1980s: The Walter Kaitz Foundation was established in 1980 to promote diversity within the cable industry in honor of Walter Kaitz, a prominent leader of the California Cable Television Association (CCTA).
Financial contributions made in honor of Walter, who died in 1979, provided the basis for the Foundation. In 1981, the Foundation became the first of its kind in the media industry – a non-profit organization devoted to providing recruitment opportunities for people of color in the cable industry.
Throughout the decade, the Foundation established and awarded year-long fellowship programs for professionals seeking to advance into executive positions in the cable industry. Walter Kaitz Foundation Fellows worked across a range of corporate departments, including legal, financial and operations, as they gained invaluable experience at senior-level cable industry positions.
1990s: In the 1990s, the Kaitz Foundation expanded from its fellowship program to a focus on permanent career placement that included professional development and networking opportunities. More than 65 percent of Kaitz Fellows and alumni in the mid-1990s held Vice President or Director titles, or held managerial positions.
As more companies within the cable industry began to strengthen their internal diversity recruitment efforts, the role of the Kaitz Foundation shifted to better support the growing diversity initiatives. The Fellowship Program was discontinued in 2001, with the Foundation’s focus changing to encompass supplier diversity, a broad grants-giving program and a community outreach program.
2000s: In 2004, the Foundation relocated from California to Washington, D.C., where it began to focus its grant distribution to The Emma L. Bowen Foundation, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT). These three organizations focus primarily on internships, leadership development and mentoring for multi-ethnic professionals and women in the cable industry. Additionally, in 2004, the Foundation launched an industry-wide supplier diversity initiative and increased its outreach to community organizations.
Today, the Walter Kaitz Foundation operates as the official diversity arm of the cable television industry. Each year, the Foundation awards grants of more than $1 million to support initiatives and programs promoting diversity.
One enduring aspect of the organization is the annual Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner, which started in 1984 at the Empire Room at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Since then, the Annual Fundraising Dinner has become the centerpiece of what is now known as “Diversity Week,” a series of cable industry events held annually in New York City.
About Walter Kaitz
A Russian immigrant who settled in Boston, Walter Kaitz lived and appreciated the promise of the American dream – that everyone deserved a chance to succeed.
Kaitz earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University through a scholarship for newspaper carriers. After serving for seven years in the U.S. Army, he worked his way through law school at the University of California by selling shoes when he wasn’t studying.
From there he went on to work in the California State Legislature and then the CCTA, holding fast to his strong belief that everyone should be given the opportunity to prosper in the nation’s democracy. As one of the most respected leaders of the CCTA, Walter Kaitz understood that in order to thrive, the cable industry needed to cultivate management teams reflecting an increasingly diverse U.S. population.
Walter Kaitz died in 1979 before his dream of full inclusion was fully realized, but his vision for an industry that embraced diversity continues to influence later generations of leaders, and remains central to the mission of the Foundation that bears his name.
