Foundation Annual Reports

ROBERT STERLING CLARK FOUNDATION
135 East 64th Street
New York, N.Y. 10021
(212) 288-8900
http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/rsclark

Period covered: Year ending October 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was incorporated in 1952 by Robert Sterling Clark (1877-1956), an art collector and an heir to the Singer sewing-machine fortune.

In 2002, the foundation appropriated grants totaling $5,299,144 among its three program areas: reproductive rights and health, which received 27 grants totaling $2,165,000; public institutions in New York, 33 grants totaling $1,-550,000; and cultural institutions, 39 grants totaling $1,527,000. The foundation also awarded miscellaneous grants totaling $57,144.

In the area of reproductive rights and health, the foundation supports national and regional groups working to implement laws, policies, and practices that protect women’s access to comprehensive reproductive-health information and services. Grants included $80,000 to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Educational Fund, in Washington, to strengthen its affiliates nationwide.

The foundation’s program to improve the performance and accountability of public institutions in New York City and State emphasizes efforts to assist disadvantaged children and adults. Grant making stresses support for children in foster care, mentally ill individuals, nursing-home residents, people receiving welfare, and victims of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. Awards included $30,000 to Statewide Youth Advocacy, in Albany, to publish and disseminate an overview of childhood poverty in the state and to educate policy makers and others about the importance of essential services for needy children.

The foundation’s third program area focuses on strengthening the management of arts and cultural institutions in New York City and on protecting artistic freedom and spurring public support for the arts nationwide. Grants to New York institutions emphasize organizational-development projects involving earned income, effective marketing, increased giving by individuals, board development, strategic planning, and similar activities. For example, the Chekhov Theatre Ensemble, in Brooklyn, received $25,000 to produce a promotional DVD and videotape.

Application procedure: Proposals should be addressed to Margaret C. Ayers and should include a description of the planned project, a budget, expected outcomes, plans for evaluation, the background of project participants, and a statement of plans for future support. Applicants should also provide information on the organization’s past, current, and projected budgets; audited financial statements; tax-exempt status; board members; and past accomplishments. The main body of the application should not exceed 15 pages; a one-page summary is also required. The Board of Directors meets in January, April, July, and October, and proposals are received and reviewed year-round.

Key officials: Margaret C. Ayers, executive director; Darcy Hector and Laura Wolff, program officers; Winthrop R. Munyan, president of the Board of Directors.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONFOR SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN
333 West Fort Street, Suite 2010
Detroit, Mich. 48226-3134
(313) 961-6675
http://www.cfsem.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: Created in 1984, this community foundation benefits residents of southeastern Michigan’s Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties. The foundation comprises more than 630 funds, through which it makes discretionary, donor-advised, and other types of grants.

In 2002, the foundation allocated 1,946 grants totaling more than $19-million. Grant making emphasizes support for the arts and culture, civic affairs, community development, education, health, and human services.

Awards included $60,000 to the University of Detroit Mercy for a smoking prevention and cessation program, and $122,445 to the African American Legacy Program, in Detroit, to increase awareness of charitable-giving options among black individuals, organizations, and legal and financial advisers.

In 2001, the foundation began the GreenWays Initiative, a five-year effort to involve residents and organizations in projects throughout the seven-county region that work toward the preservation of natural habitats, waterways, and other open spaces. Allocations included $95,000 to the City of Southfield to purchase a 16-acre parcel of land along the Rouge River Green Corridor.

In September 2002, the foundation initiated the $3-million Great Outdoors program, which will develop and test strategies for using outdoor activities to enrich the lives of children in Detroit and elsewhere in the region.

The foundation administers two affiliated foundations, the Chelsea Community Foundation and the Community Foundation for Livingston County, and manages four supporting foundations.

In June 2003, Eugene A. Miller replaced Joseph L. Hudson Jr. as chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Hudson had served in that position for 19 years.

Application procedure: The foundation accepts grant requests from organizations serving southeastern Michigan that are tax-exempt, public charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Grant guidelines are available on request and inquiries and applications are welcome at any time. The foundation does encourage applicants to call and speak with a program officer about proposed projects and programs and about any special grant-making programs or opportunities in particular fields of interest. Trustees make all grant decisions at meetings held quarterly. The foundation generally does not award grants to individuals or for buildings and equipment, general operating support, sectarian religious programs, fund-raising campaigns, conferences and annual meetings, projects or travel outside its designated seven-county region, or computers and computer systems. Additional information on grant-making programs and deadlines is available on the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Mariam C. Noland, president; Robin D. Ferriby, vice president, donor relations; Karen L. Leppanen, vice president, finance and administration; Mark E. Neithercut, vice president, program; Kim-Lan Trinh, senior program officer; Katie G. Brisson, Clarita Mays, and Anne S. Weekley, program officers; Ronald E. Whiteside, grants manager; Thomas M. Woiwode, director, GreenWays Initiative; Mary Solomon Smyka, communications director; Eugene A. Miller, chairman, Board of Trustees.

KORET FOUNDATION

33 New Montgomery Street
Suite 1090
San Francisco, Calif. 94105-4526
(415) 882-7740
http://www.koretfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established by Joseph and Stephanie Koret, founders of Koret of California, a sportswear-manufacturing company. In 1966, the company became part of Koracorp Industries, which merged with Levi Strauss & Company in 1979. Although the couple created the foundation in the 1960s, it began actively making grants only in 1979, with an influx of funds from the estate of Mrs. Koret, who died in 1978. Mr. Koret served as president and board chairman until his death in 1982.

The Korets were longtime San Francisco residents and Jewish immigrants who had been born in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. The foundation supports projects in the San Francisco Bay Area related to the arts and culture, community development, higher education, Jewish life and culture, primary and secondary education, and youth development. It also supports projects in Israel related to economic development, higher education, and security.

The foundation approved grants totaling $5,904,294 through its community-development program, the most allotted to any program area. Allocations included $1.5-million over five years to the Jewish Home for the Aged, in San Francisco, for its $50-million capital and endowment campaign.

Higher-education grants support scholarships, innovative teaching and research, and Jewish-studies programs at Bay Area colleges and universities. Awards included $500,000 to the Stanford University Libraries, in Palo Alto, to help acquire the Samson/Copenhagen Hebraica Library.

Arts and culture grants support major arts groups and arts-education programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. For example, a two-year, $1-million award went to the Asian Art Museum Foundation of San Francisco for its department of Korean art.

In addition to its regular grant making, the foundation administers several Koret Initiatives, which are designed to “test hypotheses and develop prototypes for new programs and policies.” Current efforts in the Bay Area include the Koret Education Initiative, which supports public-policy groups that promote education reform and programs that involve charter schools, “school choice,” and improved education, standards, and incentives for teachers.

Initiatives in Israel include the Koret Israel Economic Development Funds, which help create and bolster small businesses that would otherwise have had difficulty securing bank financing on reasonable terms.

The Koret Jewish Book Awards were established in 1998 in conjunction with the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. The program annually awards $10,000 prizes to Jewish authors writing in four categories: biography, autobiography, and literary studies; fiction; history; and philosophy and thought.

Application procedure: Potential applicants should first submit a letter of inquiry of no more than three pages that briefly describes the following: the objectives of the proposed project and how the organization will accomplish them; the need or problem being addressed; the population and geographic areas to be served; the applicant organization’s experience and expertise related to the program; and the amount sought from the foundation and the time period over which the grant money would be spent. This letter of inquiry should be accompanied by evidence of the organization’s tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, its operating budget for the current fiscal year, and a proposed program budget. A cover sheet, available on the foundation’s Web site, should accompany the materials, which should be sent to the Director of Grants at the address above. If the foundation determines that a project meets its guidelines, it will request additional information.

Key officials: Tad Taube, president; Sandra J. Edwards, director of grants; Claudia J. Hardin, director of finance and administration; Sheila Baumgarten, Debra England, and Nancy Shillis, program officers; Meredith Alexander Kunz, director of communications; Susan Koret, chairman of the Board of Directors.