How The CAA Foundation Is Making Change At The Speed (and Scale) Of Pop Culture

Natalie Tran, the Executive Director of the CAA Foundation | THE CAA FOUNDATION

The Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the major Hollywood talent agency, created with the pointed mission of leveraging the power and reach of high-profile individuals (like their clients Harry Styles and George Clooney to name a few), to bring about positive systemic change. 

Natalie Tran, the Executive Director of the CAA Foundation (whose own inspiring story you can read about here in Forbes), sat down with me and offered a glimpse into the Foundation's evolution and its commitment to leveraging popular culture for sustainable social change.

Established in 1995, the CAA Foundation pioneered the concept of a philanthropic arm within a Hollywood agency. “Over time, the reach of the CAA Foundation has grown, servicing our clients on their philanthropic and social impact activities and leading several CAA-founded and led initiatives. I joined the team as an assistant and have spent the last 16 years working to support our clients, colleagues, and community,” Tran reflected.

Tran elaborated on the Foundation's core mission, emphasizing its unique approach to utilizing CAA's vast resources, influence, and celebrity connections to effect positive change. “Our mission is to activate popular culture to create sustainable social change,” she explained. What that means in practice is that every day, each person on the team thinks about how they can use CAA’s extensive resources, convening power, and access to celebrities and key decision-makers to make the world a better, more equitable place. 

The Foundation sits uniquely at the intersection of popular culture and impact. “Although there are many important causes, we focus our efforts on Public Education, Civic Engagement, Climate Change, and Crisis Response,” Tran underscored. Additionally, the CAA Foundation works closely with its clients to support them in their social impact journey, enabling it to work across a wide range of issues, including but not limited to gun safety, public health, LGBTQIA+ rights, and mental health.

When asked about the Foundation's superpower in driving change, Tran highlighted its ability to convene and connect disparate elements of the entertainment industry and activist movements to accelerate equitable opportunity for all. “CAA is in the human connection business, and we mirror the agency’s belief that collaboration is key. When working on an issue, we believe in coalition building and finding partners who are willing to work together,” she remarked.

Providing insights into the Foundation's program design principles, Tran emphasized the importance of analyzing issues thoroughly to identify the most effective solutions. “Our company’s ethos is when we take care of each other, good things happen. Our work is that in action. We strive to have the greatest impact in the shortest amount of time possible. First, we analyze the issue, considering the situation, environment, and timing, to identify what is needed and who or how best to solve it. Sometimes the best role we can play in times of crisis is to serve as a platform for other leaders or non-profits,” Tran noted. 

“Other times, our role is to be a matchmaker, connecting our clients or potential funders to a cause or organization, or bringing like-minded collaborators together. And now and then we see an opportunity for us to scale a solution as a leader – that’s when we come in and use our network to build public-private partnerships,” she added.

Discussing signature initiatives like "I am a Voter" and the Civic Alliance, Tran showcased the Foundation's innovative campaigns aimed at promoting civic engagement. From partnering with major brands to leveraging celebrity influence, these initiatives have catalyzed significant social impact, reaching millions of individuals nationwide. 

I am a voter | THE CAA FOUNDATION

Cofounded in 2018, “I am a Voter”, is a nonpartisan campaign that aims to create a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement by engaging brands and talent. Since its launch, the campaign has generated over 4 billion social media impressions, activated hundreds of brand partners, and helped get out the vote in every state. The CAA Foundation secured the NFL and the NBA as partners to get teams and their fans registered to vote. There was also a national partnership with retailer H&M, turning all 500+ stores into voter registration centers.  

Civic Alliance Times Square Takeover | THE CAA FOUNDATION

The Civic Alliance, cofounded by the CAA Foundation and Democracy Works, was created to redefine and cultivate corporate civic participation. It has grown to a robust community of 1,350 member companies reaching nearly 6 million employees. 98% of CAA Foundation’s member companies offered their employees time off to vote, ensuring that millions of Americans will feel supported by their employers when they cast their ballots. Member companies, such as Microsoft, Uber, and PayPal, are also taking unprecedented steps by providing election toolkits, town hall events, and election reminders for their employees. The Civic Alliance also partnered with Lyft to help launch its ‘LyftUp’ Voting Access Program to provide discounted rides on Election Day in every state. 

On the topic of climate change, Tran highlighted the Foundation's efforts to amplify climate storytelling and promote diverse narratives within the entertainment industry. “CAA Foundation supported and helped create the Good Energy Playbook for screenwriters, an open-source digital guide to portraying climate change on-screen, including story inspiration, cheat sheets, character profiles, solutions, and projections into the future,” she explained. 

The Climate Storytelling Fellowship is sponsored by the CAA Foundation, The Black List, NRDC, and the Redford Center to encourage more varied climate stories that reflect the reality of the climate crisis, depict solutions, and imagine a just and equitable future. Each year, three screenwriters are chosen to receive the award and are paired with a leading screenwriter to mentor them in their work.  

The Foundation co-sponsors the Hollywood Climate Summit, an annual call to action of the entertainment and media community to address the climate emergency. “The summit collaborates with grassroots leaders to elevate climate consciousness within entertainment professionals and focuses on subjects that are underrepresented in climate-crisis conservations, such as racial justice and showcasing positive climate behavior in TV and film. CAA clients that have participated include Quinta Brunson, Jane Fonda, and Stephanie Hsu,” Tran reflected. 

Tran also shared poignant examples of collaboration with celebrity clients like Harry Styles and George Clooney, emphasizing the power of partnerships in driving meaningful change. “Following several tragic shootings, we connected artist and client Harry Styles with Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in America, to bring them to every U.S. city on his Love On Tour. More than 30,000 people responded to the call to action within hours of announcing Harry’s partnership with Everytown,” she highlighted. 

The Foundation also helped launch a partnership between Styles and Headcount, a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to promote participation in democracy, to register nearly 55,000 new voters, breaking the organization's record for highest registration.

George Clooney at the Roybal Film and Television Magnet School Kickoff | THE CAA FOUNDATION

George Clooney, along with CAA and the Los Angeles Unified School District launched the Roybal Film and Television Magnet School to diversify the sets of major film and TV productions. Roybal trains students for careers in art direction, costume design, hair and makeup, editing, visual effects, animation, camera, lighting, and sound. The curriculum is informed by an industry council of award-winning professionals and also created a first-of-its-kind partnership with IATSE to ensure that the training and work experience needed to join the union could be provided to students. “The Roybal model will help diversify production sets, building a pipeline of college and career-ready individuals that will better reflect the country’s demographics. Advisory Board Members include Eva Longoria, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, and Mindy Kaling,” Tran noted.

In closing, Tran extended an invitation to potential partners in change, urging them to join forces with the Foundation in its mission to create a better, more equitable world. “We are optimistic about the future, and our efforts are stronger when we work together,” she concluded, encapsulating the Foundation's ethos of collective impact.