When I suggested to Caucus Chair Jerry Isenberg that the Caucus create a Foundation, Jerry, a professor at the USC Film School, decided to conceive it as a program for student film grants.

Jerry realized the difficulty many students have in completing their thesis films -- oft times they’ve maxed out their credit cards and still don’t have enough money for postproduction or finishing. He proposed that the grants be aimed at helping students complete their films. Therefore the Caucus Foundation student grant program does not provide funds to commit films to production.

From that inception in 2001 to the end of 2007, we have given sixty-nine deserving students grants and awards in the amount $520,000. We have an astonishing number of excellent filmmakers who have received benefits from our program.

Another goal of the program is to counteract the lack of diversity in content and creative people in the entertainment industry. Accordingly a significant number of our recipients are from diverse backgrounds and 57% are women.

In addition to providing financial resources the Foundation designed the Mentoring Program where our Caucus members, who are all producers, writers and directors, work with the students on their films and on their hopes and dreams of becoming members of the entertainment industry.

The Foundation is funded by several grants from worthy organizations. Foundation Treasurer Bob Finkel announced. “Microsoft/UltimateTV has granted $50,000, to be paid out in grants of $5,000 per year over ten years; the Caucus itself has granted $37,500, to be paid out at the rate of $3,750 per year over ten years; Hollywood Charities Foundation -- $25,000, to be paid out at the rate of $5,000 over five years; The Carole & Robert Daly Foundation has granted $25,000, to be paid out at the rate of $5,000 per year; and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association granted us $10,00 for the year 2006.” The Caucus is always anxious to have additional grants created on behalf of the students.

The American Video Group through John Berzner established the Goldey Award of $10,000 per year in in-kind services. Gold Circle Awards (in-kind) are presented by Ric Halpern of Panavision (a $30,000 camera package) and Jim Hardy of HTV/illuminate (A $10,000 post production package).

Another method of funding is the annual Caucus Awards Dinner at which outstanding creative executives producers, writers and directors are honored. Over the past years we’ve honored Ted Harbert, Ted Turner, Aaron Spelling, Lionel Chetwynd, Tom Fontana, Marshall Herskovitz and Anne Sweeney among others.

At the December 2007 Awards Dinner co-chaired by Foundation Secretary Lee Miller, we presented our fourth annual Gold Circle Outstanding Student Film Award. The winner was chosen from the Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 grant recipients who completed their films. A jury of Foundation board members narrowed the nominees. And, for the first time, the two winning films were streamed on The Caucus Foundation website. (Winning films are announced on the home page.)

Entertainment Night with its Texas Hold’Em Poker tournament, casino games, live auction and great dinner has proved to be a success. In 2007 we initiated Awards for Educating New Filmmakers conferred on Elizabeth Daly, Dean of the USC School of Cinema and for Mentoring New Filmmakers to John Langley, Executive Producer of COPS. Proceeds from last August’s event provided an additional source of funding for the sole purpose of awarding completion grants for student filmmakers.

I’m personally delighted to have had the opportunity to lead the Foundation over the past years. And all of us at the Caucus Foundation are proud of our Foundation work and hope to be able to expand the scope of the grants over the coming years.


Chuck Fries combined service to the Caucus as Chairman, Co-Chairman, and Secretary exceeds three decades. Currently, he is President of the Caucus Foundation, Executive Secretary of The Caucus and also serves as a member on the Board of the American Film Institute, The ATAS Foundation and Paulist Productions. Under the Chuck Fries Productions banner, his productivity as a television movie maker is legendary.