Foundation Annual Reports

JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MacARTHUR FOUNDATION
140 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Ill. 60603
(312) 726-8000
http://www.macfound.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2001.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was endowed in 1978 by John D. MacArthur, who owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company and other businesses, as well as substantial real-estate holdings in Florida and New York. His wife, Catherine, held positions in many of the family’s companies and served on the foundation board until her death in 1981.

For the past three years, the foundation has chosen to make larger grants to fewer organizations. Between 1999 and 2001, the number of grants to organizations declined 38 percent while the average grant size increased 70 percent, to $370,000.

In 2001, the foundation received 6,694 grant requests and made 757 grants, 565 of which went to organizations and 192 to individuals. Sixty-two percent of grants went to U.S. organizations, and 38 percent to foreign organizations.

The foundation has increased its support for strengthening scientific research and education in Russia, and has phased out several programs, including fellowships in economics and efforts related to philanthropy in Mexico, regional security in Latin America, Cuba, work-force development, and drug policy.

Current grant making encompasses four program areas: the program on global security and sustainability, which awarded $109,522,168 in 2001; the program on human and community development, $52,536,300; the general program, $26,654,331; and the MacArthur Fellows program, $11,695,578. The foundation also made program-related investments totaling $21,050,000, as well as special grants totaling $5,155,000 in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The program on global security and sustainability focuses on international peace and security, conservation and sustainable development, population and reproductive health, human rights, and new governance arrangements that address the economic consequences of globalization. The foundation also makes some grants under this program in Russia and Nigeria, with a focus on projects that emphasize the role of universities and scholarship in resolving social problems. For example, the Center for Policy Studies in Russia, in Moscow, was awarded $600,000 over three years for education and training programs on reducing nuclear threats. Also under this program, the Amazon Conservation Association, in Washington, received $450,000 for a research and training program on the conservation of freshwater ecosystems in the tropical Andes.

The program on human and community development focuses on neighborhood development, regional policy, public education, early education and care, juvenile justice, mental-health policy, and other selected topics relevant to the foundation’s program interests. Allocations included $500,000 over two years to the Northwestern University School of Law, in Chicago, to restructure the clinical-information system of the Cook County Juvenile Court.

The general program makes some grants each year for projects that advance the broad purposes of the foundation but do not fall within other program categories. Grants support public-interest media projects, including independent documentary film, and a changing set of special interests, which currently include gun-violence prevention, communications policy, and intellectual property and the public domain. Grants for gun-violence protection are scheduled to be phased out, beginning in 2003.

In 2001, the New School University, in New York, received $131,000 under the general program to establish a research agenda on the implications of the multiple-race option introduced in the 2000 census. Also under this program, the foundation allocated nearly $2.5-million in 2001 to match gifts made by foundation board and staff members. The foundation typically makes one or two large, institutional grants annually under the general program.

The MacArthur Fellows Program — commonly called the “genius awards” — provides fellowships to exceptionally creative individuals working in the arts, nonprofit advocacy, education, science, and other fields. Typically 25 to 30 new fellows are selected each year for the awards, which provide “no strings attached” stipends of $500,000 over five years. Nominators serve anonymously, and the foundation does not accept applications or letters of inquiry regarding the fellowships.

Grants made subsequent to the September 11 attacks included $500,000 to WGBH Educational Foundation, in Boston, for 10 new episodes of the documentary series Frontline, including one that examined anti-American sentiment in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Also under this program, the foundation awarded $250,000 to the Century Foundation, in Washington, to establish a task force to issue recommendations related to the new Office on Homeland Security.

To facilitate its international grant making, the foundation operates offices in Brazil, India, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia.

Application procedure: Grant seekers should send a one-page summary and a two- to three-page letter of inquiry, mailed to the Office of Grants Management or e-mailed to LOI@macfound.org. Visit the foundation’s Web site for its most recent grant-making guidelines.

Key officials: Jonathan F. Fanton, president; Julia M. Stasch, vice president, human and community development; Mitchel B. Wallerstein, vice president, global security and sustainability; Lyn Hutton, vice president and chief financial officer; William E. Lowry, vice president, human resources and administration; Raymond C. Boyer, associate vice president, communications; John Hurley, associate vice president and director, planning and analysis; Richard J. Kaplan, assistant vice president for institutional research and grants management; Debra D. Schwartz, director, program-related investments; Woodward A. Wickham, senior adviser.

Program directors: Carmen L. Barroso (population and reproductive health), Kennette M. Benedict (international peace and security, and senior adviser in philanthropy), Laurie R. Garduque and Susan E. Lloyd (human and community development), Mary R. Page (global challenges), Elspeth A. Revere (general program), R. Michael Wright (conservation and sustainable development), John W. Slocum and Tatiana Zhdanova (Inititative in the Russian Federation and Post-Soviet States), and Daniel J. Socolow (MacArthur Fellows).

CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION

503 South Saginaw Street, Suite 1200
Flint, Mich. 48502-1851
(810) 238-5651
http://www.mott.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2001.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1926 by Charles Stewart Mott (1875-1973), an industrialist affiliated with General Motors and a three-term mayor of Flint, Mich. Over time the foundation’s grant making has expanded from its initial focus on Flint and the rest of the United States to include international projects, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and South Africa.

In 2001 the foundation authorized grants totaling $129,745,474 in six programs: pathways out of poverty, which received $55,152,281, or 42.5 percent of grant dollars; civil society, $31,423,168, or 24.2 percent; environment, $21,184,082, or 16.3 percent; Flint area, $17,700,421, or 13.7 percent; exploratory and special projects, $2,695,500, or 2.1 percent; and employee and trustee matching grants and trustee-initiated grants, $1,590,022, or 1.2 percent.

The “pathways out of poverty program” seeks to identify, test, and sustain positive methods for helping low-income people and communities move from poverty to self-sufficiency. For example, People Acting for Community Together, in Miami, received $400,000 over three years to improve student achievement in Florida public schools with large numbers of low-performing students. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles received $100,000 to develop the capacity of local organizations to address issues confronting day laborers and other low-wage workers.

Civil-society grants support nonprofit-sector development, improved race and ethnic relations, and civic rights and responsibilities, with primary geographic focus on the United States, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, and South Africa. Awards included $175,000 to the People in Need Foundation, in Prague, to strengthen nongovernmental groups in Kosovo. Human Rights Watch, in New York, received $50,000 to monitor implementation of a peace agreement in Macedonia.

Environmental grants promote the conservation of freshwater ecosystems in North America, the reform of international finance and trade practices, and greater public participation in decision-making processes that affect the environment. The foundation made its largest grant ever under this program in 2001, when it awarded $3,975,000 to the Conservation Fund, in Arlington, Va., to establish and administer a revolving-loan fund that supports the conservation of coastal and freshwater sites in the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes Basin.

Flint-area grants included $658,150 to the Community Foundation of Flint, for employment, recreation, and community-service programs for young people.

Application procedure: The foundation does not have an official application form. Letters of inquiry, with a brief description of the project and the range of financial support needed, are acceptable for initial contact. Specific guidelines and grant-summary booklets with information about each foundation program can be obtained by writing to the foundation or visiting its Web site.

Key officials: William S. White, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the Board of Trustees; Phillip H. Peters, vice president for the administrative group, secretary, and treasurer; Jimmy L. Krause, director of grants administration and assistant treasurer; Marilyn Stein LeFeber, vice president for communications; Robert E. Swaney Jr., vice president, investments, and chief investment officer; Maureen H. Smyth, vice president for programs; Richard K. Rappeleye, vice president for field services.

Program directors: Raymond P. Murphy, civil society; Lois R. DeBacker, environment; Karen B. Aldridge-Eason, Flint area; Kevin F. Walker, pathways out of poverty.

NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST

2 Park Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10016
(212) 686-0010
http://www.nycommunitytrust.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2001.

Purpose and areas of support: Created in 1924, this community foundation primarily makes grants to benefit residents of New York City’s five boroughs. It includes two suburban divisions, the Westchester Community Foundation and the Long Island Community Foundation, which administer the trust’s programs in those areas. It administers more than 1,500 charitable funds created by individuals, families, and businesses.

In 2001 the trust allocated grants in the following program areas: education, arts, and the humanities, which received 48 percent of total grant dollars; community development and the environment, 18 percent; children, youth, and families, 16 percent; health and people with special needs, 16 percent; and special projects, 2 percent. Fifty percent of the foundation’s assets is in the form of unrestricted money, with 38 percent held in donor-advised funds, and 12 percent in nonadvised funds.

The trust and the United Way of New York City established the September 11th Fund to help meet the needs of victims, their families, and communities affected by the terrorist attacks. The trust was charged with disbursing direct cash assistance to victims totaling $75-million, which was transferred to it from the September 11th Fund in December 2001. The trust had disbursed the entire amount by January 28, 2002.

Grants in 2001 for education, arts, and the humanities focused on arts and culture; historic preservation; human justice, including legal services for low-income people; and public education. For example, the Jewish Museum, in New York, received $40,000 to hire a marketing company to help increase its visibility, attendance, and membership.

Community-development and environment grants emphasized civic affairs; conservation and the environment; economic development; and technical assistance to nonprofit groups. Awards included $25,000 to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition, in New York, to broaden public support and increase civic involvement in the planning and governance of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Grants for children, youth, and families focused on girls and young women; hunger and homelessness; social services and welfare; substance abuse; and youth development. One grant recipient, Asian-American Consulting Services, in New York, was awarded $60,000 to provide emergency-assistance and job-placement services to refugee families.

Grants for health and people with special needs emphasized HIV/AIDS; biomedical research; blindness and visual disabilities; children and youths with disabilities; the elderly; health services, systems, and policy; mental health and mental retardation; and special projects. Awards under this program included $54,000 to the American-Italian Cancer Foundation, in New York, to add five new prostate-cancer screening sites to its program, with a focus on reaching low-income black men.

Application procedure: The trust makes grants primarily to nonprofit organizations in the five boroughs of New York City. Recent grants newsletters are available on the trust’s Web site. Detailed guidelines for grant applicants for each program are also available on the trust’s Web site or by mail from the trust. Proposals sent by fax or e-mail are not accepted.

Key officials: Lorie A. Slutsky, president; Joyce M. Bove, vice president for grants and special projects; Mercedes M. Leon, vice president for administration; Kathryn Conroy, chief financial officer; Mary Greenebaum, chief investment officer; Robert V. Edgar, director of donor relations; Suzy D. Sonenberg, executive of the Long Island Community Foundation; Catherine Marsh, executive of the Westchester Community Foundation; Anne P. Sidamon-Eristoff, chairman of the Distribution Committee.

Program contacts: Patricia Jenny, program director for community development and the environment; Len McNally, program director for health and people with special needs; Jane R. Stern, program director for education, arts, and the humanities; Patricia A. White, senior program officer for children, youth, and families.