Media & Policy Center Foundation

What Media & Policy Center Foundation does

Media & Policy Center Foundation (operating as Media Policy Center, MPC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media production organization founded in 2003 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The organization produces award-winning documentary films, educational series, and multi-platform outreach programs focused on public health, education equity, environmental sustainability, and social justice issues. Its portfolio includes approximately 100 documentary titles organized around seven major PBS social justice projects, including Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic (3-part series narrated by Ed Harris), BACKFIRED: When VW Lied to America, Our Kids (4-part series hosted by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam), Designing Healthy Communities (4-hour series), Edens Lost and Found, Growing Greener Schools, and And Thou Shalt Honor.

The organization's technical capabilities center on transmedia storytelling combining documentary production with companion books, online outreach platforms, and community engagement toolkits, with selective use of 3D and Virtual Reality filmmaking in the Legacy of Gods production. Distribution leverages partnerships with PBS/ITVS reaching 300+ stations, Bullfrog Films and Kanopy Films for educational and institutional sales, Journeyman Pictures for global distribution, and direct streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vimeo On Demand. Core products include the Going to Green standards-based environmental education curriculum with 19 DVDs and textbook, and MPC Theater, a monthly free streaming platform offering curated films to email subscribers.

The business model operates through four primary revenue streams: tax-deductible individual and organizational donations, project-specific corporate sponsorships and foundation grants (from funders including Kresge, Robert Wood Johnson, W.K. Kellogg, MacArthur, Atlantic Philanthropies, California Endowment, Siemens, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting), one-time licensing fees for DVDs, companion books, and educational materials through its Shopify storefront, and licensing/royalty revenue from distribution partnerships. Co-founders Harry Wiland and Dale Bell serve as Co-Presidents and Co-CEOs, with academic and advisory partnerships spanning UCLA, Stanford, and USC providing subject-matter expertise. The organization has raised over $10 million since 2000 across its production portfolio.

Name

Media & Policy Center Foundation

Legal name

Media & Policy Center Foundation

Website

https://mediapolicycenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Media & Policy Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media production organization founded in 2003 that produces award-winning PBS documentaries and educational media addressing public health, education equity, environmental sustainability, and social justice issues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production and Educational Media

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Media Digital Platforms & Streaming (Apps, On-demand, Podcasts) (MPABADAG), Public Broadcasting Grants & Government Funding Administration (MPABADAM), Communications, Media Studies & Journalism (EDAGABAK)

Keywords

• Documentary film production
• Educational media programs
• Public television series
• Social justice content
• Nonprofit media production

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, MPC relies on tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations to support its media projects. The company actively solicits donations through its website and newsletter campaigns.
2. Corporate Sponsorships and Underwriting: Corporate sponsors and foundations provide funding for specific projects. MPC has partnerships with major funders including Kresge Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Siemens Corporation, and PBS Distribution.
3. Film and Educational Material Sales: Sales of DVDs, companion books, and educational materials through the MPC Shopify storefront. Private screening licenses and public performance rights are sold to educational institutions and organizations.
4. Distribution Revenue: Revenue from global distribution partnerships including Journeyman Pictures, streaming platforms (Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vimeo On Demand), and educational platforms (Kanopy Films).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Media & Policy Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media production organization that produces award-winning documentary films, multi-part television series, and educational media programs for public broadcasting and educational distribution. Its portfolio addresses social justice, public health, environmental sustainability, education equity, and eldercare, with companion books, online outreach toolkits, and classroom curricula. The organization sells DVDs, companion books, and screening licenses through its Shopify storefront and institutional distributors.

Product overview

Media Policy Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media production organization producing documentary films, educational series, and outreach programs focused on social justice, public health, and environmental sustainability. The portfolio includes award-winning PBS documentary series such as Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic (3-part series narrated by Ed Harris), BACKFIRED: When VW Lied to America (1-hour special narrated by Warren Olney), Our Kids hosted by Robert Putnam (4-part series on opportunity gaps), and Designing Healthy Communities (4-hour series). Complementary educational initiatives include Going to Green curriculum (standards-based environmental education with 19 DVDs and textbook), Growing Greener Schools outreach project hosted by Ed Begley Jr., and Edens Lost and Found documentary series. The organization also operates MPC Theater, a monthly free streaming platform for its film collection. Current productions in development include gun violence prevention, demographic change, and STEM education initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic 3-part documentary series narrated by Ed Harris exposing the origins and solutions to the opioid/heroin epidemic, featuring recovery stories, medical experts, and treatment programs, aired on public television with a companion book and online outreach programs.
• BACKFIRED: When VW Lied to America One-hour television special narrated by Warren Olney revealing the inside story of Volkswagen's emissions scandal and the California Air Resources Board investigation, distributed nationally to public television stations.
• Our Kids, Hosted by Robert Putnam 4-part documentary series hosted by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam examining the opportunity gap between rich and poor American children and profiling best-practice solutions, premiered on public television.
• Designing Healthy Communities Four-hour PBS series hosted by Dr. Richard Jackson examining the connection between community design and public health costs including obesity, diabetes, and asthma.
• Going to Green Standards-based environmental education curriculum for schools, colleges, and communities with 19 DVDs and a textbook covering sustainability, waste management, water quality, and green building.
• Growing Greener Schools One-hour documentary and education outreach project hosted by Ed Begley Jr. showcasing best practices for greening schools, with companion e-handbook and professional development materials.
• Edens Lost and Found PBS special series and book documenting how four American cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle) are meeting urban renewal challenges through environmental sustainability.
• And Thou Shalt Honor Two-hour PBS special hosted by Joe Mantegna addressing caregiving challenges facing American families, with companion book and 10 educational DVDs.
• Homes on the Range Feature-length documentary chronicling Sheridan, Wyoming's community effort to develop innovative elder care homes modeled after the Green House Project.
• MPC Theater Monthly free streaming platform that offers one film from MPC's collection to subscribers via email.

Quantifiable outcome

• Growing Greener Schools broadcast repeated 1,346 times by 300+ stations in first 6 months
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, advisory partner, co-production partner, research partner and distribution partner.

• AshokacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarry Wiland and Dale Bell elected as Ashoka Lifetime Fellows in 2006 - the only media professionals and business partnership to achieve this honor. Ashoka shapes global entrepreneurial citizen sector enabling changemakers.
• PBS and ITVScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic Broadcasting Service and Independent Television Service distribute MPC productions nationally. ITVS brings independently-produced public broadcast programs to local and national audiences.
• Bullfrog FilmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEducational and institutional distributor for Backfired: When VW Lied to America. Provides educational sales, rentals, and public performance licensing.
• Journeyman PicturescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal distribution partner for Do No Harm documentary, enabling worldwide streaming, downloads, and screening licenses through their platform.
• Kanopy FilmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEducational platform distribution for reaching K-12 classrooms and community groups with documentary content.
• Semel Institute of Neurobiology, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLAadvisory partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory partner for Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic project, providing medical and neuroscience expertise on addiction research.
• PROP, Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribingadvisory partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory partner providing expertise on opioid policy and prescribing practices for the Do No Harm documentary series.
• UCLA Fielding School of Public Healthco-production partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMPC and UCLA FSPH collaboration on Gun Violence: A Public Health Hazard documentary project, framing gun violence as a public health epidemic with research-based solutions.
• UC Gun Violence Prevention Coalitionresearch partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition headquartered at UC Davis providing research and content for Gun Violence Prevention documentary project.
• Donna Benton, USC School of Gerontologyadvisory partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for And Thou Shalt Honor eldercare initiative, providing expertise on aging and caregiver support from USC School of Gerontology.
• Laura Carstensen, Stanford Universityadvisory partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory partner for eldercare initiative from Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University.
• Earth Day Networkdistribution partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for Growing Greener Schools broadcast across PBS stations through Earth Day Network on April 20, 2010.
• Weltkultur Stiftungco-production partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunich-based foundation co-producing Legacy of Gods documentary with MPC, a project exploring faith and cultural heritage across four continents.
• Independent Television Service (ITVS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFunder and distributor partner bringing independently-produced public broadcast programs to national audiences.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Participant Media: Larger social-impact media company producing narrative films and documentaries on issues like climate, healthcare, and civic engagement; operates at significantly greater scale but shares the mission-driven documentary thesis.
• Independent Television Service (ITVS): Public-broadcasting funder and distributor that brings independently produced programs to PBS audiences. Functions both as a core MPC partner and a comparable institutional producer/distributor in the independent documentary ecosystem.
• WNET / THIRTEEN: Major PBS station operator producing and distributing national programming including documentary strands; a larger-scale institutional peer operating in the same public-broadcasting ecosystem as MPC.
• PBS Distribution: The national public broadcaster's distribution arm and a core MPC partner; operates at much larger scale but shares the mission of distributing educational, public-affairs content to mainstream audiences.

Direct peers

• Doc Society: International nonprofit that supports impact-driven documentary filmmakers with funding, distribution strategy, and impact campaigns — closely analogous to MPC's combination of production, social-issue framing, and educational outreach.
• Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based nonprofit documentary production company with a comparable multi-decade track record of social-issue films (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters), distributing through PBS and educational channels. Closest direct peer in mission, scale, and distribution model.
• Bullfrog Films: Educational documentary distributor specializing in environmental and social-issue films; an MPC distribution partner and a comparable small-scale operator in the impact documentary distribution channel.
• Center for Investigative Reporting (Reveal): Nonprofit investigative journalism organization producing long-form documentaries and broadcast programs on public health, environment, and social justice — a directly comparable nonprofit media model with PBS distribution.

Emerging players

• Sundance Institute Documentary Fund: Funds and supports independent documentary filmmakers working on social-issue stories; a comparable nonprofit ecosystem participant but oriented to grantmaking and filmmaker development rather than direct production.
• The News Literacy Project: Nonprofit producing media and educational programs to advance news literacy and civic engagement — analogous nonprofit-media mission but focused on classroom curricula rather than long-form documentary production.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MPCupdates
• YouTubevimeo.com/mpcmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/mediapolicycenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Media & Policy Center Foundation