Foundation Annual Reports

COLUMBUS FOUNDATION
1234 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43205
(614) 251-4000
http://www.columbusfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support:

This community foundation was established in 1943; it makes both restricted and unrestricted grants to benefit residents of central Ohio. It administers approximately 900 component funds, and 68 new funds were created in 1997.

Twenty supporting organizations are also affiliated with the foundation, including the Columbus Youth Foundation and Community Foundations Inc., which serves geographic areas beyond central Ohio. Five new supporting organizations were created in 1997, among them the Central Benefits Health Care Foundation.

The Columbus Foundation distributed 3,500 grants totaling $32,928,123 in these program areas: social services, which received 33 per cent; education, 28 per cent; the arts and humanities, 18 per cent; health, 8 per cent; urban affairs, 7 per cent; and conservation, religion, and advancing philanthropy, 6 per cent.

The foundation committed 75 per cent of its discretionary grant dollars to working on long-term issues related to children, youths, families, and neighborhoods in Columbus and central Ohio. Specifically, discretionary grants emphasize these four strategies: insuring that all children enter school physically, emotionally, and developmentally prepared to learn; helping youths make a positive transition to adulthood; strengthening families; and revitalizing neighborhoods and community services.

Child-development grants included $20,000 to the Southside Learning and Development Center to refurbish a child-care center for disadvantaged and learning-impaired children.

Youth-related grants included $50,000 to Jobs for Columbus Graduates to help teen-agers make the transition from high school to productive jobs and careers.

Family-support and neighborhood-development grants included $15,000 to the Homeless Families Foundation for the Children’s Educational Center, and $35,000 to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission to develop an integrated transportation system for low-income people entering the work force.

Application procedure: The foundation welcomes grant requests from organizations in central Ohio that are classified as tax-exempt charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Potential applicants should call the foundation to obtain grant-application information and the “Information for Grant Applicants” publication. Supporting organizations maintain their own deadlines and grant-making procedures; contact the foundation for additional information.

Key officials: James I. Luck, president; Raymond J. Biddiscombe, vice-president for finance and administration; Ann Bryson, vice-president for program; Philip T. Schavone, vice-president for advancement; Jewell K. Garrison and Dona Lyn Watterson, senior program officers; Carol M. Harmon, public-relations director; Nancy Fisher, grants coordinator; John F. Wolfe, chairman of the Governing Committee.

ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION

630 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2550
New York 10111
(212) 649-1649
http://www.sloan.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support:

The foundation was created in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., former chief executive officer and chairman of the board of General Motors. It awards grants in four program areas: science and technology; standard of living and economic performance; education and careers in science and technology; and selected national and civic issues.

Through the Sloan Research Fellowships Program, 100 allocations of $35,000 each were made to scholars working in chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. Through the Sloan Dissertation Fellowships Program, awards totaling $1,350,000 were made to 50 doctoral candidates working in economics and mathematics.

The foundation also makes direct grants for research on computational molecular biology, molecular evolution, the history of science and technology, theoretical neurobiology, astrophysics, and limits to scientific knowledge. A possible new research area involves a “census of fishes” to explore the abundance and distribution of marine life worldwide.

Economics grants focused on improving the standard of living for Americans and boosting U.S. competitiveness through projects and research on the manufacturing and service industries, global industrial production, human resources and wages, the role of corporations and non-profit groups in society, government performance, higher-education institutions, and dual-career working families.

Allocations related to education and careers in science and technology emphasized educating and retaining women and minorities; improving public knowledge of science and technology; and making higher education available outside the classroom through asynchronous learning networks and other formats.

Recent grants made through the special-issues program have focused on the privatization of Social Security, the development of an AIDS vaccine, and illegal gun markets and juvenile violence.

Application procedure: The foundation has no deadlines or standard forms. A brief letter of inquiry, rather than a fully developed proposal, is advisable as a first step. Grants of $30,000 or less are made throughout the year by officers of the foundation. Grants of more than $30,000 are made by the board, which meets quarterly. Letters of application should be sent to the president or another officer of the foundation and should include details about the applicant, the proposed project, and the project’s expected cost and duration. In the case of new applicants, proof of the tax-exempt status of the organization that will administer the grant should be included unless it is a recognized higher-education institution. Additional information about the foundation’s programs is available on its Web site.

Key officials: Ralph E. Gomory, president; Stewart F. Campbell, financial vice-president and secretary; Hirsh G. Cohen, vice-president; Jesse H. Ausubel, Kathleen E. Christensen, Ted Greenwood, A. Frank Mayadas, Gail M. Pesyna, Michael S. Teitelbaum, and Doron Weber, program officers; Christopher T. Sia, controller; Harold T. Shapiro, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

CORPORATIONS

AT&T FOUNDATION
32 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor
New York 10013
(212) 387-4801
http://www.att.com/foundation

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support:

AT&T established the foundation as its principal philanthropic vehicle in 1984. In 1997, the foundation allocated grants to approximately 1,300 non-profit organizations in three program areas: education, which received 45 per cent of grant dollars; civic and community-service programs, 33 per cent; and arts and culture, 22 per cent.

Education-related grants focus on the innovative use of technology to enhance teaching and learning; allocations are made through the AT&T Learning Network and through invitational programs.

Civic and community-service programs emphasize access to health-care services for needy people; diversity and equal opportunities for women, minorities, and disabled people in society and the workplace; the environment; public policy and social and economic development; and community service and volunteerism. The foundation is particularly interested in programs that use technology to advance those objectives.

Arts and cultural grants are made for projects that assist in the creation or presentation of new artistic works, that bring the work of women and other minority artists to a wider audience, and that integrate new technologies to promote artistic innovation and increased access to the arts.

Application procedure: Funds are typically disbursed through invitational programs or by applications solicited from selected non-profit organizations. Even in the case of solicited proposals, the foundation is unable to accept many requests that appear to meet its guidelines and criteria, due to prior commitments and finite resources. If any organization understands the above policy and still wishes to apply, it should submit a brief letter of introduction and a description of the organization and proposed project. If the organization is based in the United States and is national in scope, application should be made to the AT&T Foundation; if the organization and its activities are local in scope, contact the regional AT&T office.

Key officials: Timothy J. McClimon, executive director; Marcy Chapin, vice-president-civic and community-service; Marilyn Reznick, vice-president-education; Suzanne Sato, vice-president-arts and culture; Hal W. Burlingame, chairman; Esther Silver-Parker, president.