewelers Open Hearts jewelry line that generated billions in retail sales), event-based fundraising (annual galas and Jubilee events), and a newly adopted social impact investment strategy. The 2025 cycle marked a record $300,000 grant year — tripling 2024's $100,000 — anchored by the inaugural Arts & Mental Health focus area, alongside targeted LA Wildfire Relief Grants.

Strategically, the foundation is professionalizing its operating model: a leadership transition brought in Sarah Vohland as Executive Director, a skills-based advisory volunteer program is launching in 2026, and grantee geography has expanded from a Southern California concentration to a national footprint across 13+ states. Themed annual grantmaking cycles, corporate cause-marketing partnerships, and recurring celebrity-led galas define the core operating cadence.

Name

Open Hearts Foundation

Legal name

Open Hearts Foundation

Website

https://openheartsfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Hearts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2010 by Jane Seymour and James Keach that grants $15,000-$25,000 to emerging U.S. charities and runs a volunteer engagement program from Westlake Village, California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Foundation / Charitable Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Charitable foundation
• Volunteer programs
• Community philanthropy
• Cause marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlake Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation receives donations from individual donors, corporate partners, and monthly giving programs to support its grantmaking and operational activities.
2. Cause Marketing Partnerships: Business partnerships where companies align products with the Open Hearts brand, such as the original Signet Jewelers/Kay Jewelers Open Hearts jewelry line that generated billions in sales and initiated the foundation.
3. Event-Based Fundraising: Annual galas, celebrity events, and exclusive donor experiences generate funding while also raising awareness for the foundation's mission.
4. Social Impact Investments: The foundation seeks social impact investments as part of its strategy to diversify and sustain annual fundraising plans.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Open Hearts Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that provides annual financial grants of $15,000 to $25,000 to emerging U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits (annual budgets of $1 million or less) whose missions align with the Open Hearts Philosophy of turning personal adversity into service to others. In parallel, the Foundation operates a Volunteer Program offering virtual experiences (e.g., Cards for Kids, Make A Senior Smile), in-person service days, and skills-based advisory volunteering that connects individuals with the Foundation's nonprofit partners.

Product overview

Open Hearts Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization (not a technology company) that operates as a unified mission-driven entity focused on grantmaking and volunteerism. The Foundation's core offerings include: (1) the Grantmaking Program providing annual grants of $15,000-$25,000 to emerging 501(c)(3) nonprofits; (2) the Volunteer Program connecting individuals with charity partners through virtual and in-person volunteer experiences; (3) the Arts & Mental Health Grants initiative launched in 2025; (4) the Open Hearts Movement community engagement program; (5) the Open Hearts Award recognition program; and (6) fundraising campaigns including Healing Impact Campaign and Shop For A Cause. The Foundation also hosts an annual Gala event. These programs work together to empower nonprofits and inspire individuals to turn adversity into possibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grantmaking Program Annual grant program providing $15,000 to $25,000 grants to emerging 501(c)(3) nonprofits with budgets of $1 million or lower, focusing on organizations aligned with the Open Hearts Philosophy.
• Volunteer Program Volunteer program connecting individuals with nonprofit partners through virtual experiences (Cards for Kids, Make A Senior Smile) and in-person volunteer events, including skills-based advisory volunteer opportunities.
• Arts & Mental Health Grants Inaugural 2025 grant cycle focused on organizations at the intersection of creative expression and emotional healing, awarding $270,000 to 13 community nonprofits nationwide.
• Healing Impact Campaign Fundraising campaign inviting supporters to join the mission and contribute to the Foundation's work supporting nonprofits and communities in need.
• Shop For A Cause E-commerce or retail-based fundraising initiative allowing supporters to shop in support of the Foundation's mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1.9 million invested in nonprofit partners to date
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Signet Jewelers / Kay JewelerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010World's largest retailer of diamond jewelry partnered with Jane Seymour to create the Open Hearts jewelry line through Kay Jewelers. This business partnership sold billions of dollars worth of jewelry and initiated the philanthropic beginning of the Open Hearts Foundation. The partnership established the foundation's cause marketing model.
• JS DesignscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign and brand management company led by Cheri Ingle, Vice President of Design and Brand Management. Cheri Ingle is a founding member of the Open Hearts Foundation and Board Liaison. The company handles design and branding for foundation initiatives.
• Coral Canyon PublishingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublishing partner collaborating with the Foundation and Jane Seymour to share examples of the Open Hearts Philosophy through published content.
• The Volunteer Center of South Bay, Harbor, and Long BeachcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey volunteer partner for Operation Teddy Bear Volunteer Day; collaborated to pack 4,044 literacy bags supporting 146 classrooms across the South Bay community.
• Actors Bridge EnsembleminorOthers2025 Arts & Mental Health grantee receiving $15,000 grant for autobiographical writing and performance workshops for women experiencing incarceration in Nashville, TN.
• Leeza Gibbons Memory FoundationminorOthers2025 grantee receiving $20,000 for Healing Through Expression program using arts to support family caregivers in South Carolina and California.
• UCLA Mobile Stroke Unit ProgramminorOthers2025 Humanitarian Award recipient receiving $25,000 for funding CT injectors to enable lifesaving imaging for stroke patients.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Susan G. Komen Foundation: Large established US nonprofit foundation funding breast cancer research and community programs. Comparable as a US single-cause grantmaker using galas, cause marketing, and corporate partnerships, though at materially greater scale and operating its own programs directly.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital / ALSAC: Major US health-focused charitable organization combining direct service, research, and grantmaking. Comparable in celebrity-driven donor engagement, cause-marketing corporate partnerships, and galas/fundraising events, though operating direct programs rather than pure grantmaking.
• Robin Hood Foundation: Large US poverty-fighting private foundation funding community nonprofits in New York and beyond. Comparable as a private foundation focused on emerging/community nonprofits with brand-driven fundraising, though operating at much larger scale and focusing on capacity-building grants.
• Barr Foundation: Large private family foundation making grants in arts, education, and climate. Comparable as a private foundation funding emerging/community nonprofits in defined thematic areas with multi-year and operating support, though at substantially greater scale and professionalized staffing.

Emerging players

• Pollination Project Foundation: Smaller US private foundation providing small seed grants (~$1K–$10K) to early-stage social-change projects globally. Comparable as a small-grant, mission-driven foundation funding emerging changemakers, though with significantly smaller per-grant amounts and global geographic scope.

Direct peers

• Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation: Celebrity-founded US private foundation providing grants and direct services to nonprofits and individuals in a specific cause area (spinal cord injury). Comparable in structure: founder-led brand, mission-aligned grantmaking, donor-event fundraising model, and US scope.
• David Lynch Foundation: Celebrity-founded private foundation funding nonprofits in targeted causes (mental health/consciousness-based education). Highly comparable in founder-led visibility, themed grant cycles, and small-grant model to emerging nonprofits.
• Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research: Celebrity-founded US foundation funding research and community grants in Parkinson's disease. Similar celebrity-founder leverage, single-cause focus, US grantmaking footprint, and event/donor-based fundraising infrastructure.
• Elton John AIDS Foundation: Celebrity-founded private foundation making grants to community-based nonprofits in a defined thematic area (HIV/AIDS). Closely parallels Open Hearts' model of celebrity-driven fundraising, targeted nonprofit grantmaking, and high-profile gala-based donor cultivation.
• Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation: Celebrity-founded foundation supporting family caregivers of those with Alzheimer's/dementia. Directly comparable: small, celebrity-led private foundation, US-only grantmaking to community nonprofits, overlapping arts/health grantmaking themes, and the two foundations have an existing grantee relationship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OpenHeartsFound
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenHeartsFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openheartsfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments3 records

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Frequently asked questions about Open Hearts Foundation