Wahl Foundation

The Wahl Foundation is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for projects that serve education, underprivileged communities and innovative projects. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of The Wahl Group, a consultancy firm owned by speaker, author, graffiti artist Erik Wahl and his wife, Tasha Wahl. The foundation is based in San Diego, but funds projects in the United States and internationally.
Grant Activities
In 2015, the Wahl Foundation created the UNthink My School grant in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals to reward innovative thinking in elementary schools. One winning school will receive $20,000; ten others will receive grants of $2,000 each.
Impact
Since its inception in 2005 the Foundation has
:
*Raised more than $2 million for schools and 501 (c) 3 organizations
*Become one of the founding partners of the Shilce Secondary School in Nairobi, Kenya, serving underprivileged youth and providing much-needed community jobs
*Created more than 1,300 original paintings to raise money for charities.
*Granted donations in 14 countries and counting
*Provided more than 300 micro-grants to deserving organizations through the Butterfly Effect
History
In 2005 Erik and Tasha Wahl, passionate about integrating the arts into education, founded The Wahl Foundation. The foundation funds and cooperates with scholarships and schools that transform the classroom and school environment to incorporate artistic concepts and creative expression into the learning process.
One of the primary sources of fund-raising is through Erik Wahl's art, which is no longer available for sale though ordinary gallery channels or by commission. This “disruptive strategy” of creating more of a demand means that his paintings work harder by leveraging more donor dollars for charity. For example, an original portrait of Steve Jobs was auctioned off for $27,500 to benefit the X Prize Foundation; similar events have raised more than $1.5 million to date.
Independently, Tasha Wahl created The Butterfly Effect, a way of making small changes in our communities to spark a philanthropy movement. The Butterfly Effect is partnered with the American Cancer Society to drop 5,000 butterflies at each Relay For Life in 2016. This will help raise awareness for ACS, as well as give the relay teams the opportunity to use art as a personal way to bring positive change to the world. Her work has been featured in publications including the San Diego Union Tribune.

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