Greenebaum Family Foundation

What Greenebaum Family Foundation does

The Greenbaum Foundation (Greenebaum Family Foundation) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) private grantmaking foundation founded by Jim Greenbaum and fully operational since 1999. It provides funding, guidance, and networking support to nonprofit organizations working to end factory farming, advance whole foods plant-based diets, and protect animal lives, while continuing limited legacy support for human rights organizations focused on modern slavery, child marriage, female genital cutting, and gender-based violence. The foundation funds grantees operating in more than 85 countries and also provides small grants to more than 65 grassroots individuals and entities around the world, with annual grantmaking currently in the $6-7 million range and lifetime giving on track to exceed $250 million.

The foundation operates a selective, relationship-based grantmaking model: it does not accept unsolicited proposals and does not seek public donations. Grantees are organized into categories including Animal Advocacy and Plant-Based Nutrition, Legal Approach to Animal Advocacy, Medical Advocacy for Plant-Based Diets, Support Services for Animal Advocacy Charities, and Human Rights and Anti-Trafficking. Beyond direct grantmaking, founder Jim Greenbaum serves as Executive Producer of documentaries including The Game Changers, Seaspiracy, Cowspiracy, What The Health, Slay, and Not My Life, produced in partnership with A.U.M. Films and Media, treating film as a tool for movement-scale awareness.

The foundation's capital base originated from Jim Greenbaum's 1999 sale of Access Long Distance, which grew his net worth to approximately $133 million and was transferred to the foundation, with investment returns supporting ongoing grantmaking. Jim has committed to contributing in excess of 85% of his assets to charitable projects during his lifetime, with the remainder to follow through his estate. The foundation is staffed by Jim Greenbaum as Founder and Managing Director and Meghan O'Brien Lowery as Foundation Manager, operating from West Hollywood, California, with no parent company and no subsidiaries.

Name

Greenebaum Family Foundation

Legal name

Greenbaum Foundation

Website

https://greenbaumfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Greenbaum Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private grantmaking foundation that funds nonprofits advancing plant-based nutrition and ending factory farming, with legacy support for select human rights organizations. It distributes $6-7 million annually across 85+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Grantmaking foundation
• Animal advocacy funding
• Plant based nutrition
• Human rights grants
• Documentary film production

Headquarters

HQ city

West Hollywood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking: The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Private Grantmaking Foundation funded by Jim Greenbaum, its Managing Director. Jim Greenbaum sold Access Long Distance in 1999, growing his net worth to $133 million, which was transferred to the foundation where its investments create additional funds for distribution to charitable projects. Jim has committed to contributing in excess of 85% of his assets to charitable projects ending human and non-human suffering during his lifetime, with the remainder of his estate soon thereafter. Annual grant-making is currently in the $6-$7 million range.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Greenebaum Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private grantmaking foundation that distributes funding, guidance, and networking support to NGOs and grassroots advocates working to end human and non-human suffering, with a primary focus on animal advocacy, plant-based nutrition, and ending factory farming, and a residual portfolio of legacy human rights organizations. The Foundation operates selectively by invitation — it does not accept unsolicited proposals or solicit public donations — and supplements its grantmaking by executive-producing documentary films such as The Game Changers, Seaspiracy, Cowspiracy, What The Health, Slay, and Not My Life as advocacy media.

Product overview

The Greenebaum Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private grantmaking foundation that does not offer technology products or services. The foundation provides grant funding to organizations working in animal advocacy, plant-based nutrition, food system change, and human rights. The foundation's activities include documentary film funding (as Executive Producer), grantmaking to global grantees, and strategic philanthropy. Jim Greenbaum serves as Managing Director alongside Meghan O'Brien Lowery, with combined grants exceeding $70 million and annual grant-making in the $6-7 million range.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Animal Advocacy & Plant-Based Nutrition Grants Grantmaking, guidance, and networking support for nonprofit organizations working to move the world to whole foods, plant-based diets and to end factory farming, including awareness, protection, and improvement of animal lives.
• Legal Approach to Animal Advocacy Grants Funding for nonprofit organizations that pursue novel legal pathways to enforce existing animal welfare laws and advocate for animals through legal strategies.
• Medical Advocacy for Plant-Based Diets Grants Grants supporting medical and health-professional advocacy for plant-based nutrition, including awareness of nutrition's role in preventing and treating disease and plant-based nutrition education programs.
• Support Services for Animal Advocacy Charities Grants Funding for support-service organizations that build the capacity of the broader animal advocacy movement, including technology, design, and infrastructure providers serving animal protection nonprofits.
• Human Rights & Anti-Trafficking Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 85 countries reached through grantee organizations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Vegan HacktivistsminorOthersVegan Hacktivists designed the Greenbaum Foundation website. They are described as 'a global community of passionate animal advocates offering our skills in building technology for the animal protection movement through design, development, and data.'
• A.U.M. Films and MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJim Greenbaum, the Foundation's founder, is an Executive Producer of documentaries created through A.U.M. Films and Media. Documents funded/produced include 'What The Health,' 'Cowspiracy,' and 'Running For Good.' A.U.M.'s mission is to effectively represent a harmonious voice for all life on this planet through all forms of media.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• TONIIC: TONIIC is a global network of high-net-worth donors practicing impact investing and strategic philanthropy, including many who have signed 100% Giving Pledges. It is thematically comparable as an institutional vehicle for the kind of high-conviction, near-total-asset philanthropic commitment Jim Greenbaum has made.

Emerging players

• New Harvest: New Harvest is a research-focused nonprofit funding cellular agriculture and alternative proteins — directly aligned with Greenebaum's mission of ending factory farming through food system change. Smaller and more research-oriented, but a natural thematic peer.

Direct peers

• The Pollination Project: Provides small seed grants (typically $1,000) to grassroots changemakers globally — directly comparable to Greenebaum's portfolio of 65+ small grassroots grants. Similar EA-aligned, frontline grantmaking strategy with a global grassroots lens.
• VegFund: VegFund is a dedicated grantmaking organization funding vegan/plant-based outreach, advocacy, and education — directly overlapping Greenebaum's plant-based nutrition grantmaking portfolio. Smaller in scale but functionally the most analogous pure-play peer.
• Pollination Project: The Pollination Project provides small seed grants to grassroots changemakers globally — directly comparable to Greenebaum's portfolio of small grants to 65+ grassroots individuals and entities. Both foundations use EA-aligned, relationship-driven, frontline grantmaking strategies.
• A Well-Fed World: A Well-Fed World is a grantmaking intermediary that funds plant-based food system change and animal advocacy, operating with a comparable 'food system change' lens to Greenebaum. It is a grantee-adjacent peer operating in the same funding niche.
• Open Philanthropy: Open Philanthropy is one of the largest funders in effective animal welfare and global health, with a multi-hundred-million-dollar annual grant budget and an explicit Effective Altruism framework that mirrors Greenebaum's approach. It is the most direct comparable grantmaker in animal advocacy.
• The 11th Hour Project: A program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, the 11th Hour Project funds food systems transformation, animal welfare, and climate advocacy with a similarly entrepreneurial, high-conviction grantmaking style. Its food and agriculture portfolio overlaps directly with Greenebaum's plant-based and factory-farming focus.

Broad incumbents

• MacArthur Foundation: MacArthur Foundation is a large, established US-based private foundation with a 100% spend-down mandate, similar to Greenebaum's lifetime-deployment approach. While broader in scope, it shares key structural features: private, founder-led, and committed to deploying capital within a defined horizon.
• Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE): ACE is both a Greenebaum grantee and an established evaluator/research organization in the animal advocacy movement. While its primary function is research rather than grantmaking, its EA-aligned methodology and movement-building role make it a comparable institutional player.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-greenbaum-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Greenebaum Family Foundation