IRIS & B GERALD CANTOR FOUNDATION

What IRIS & B GERALD CANTOR FOUNDATION does

The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is a private nonprofit philanthropic foundation established in 1978 by Iris Cantor (1931–2026) and B. Gerald Cantor (1916–1996), headquartered in New York and operating through a small professional staff. The foundation channels endowment funds into two principal program areas: (i) medicine and healthcare, with an explicit emphasis on women's health research, clinical care, breast imaging, and integrative medicine; and (ii) the arts, with an explicit focus on stewardship, scholarship, and public exhibition of the work of Auguste Rodin. Core outputs are not commercial products but rather grants, endowed facilities, named auditoria and plazas, traveling sculpture exhibitions, and donations of artwork to museum collections. The foundation does not generate commercial revenue and discloses no pricing, licensing, or fee structure; it sustains itself through endowment principal and gifts from the Cantor family.

Within medicine, the foundation underwrites named facilities and research funding at major academic medical centers, including the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center at UCLA (operating since 1995 and celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025, with a pilot-grants program that has supported 70 investigators and catalyzed over $50M in downstream funding) and the 30,000-square-foot Iris Cantor Building at the University of Arizona's Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (opened April 2024). In June 2025, the foundation announced the Iris Cantor Women's Initiative for Scientific Health (WISH) endowment, formalizing its women's health grantmaking beyond UCLA.

Within the arts, the foundation operated one of the world's largest private Rodin collections (historically ~750 pieces, of which approximately 450 have been donated to museums). Operational "products" include the traveling Rodin exhibition program (which has reached more than 10 million visitors since the late 1970s and continues to tour institutions across North America and internationally), foundation publications including the award-winning 1981 film "Rodin: The Gates of Hell," and an expanding portfolio of named cultural spaces: the Cantor Sculpture Garden at LACMA, the Cantor Arts Center and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Commons at Stanford, the Iris Cantor Plaza and 66 Rodin sculptures at the Brooklyn Museum, the Cantor Art Gallery and Spirit of Eternal Repose at the College of the Holy Cross, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden Commission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Hall Iris et B. Gerald Cantor at the Musée Rodin in Paris (2015). Distribution is via direct institutional partnerships and museum loans rather than digital platforms; the foundation launched its first social media presence (Instagram, @cantorfoundation) only in May 2025.

Name

IRIS & B GERALD CANTOR FOUNDATION

Legal name

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Website

https://cantorfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, founded in 1978, is a private nonprofit philanthropic foundation that grants funds, names facilities, donates artwork, and organizes traveling exhibitions in two areas: women's health research and medicine, and the public exhibition of Auguste Rodin sculpture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation (Arts and Healthcare Grantmaking)

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Women's health funding
• Arts philanthropy
• Art collection donations
• Nonprofit foundation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment and Philanthropy: The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization that awards grants for programs, facilities, and endowments at distinguished medical, educational, and cultural institutions in the United States and internationally. The foundation does not generate commercial revenue but functions through its endowment to support medicine and the arts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation that awards grants for programs, facilities, and endowments to distinguished medical, educational, and cultural institutions in the United States and abroad. It concentrates on two areas: biomedical research and healthcare with an emphasis on women's health, and the visual arts with a particular focus on preserving, exhibiting, and advancing scholarship of the works of Auguste Rodin through its collection of approximately 750 pieces, traveling exhibitions, publications, and named museum spaces.

Product overview

The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is a philanthropy organization that provides grants for programs, facilities, and endowments in two principal areas: medicine/healthcare and the arts. In the arts, the foundation's core focus is preserving and sharing the works of Auguste Rodin through traveling exhibitions, publications, and educational programs. The foundation supports Rodin sculpture collections at major museums including LACMA, Stanford, Brooklyn Museum, and the College of the Holy Cross. In healthcare, the foundation funds women's health centers and research facilities, including the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center at UCLA and the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. The foundation also supports educational spaces such as the Iris Cantor Theatre at NYU Tisch and various named plazas and gardens at partner institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rodin Traveling Exhibitions Organized and loaned touring exhibitions of Auguste Rodin sculptures and related materials presented at museums across North America and internationally, including titles such as 'Rodin: Contemplation and Dreams' and 'Rodin: The Human Experience'. Targeted at museums and the general public.
• Rodin Publications and DVDs Scholarly and educational publications including the 'Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession' catalog, educational brochures on Rodin's life and technique, and the award-winning DVD 'Rodin: The Gates of Hell' documenting the lost-wax casting process. Targeted at scholars, students, and the general public.
• Iris Cantor Women's Health Centers (UCLA) Named women's health facility at UCLA including the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center and Iris Cantor Breast Imaging Center, providing clinical care and a pilot research grants program in women's health. Targeted at UCLA and the broader biomedical research community.
• Iris Cantor Theatre at NYU Tisch Professional-level proscenium theater within NYU's John A. Paulson Center, supporting Tisch School of the Arts students and performances. Targeted at NYU Tisch students, faculty, and the broader New York performing arts community.
• Iris Cantor Building at University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine Three-story, 30,000 square foot teaching and research facility at the University of Arizona's Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine supporting integrative medicine education and whole-person wellness research. Targeted at University of Arizona faculty, students, and patients.
• Iris Cantor Plaza at Brooklyn Museum Outdoor public plaza at the Brooklyn Museum with new landscaping, native plants, wildflowers, and integrated seating, serving as a community gateway to the museum. Targeted at Brooklyn Museum visitors and the surrounding community.
• Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden at LACMA Sculpture garden at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art featuring forty Rodin works gifted by the foundation, expanded to nearly double the size of the previous garden. Targeted at LACMA visitors and the Los Angeles community.
• Cantor Art Gallery at College of the Holy Cross University art gallery at the College of the Holy Cross housing twelve Rodin works gifted by Iris Cantor, including the sculpture 'Le génie du repos éternel' (Spirit of Eternal Repose). Targeted at Holy Cross students and visitors.
• Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Commons at Stanford Outdoor commons space at Stanford University complementing the B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden and the Cantor Arts Center, housing one of the largest collections of Rodin in the world from Cantor Foundation gifts. Targeted at Stanford students, faculty, and visitors.
• Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden Commission at the Met Annual series of contemporary art commissions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's rooftop garden, named in honor of the Cantors and sponsored by the foundation. Targeted at Met visitors and the contemporary art community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Traveling exhibitions have reached more than 10 million people
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Forty Rodin works gifted for the Cantor Sculpture Garden at LACMA's new building. The garden will be nearly double the size of the former one. The Cantors' relationship with LACMA began in 1974 with the donation of 52 Rodin sculptures.
• University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Iris Cantor provided a gift for the Iris Cantor Building at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. The three-story, 30,000 square foot facility opened in April 2024 and embodies whole-person wellness principles.
• Fubon Art Museum, TaipeiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Most of the Rodin works in the True Nature: Rodin and the Age of Impressionism exhibition at the Fubon Art Museum were gifted from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor collection. This is LACMA's only Asia stop on the exhibition tour.
• NYU Tisch School of the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Iris Cantor provided a gift for the construction of the Iris Cantor Theatre, located within the John A. Paulson Center on Houston Street. The theater is NYU's first professional-level proscenium theater dedicated to Tisch School of the Arts.
• Brooklyn MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The foundation gifted the Brooklyn Museum 66 Auguste Rodin sculptures and drawings, supported the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, and funded the new Iris Cantor Plaza opened in October 2023. Anne Pasternak, Director, noted Iris Cantor's decades-long commitment and generosity.
• College of the Holy CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Iris Cantor gifted the Rodin sculpture Spirit of Eternal Repose to the College, joining 11 other gifted Rodin works at the Cantor Art Gallery. The sculpture now stands in front of the performing arts center.
• The Metropolitan Museum of ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The foundation made possible Van Gogh's Cypresses exhibition (May-August 2023), which featured 40 paintings, drawings, and prints and attracted over 600 guests at the opening. The foundation also sponsors the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden Commission.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Stanford introduced the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Commons in November 2019, complementing the B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden and the Cantor Arts Center. Stanford has one of the largest collections of Rodin in the world from Cantor Foundation gifts.
• Musée Rodin, PariscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015The Hall Iris et B. Gerald Cantor was named in the main gallery at the newly renovated Musée Rodin in 2015. B. Gerald Cantor formed a friendship with former director Cécile Goldscheider. The foundation's contributions to Rodin's legacy are featured in the museum's chronological display.
• UCLAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995The foundation established the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center at UCLA, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025. The center includes the Iris Cantor Breast Imaging Center. The foundation also funds pilot research grants through the Executive Advisory Board that have supported 70 UCLA investigators and led to over $50 million in subsequent research funding.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Kresge Foundation: Major U.S. private foundation with arts & culture and health program areas; comparable structure of multi-institution grantmaking in cultural infrastructure and community health.
• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: Largest U.S. private foundation dedicated to arts, culture, and higher education — directly comparable mission area (museums, scholarship, cultural philanthropy) at materially larger scale.
• Ford Foundation: One of the largest U.S. private foundations with arts/culture and global development grantmaking — relevant at scale for benchmarking endowment size and program breadth, though much larger and more diversified.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Largest U.S. health-focused private foundation; comparable women's and population health grantmaking emphasis even though the Cantor Foundation is much smaller.
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Large U.S. private foundation funding performing arts, education, and other areas — comparable dual focus on arts and research/education grantmaking at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• The Starr Foundation: Private family foundation supporting cultural institutions, education, and health with named endowments at top universities — comparable family-founded grantmaker with similar named-program pattern.
• Wildenstein Plattner Institute: Nonprofit supporting art historical research and provenance — analogous niche art-history and collection-based philanthropy operating across museums and academic institutions.
• Leon Levy Foundation: Private foundation funding cultural institutions, scholarly research, and archaeological/arts preservation — closely analogous arts & culture philanthropy model with similar scale.
• Dedalus Foundation: Private foundation supporting a specific artist's (Robert Motherwell) legacy through scholarship and museum partnerships — structural parallel to Cantor's single-artist philanthropic model.
• Samuel H. Kress Foundation: Art-focused private foundation that donates European and especially Italian art collections to U.S. museums — closest analog to Cantor's model of gifting a single-artist collection (Rodin) to a network of partner museums.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cantorfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iris-&-b-gerald-cantor-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IRIS & B GERALD CANTOR FOUNDATION