Annette Bening Named New Chair of Entertainment Community Fund Board (Exclusive)

Katie Kilkenny
·3 min read

The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly called The Actors Fund, has a new board chair: Annette Bening.

The board for the Fund, one of Hollywood’s leading charitable nonprofits, announced that the American Beauty and 20th Century Women actor would be succeeding longtime chair Brian Stokes Mitchell at its annual meeting on Wednesday evening. Helmed by Mitchell since 2004, the board institutes policies for services provided by the Fund including emergency financial grants, affordable housing options and support groups, among other offerings, for workers in the performing arts and entertainment industries.

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Bening has served on the board since 2010; she was elevated to vice chair in 2016. In 2010 Bening was awarded the Fund’s Medal of Honor, spotlighting individuals who “enrich” the entertainment community, for her work helping to lead a campaign that raised $10M for the Fund during the Great Recession. Bening also steered the Hollywood Arts Collective Campaign Committee, which helped to oversee the development of the Fund’s latest affordable housing structure and community arts center, which is set to open later this year.

“After over 10 years as a Trustee, I’m so proud to begin this new chapter with the Entertainment Community Fund as the next Board Chair; I’ve always said that the Fund doesn’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk,” Bening said in a statement. “I’m continually in awe of the Fund and the magnitude of work done to provide compassionate, understanding and prompt support for the entertainment industry.”

Mitchell will remain involved with the Fund by stepping in as a trustee and chair of a new group at the nonprofit, the Leadership Council. The Council, which will include board members, recipients of the Fund’s Medal of Honor and volunteers, will “advance the organization’s work in communities across the country,” according to the Fund.

In a statement, Mitchell said, “It’s been an honor to serve my peers as we navigate a life in the arts doing what we love — even when doing what we love comes with challenges and uncertainty.” He added, “I know the Board and the Fund are in excellent hands.”

Mitchell led the Fund’s board during several key moments over the last 19 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted significant unemployment and financial hardship in the entertainment industry starting in 2020, many turned to the nonprofit for services. The Fund has reported serving more than 60,000 people in 2020 and 2021 alone. Between March 2020 and the present day, its emergency financial assistance has amounted to more than $30 million, disbursed to more than 20,000 people.

And in 2008, responding to the ’07-’08 writers’ strike, the end of which coincided with the Great Recession, the Fund offered more than $1.6 million in financial assistance to those affected by the work stoppage. The Milken Institute has estimated that that strike, which lasted 100 days, cost the state of California alone $2.1 billion.

The Fund has again become a resource during the current writers’ strike, which has significantly slowed production in the industry just a few years after the COVID-19 pandemic did the same. While the Fund declined to share current numbers about the aid it has provided during the labor action, in late May it announced receiving millions in donations to support non-WGA members and providing emergency financial aid to hundreds so far. On Thursday, crew union IATSE announced that it was donating $2 million to the Entertainment Community Fund and two other charitable organizations, earmarking the funds for members of its own organization that are in need during the strike.

In her new role, Bening will oversee the board at a significant moment for the Fund, amid efforts to provide services to those affected by the Writers Guild of America strike and as the Hollywood Arts Collective opens its doors later this year.

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