March 18, 2012 | Read Time: 2 minutes
What it supports: Arts and culture, children and youth, the environment, and health
New grant making: Officials from the Chicago branch of the Prince Charitable Trusts decided last year to devote a portion of its social-services budget to help the families of military service members returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new effort grew out of a conversation between nonprofits in the Chicago metropolitan area and the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, who spoke to the city’s nonprofit leaders about ways that nonprofits could meet the needs of military families and returning veterans.
“As a smaller family foundation, it’s not like we have the resources to launch a big new initiative to address their needs,” said Catherine Carabetta, a program officer at the trusts, a trio of family funds whose 2011 assets together totaled $123.4-million. “Instead, we asked how could we better incorporate that work into what we’re already doing.”
How it works: The foundation has collaborated with some of its grantees, adjusting programs to meet the needs of military families. It also gave money to the nonprofit Zero to Three to conduct a study of what services are already available to military families with young children and find out where gaps might exist, so the foundation and other nonprofits can develop suitable programs. The Erikson Institute also got a grant from the Prince trusts to tailor its mental-health program for the needs of military families, especially children affected by their parents’ deployment. Nonprofits that work with the Chicago arm of the Veterans Administration to arrange housing for homeless veterans also got support from the Prince Charitable Trusts.
Total commitment: The foundation has directed $100,000 of its social-services budget (which totals about $550,000) toward efforts to aid military families.
Outlook for 2012: The Prince Charitable Trusts, which awarded $5.5-million in 2011, expects its giving to decrease this year. The foundation says it wants to be conservative in its commitments in case the economy worsens.
