Foundation Annual Reports

LYNDE AND HARRY BRADLEY FOUNDATION

1241 North Franklin Place
Milwaukee, Wis. 53203-2901
(414) 291-9915
http://www.bradleyfdn.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: This private foundation was endowed in 1985 using proceeds from the sale of the Milwaukee-based Allen-Bradley Company to Rockwell International Corporation. The brothers Lynde and Harry Bradley had established the company, an industrial-automation business, in 1903.

The foundation currently emphasizes projects “that focus on cultivating a renewed, healthier, and more vigorous sense of citizenship among the American people, and among the peoples of other nations.”

Broadly stated, the foundation supports projects that address civil society, culture, economics, and politics as they relate to citizenship in the United States or abroad. Projects may involve demonstration models or research and writing intended for academic, policy, or popular audiences. The foundation does not usually support civics-education programs or activities that are strictly focused on elections and voting.

Within this framework, projects and organizations supported by the foundation tend to share the following characteristics: they stress that individuals should be treated as personally responsible citizens, as opposed to victims or clients; they “aim to restore the intellectual and cultural legitimacy of citizenly common sense, the received wisdom of experience, everyday morality, and personal character”; they seek to revitalize the role of churches, families, neighborhoods, and schools in inculcating morality, character, and civic responsibility; and they encourage the decentralization of “power and accountability” from centralized, bureaucratic, and national institutions.

In 2002, the foundation allocated grants totaling $25,146,793. Awards included $175,000 to the Eurasian Cultural Fund, in Washington, to support nascent civil-society groups in Russia, and $20,000 to the Heartland Institute, in Chicago, to publish its monthly School Reform News.

Numerous public-policy groups and think tanks received grants for general operating support, including the following Washington-based organizations: the Capital Research Center, the Center for Individual Rights, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, the Heritage Foundation, the Institute of World Politics, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, and the Women’s Freedom Network.

Various higher-education institutions, including the University of Chicago and Harvard University, received funds for graduate and postgraduate fellowships and for programs in line with the foundation’s mission.

The foundation also makes some grants in Milwaukee and elsewhere in Wisconsin that emphasize cultural and educational opportunities, grass-roots economic development, and health and social services. Whenever possible, these regional projects also reflect the foundation’s broader focus on citizenship. Awards included $15,000 to Urban Anthropology, in Milwaukee, to produce a documentary on Polish residents of Milwaukee.

The foundation also supports programs that study the needs of “gifted” children, as well as techniques for how to best educate students with superior skills, intelligence, or both. For example, the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth, in Madison, received $140,000 for general operating support.

Application procedure: Potential applicants should first submit a brief letter of inquiry describing their organization and the intended project. If the foundation determines the proposed project to be within its current program interests, the applicant will be invited to submit a formal proposal. Letters of inquiry should be sent to the Grant Program at the address above.

Key officials: Michael W. Grebe, president and chief executive officer; Daniel P. Schmidt, vice president for program; Cynthia K. Friauf, vice president for finance; R. Michael Lempke, vice president for investments; Dianne J. Sehler, director of academic, international, and cultural programs; Kelly Patrick Ambrose, director of community programs; Michael E. Hartmann, director of research and evaluation; Alicia L. Manning, director of new citizenship programs; Terry L. Famer, director of administration; Thomas L. Rhodes, chairman of the Board of Directors.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SILICON VALLEY

60 South Market Street, Suite 1000
San Jose, Calif. 95113(
408) 278-2200
http://www.cfsv.org

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 2002.

Net realized &unrealized losseson investments – 97.1 – 67.9

Management &general expenses 7.6 7.3

Program services& grant expenses 51.9 77.1

Purpose and areas of support: This community foundation was created in 1954 with an initial gift of $55,000. It now comprises more than 600 funds.

During its fiscal year 2002, the foundation awarded grants totaling approximately $77-million to support charitable groups and public schools in its service area, which encompasses California’s Santa Clara and southern San Mateo Counties.

The Community Impact Grants program is the foundation’s main discretionary grant program. Under its auspices, the foundation awarded grants in five areas: the arts and cultural participation, education and lifelong learning, the innovative application of technology, neighborhoods and civic engagement, and self-reliant individuals and families.

The foundation made arts-related grants through its Community Impact Grants program and its Arts Build Communities-Art Attacks Grants program. Awards made through the latter program support projects in Gilroy, Milpitas, and the Mayfair neighborhood of East San Jose.

The program on education and lifelong learning focuses on enhancing early-childhood education and literacy, improving the mathematics and science skills of students in kindergarten through 12th grade, expanding literacy education for non-English speakers and other special populations, and offering adult education that emphasizes job training and personal or professional development.

The program on the innovative application of technology is the foundation’s newest focus area for competitive grant making. Grants stress efforts to develop a more diverse technology work force, to increase low-income residents’ access to technology, and to improve the technological ability of nonprofit groups to offer services.

The foundation makes discretionary grants for neighborhood and civic-engagement activities through its Community Impact Grants program, its Neighborhood Grants program, and its Youth in Philanthropy program.

Grants to bolster self-reliance among individuals and families are made through the Community Impact Grants program and the Responsible Fatherhood + Male Involvement Initiative. For example, $15,750 went to Urban Ministry of Palo Alto to expand and streamline services for homeless people.

The foundation also houses several supporting foundations, including the eBay Foundation, the Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation.

Application procedure: The foundation accepts letters of intent year-round for its Community Impact Grants program. Applicant organizations must be nonprofit groups or public schools that are located in or provide services in the Silicon Valley region. Additional grant-making guidelines, descriptions of program areas, and application materials are available on the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Peter Hero, president; Leo Chavez, executive vice president; Nancy K. Ragey, senior adviser to the president; Jeff Sunshine, director of programs; Ellen Ammerman, director of finance; Karen DeMers, director of administration; Barb Larson, director of donor services; Michelle McGurk, director of communications; Florence Korbus, executive assistant, development and marketing and donor services; Kathleen Gwynn, president and chief executive officer, Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation; Sally Osberg, president and chief executive officer, Skoll Foundation; Irene Wong, executive director and chief executive officer, eBay Foundation; Debra Engel, chair of the Board of Directors.

ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION

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

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., who at that time was president and chief executive officer of the General Motors Corporation.

The fund’s grant making currently focuses on four programs: science and technology, standard of living and economic performance, education and careers in science and technology, and selected national issues and civic affairs.

The fund awarded fellowships totaling $4,160,000 — $40,000 each over two years — to 104 scholars at 53 institutions. The scholars were nominated by department heads or other senior scientists familiar with their work in chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, or physics.

The foundation also allocates direct grants for research in areas it deems to be of scientific significance but are without major government or other funders. Those areas currently include astrophysics, computational molecular biology, “limits to knowledge,” marine science, molecular evolution, and theoretical neurobiology.

The program on standard of living and economic performance is divided into five main areas: business organizations, higher education as an industry, industry studies, performance assessments of municipal governments, and studies of the workplace, work force, and working families.

Grants related to education and careers in science and technology focus on educating and retaining women and underrepresented minorities; increasing the number of American Indians, blacks, and Latinos who earn doctorates in engineering, mathematics, and the natural sciences; expanding online and other approaches to learning outside the classroom; and enhancing the public’s understanding of science and technology issues through books, the Internet, radio, television, and other means.

Application procedure: The foundation has no deadlines or standard application forms. It generally makes grants to organizations that are classified as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicants are advised to send a brief letter of inquiry, rather than a fully developed proposal, as a first step. Grants of $45,000 or less are made throughout the year by officers of the foundation, whereas grants of more than $45,000 are made by the board, which meets quarterly. Additional information about the foundation’s program and grant-making guidelines is available on its Web site.

Key officials: Ralph E. Gomory, president; Stewart F. Campbell, financial vice president and secretary; William B. Petersen, vice president and chief investment officer; Christopher T. Sia, controller and chief technology officer; Harold T. Shapiro, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Jesse H. Ausubel, Kathleen E. Christensen, Ted Greenwood, A. Frank Mayadas, Paula J. Olsiewski, Gail M. Pesyna, Michael S. Teitelbaum, and Doron Weber.