The Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to improve the world through mentoring

Mentoring

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....

, by fostering and overseeing mentorship

Mentorship

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....

s. The organization links mentors with protégés worldwide, and fosters and oversees those relationships. Specifically, the Foundation focuses on “a select few protégés from across the globe who face adversity in realizing their true potential", providing them with "leaders in their discipline, meaningful stipends, leadership training, and exclusive introductions to the very decision-makers who can open doors for them worldwide.”

The Foundation has garnered famous supporters, many of whom credit mentoring with making a difference in their lives , including Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

, Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper

Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...

, Paolo Coelho, Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones

Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

, and LeRoy Neiman

LeRoy Neiman

LeRoy Neiman is an American artist known for his brilliantly colored, pseudo-expressionist paintings and screen prints of athletes and sporting events.- Early years :...

.

The Maybach Foundation receives funding from multiple sources, including the Maybach Family. The Foundation seeks most of its funding from donors and corporate partnerships from around the globe, including Daimler AG, the Maybach

Maybach

Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...

 brand, and Silverstein Properties.

History

In honor of his great-grandfather and grandfather, Maybach heir Ulrich Schmid-Maybach

Ulrich Schmid-Maybach

Ulrich Schmid-Maybach is a philanthropist, real estate developer, and entrepreneur. He is the great-grandson and grandson of Wilhelm and Karl Maybach, respectively. When Daimler AG re-launched the Maybach brand of ultra-luxury automobiles, Schmid-Maybach was named brand ambassador...

 formed the Wilhelm and Karl Maybach Foundation. Wilhelm Maybach

Wilhelm Maybach

Wilhelm Maybach was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of constructors"....

, an orphan, was mentored by Gottlieb Daimler

Gottlieb Daimler

Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf , in what is now Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development...

, a design teacher who saw talent in Maybach. That mentor/protégé pair went on to become two of the greatest names in automotive history. Later, Wilhelm working with his son Karl, would similarly make history with their design, invention and engineering achievements.

Current projects

The Foundation marks each mentorship with a specific project that falls within a sector of interest. The four general sectors of interest for the Foundation are science and research; art, design and architecture; community and ethics; and business and technology.

World Trade Center Documentary Arts Project

Photographers document the rebuilding of the World Trade Center

World Trade Center

The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

. Sector: art (photography) Protégés: Marika Asatiani, Tbilisi, Georgia; Benjamin Jarosch, Chicago, Illinois; Vicky Roy, India; Nicole Tung, Hong Kong Mentor: Joe Woolhead

Post-Apartheid Role Model Project

A talented individual from an adverse background is given training in his field, as well as training in leadership skills. Sector: Community and Ethics Protégé: Sbu Duma of South Africa Mentors: Various renowned polo players from around the globe.

Africa Health Sciences Pilot Project

Doctors in Africa are given training and education, as well as competitive salaries, to encourage them to stay in Uganda fighting AIDS.
Sector: Science and Research. Protégé: Dr. Muzoora Conrad of South Africa. Mentor: Dr. David Bangsberg, who also serves on Accordia Global Health Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board.