Friars Foundation: Celebrity Supporters

The Friars Foundation was established in 1977 as the charitable arm of the Friars Club.

With the decrease in government subsidy for the performing arts the Friars Foundation is more than ever aggressively seeking to carry out its mission to foster the arts for future generations. Over the past decade the Friars Foundation has been responsible for 360 Performing Arts scholarships. Many of these students are now employed on Broadway, Hollywood and wherever stages are being prepared for performances.

The Friars foundation is a publicly-supported foundation, whose function is to review and evaluate grant requests and to award grants in the name of the Friars. The Foundation is the conduit through which the Friars accomplish one of its major goals: The betterment of our society, particularly in the area of the performing arts. To achieve this objective, 75% of its grants are made for students’ scholarship in the Performing Arts and to small Performing Arts groups. The remaining 25% of its grants are made to organizations helping the less fortunate, including The Friars Foundation Wounded Warriors Program.

The Gift of Laughter Wounded Warriors Program provides uplifting entertainment to enhance and increase the wellbeing and positive attitude of troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. The troops, who are currently in military hospitals throughout the United States as well as those that are outpatients, are invited to attend many Friar events throughout the year some of which are produced specifically for them.