Foundation Annual Reports

CLAUDE WORTHINGTON BENEDUM FOUNDATION

1400 Benedum-Trees Building
223 Fourth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
(412) 288-0360 or (800) 223-5948
http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/benedum

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2003.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1944 by Michael and Sarah Benedum, both natives of West Virginia. Mr. Benedum amassed a fortune in oil and gas, operating from Pittsburgh, where the couple established residence in 1907. The foundation is named after their only child, who died in 1918 at age 20.

In keeping with the wishes of its donors, the foundation’s grant making stresses support for West Virginia, which receives approximately two-thirds of total grant dollars each year, and for southwestern Pennsylvania, which receives the remaining one-third.

In West Virginia, the foundation allocates grants primarily to benefit poor residents who live in rural areas of the state. It emphasizes five program areas: education, health, human services, community development, and economic development.

The education program currently focuses on higher education, improved student learning, adequate preparation and professional development for teachers, and work-force development. For example, Jobs for West Virginia’s Graduates, in South Charleston, received a two-year, $186,000 award to assess the job-related skills of 10th graders in 22 schools and to provide them with pertinent career instruction and guidance.

Health-related grants favor efforts designed to make comprehensive, high-quality, affordable health-care services available to all West Virginians. The foundation currently stresses support for primary and preventive care for children, health-care services in rural areas, and adequate end-of-life care. Awards included $30,000 to the Team for West Virginia Children, in Huntington, to create statewide training and resources for doctors and medical students so that they can better help parents deal with issues that are common triggers of child abuse.

Human-services grants support programs that integrate health, education, and social services, with an emphasis on the well-being of disadvantaged children. Strategies include research, support for statewide groups that provide technical assistance to nonprofit groups, and innovative programs designed to meet the social-service needs of poor children and families.

Community-development grants highlight the need for low-cost housing, rural leadership development, and multipurpose community facilities. The foundation hopes that these factors will create an environment conducive to economic development that in turn preserves and expands businesses and jobs, with an eye toward balancing economic benefit and environmental responsibility.

The foundation’s grant making in southwestern Pennsylvania emphasizes underserved, rural communities; within that framework, it stresses support for economic development, education, and nonprofit groups in Fayette, Greene, and Washington Counties, predominantly rural areas that link the Pittsburgh area to West Virginia. The foundation encourages projects that “cross state lines so that resources and ideas originating in West Virginia or Pennsylvania may benefit both.” It also supports selected performing-arts institutions in Pittsburgh’s downtown cultural district.

The theme of the annual report is “affordable homeownership: West Virginia’s invisible problem,” and the report highlights such resources as the Southern Appalachian Labor School, in Kincaid, which focuses on rehabilitating existing homes as well as constructing new ones.

Application procedure: Before applying for a grant, prospective applicants should carefully review the foundation’s mission, principles, and philanthropic programs. Applicants should then make initial contact with the foundation by sending a preliminary proposal no longer than five pages that includes the following: a brief description of the organization; its address and contact information; a one-sentence summary of the project for which funds are sought; a clear, concise description of the project and its expected outcomes; total project costs, other sources of funds, and the specific amount requested from the foundation; a plan for the project’s continuance or self-sufficiency at the conclusion of the proposed grant; the project’s anticipated start date and duration; and a copy of the organization’s tax-exempt letter from the Internal Revenue Service. Preliminary proposals may be sent year-round and should not be sent via fax or e-mail. One copy should be sent to William P. Getty, President, at the address above.

Key officials: William P. Getty, president; Dwight M. Keating, vice president and chief investmentofficer; Beverly Railey Walter, vice president for programs; RoseA. McKee, foundation secretary and director of administration; Marcie G. Berry, treasurer; James V. Denova, senior program officer; Mary Hunt-Lieving, program officer; Margaret M. Martin, grants administrator; Paul G. Benedum Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees.

SAINT PAUL FOUNDATION

55 Fifth Street East, Suite 600
St. Paul, Minn. 55101
(651) 224-5463 or (800) 875-6167
http://www.saintpaulfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2003.

Purpose and areas of support: Established in 1940, this community foundation makes unrestricted, field-of-interest, designated, donor-advised, and scholarship grants to benefit residents of St. Paul and the adjacent East Metro area of Minnesota, which comprises Ramsey, Washington, and Dakota Counties. The foundation administers approximately 750 constituent funds.

In 2003 the foundation completed the fifth year of a 10-year strategic plan for grant making created by a community advisory committee that identified increasing regional inequities in economic development, education, and housing. When the plan was adopted in 1998, the foundation made a commitment to allocate at least 50 percent of its unrestricted grant dollars to the plan’s four goals: creating an antiracist community, spurring economic development throughout the East Metro area, building strong families that provide for the healthy development of children and youths, and guaranteeing high-quality educational opportunities for all area residents.

For example, the foundation allocated grants totaling nearly $200,000 to groups working to combat racism in their communities. Awards included $15,000 to the African Assistance Program, in St. Paul, for workshops to help African immigrants to the region understand their workplace rights and advocate better working conditions.

Other grants included $100,000 to the Como Zoo and Conservancy Society, in St. Paul, for its capital campaign, and $200,000 to the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, also in St. Paul, for the Achievement Plus Partnership for Community Schools program.

To help counter the region’s dearth of safe, affordable housing, the foundation made a $2.5-million loan to the City of St. Paul to provide short-term, low-interest loans to projects to expand low-cost housing.

The foundation continued its support for the Words Work initiative, which combines a classroom program and specialized teacher training with culturally appropriate home visits to help parents and other adults prepare young children to read. This six-year initiative is a collaborative project of the foundation, the Minnesota Literacy Council, and Ramsey Action Programs Head Start.

The foundation awarded grants totaling approximately $600,000 to 1,365 needy individuals and families through its Community Sharing Fund, which provides one-time grants for car repairs, rent payments, and other emergency needs.

In October 2003, Carleen K. Rhodes, who had served as president of the Minnesota Children’s Museum, in St. Paul, became the foundation’s president. She succeeded Paul A. Verret, who had announced his retirement earlier that year after leading the foundation since 1975.

Application procedure: Potential applicants are encouraged to review the foundation’s grant guidelines, application form, and narrative guidelines prior to submitting a letter of inquiry or proposal. Those materials can be obtained by calling the foundation at (651) 224-5463 or (800) 875-6167, and are also available on its Web site.

Key officials: Carleen K. Rhodes, president; John G. Couchman, vice president, grants and program; Marcia E. Murray, vice president, executive office; Jack H. Pohl, vice president of finance; Diane K. Smith, vice president of operations and administration; Jean Vukas Roberts, director of gift planning; Sally J. Seiberlich, director of donor relations; Claire J. Chang, director of program planning and special initiatives; Lisa D. Winkler, director of marketing and communications; Carrie Jo Short and Jo-Anne E. Stately, senior program officers; Joseph A. Garman, grants manager; Paul A. Verret, president emeritus; Phyllis A. Rawls Goff, chair of the Board of Directors.

SKOLL FOUNDATION

250 University Avenue, Suite 250
Palo Alto, Calif. 94301
(650) 331-1031
http://www.skollfoundation.org

Period covered: Two years ending June 30, 2004.

Purpose and areas of support: Jeffrey S. Skoll, the first full-time employee and first president of eBay, created the foundation in 1999. It encompasses two entities: the Skoll Fund, a public charity and supporting organization of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, and the Skoll Foundation, a private foundation established in 2002 that manages the grant making and operations of both entities.

The foundation awards the majority of its grants through three programs: the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, the Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley, and the Skoll Social Sector Program.

The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship support organizations that are “led by social entrepreneurs who are advancing innovative approaches to addressing social issues in communities around the world.” Recipients included the GlobalGiving Foundation, in Bethesda, Md., which garnered a $1-million grant for its work, which uses the Internet to help donors contribute to grass-roots projects worldwide.

During its 2004 fiscal year, the foundation made the inaugural round of grants through its Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley program, which supports exemplary nonprofit groups seeking to meet the region’s most pressing needs, including affordable housing, improved transportation systems, and jobs that pay decent wages.

Allocations included $125,000 to Businesses United in Investing, Lending and Development, in Menlo Park, for its work to link underprivileged youths in East Palo Alto and the eastern section of Menlo Park with the financial and intellectual resources of Silicon Valley companies.

Through the Skoll Social Sector Program, the foundation seeks to collaborate with partners worldwide to strengthen the effectiveness of philanthropy and the social sector. For example, the World Affairs Council of Northern California, in San Francisco, received $75,000 for its Global Philanthropy Forum.

The foundation also makes “special opportunity” and other grants, which included $65,000 to the San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum for general support and $50,000 to the Grameen Foundation USA, in Washington, for a microcredit program in Pakistan.

The foundation also awarded a $1,679,943 grant to Oregon Public Broadcasting, in Portland, to produce The New Heroes, a four-part television documentary that profiles 12 individuals who are working to achieve long-lasting social change.

Application procedure: Application information, including deadlines and detailed guidelines, is available on the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Sally Osberg, president and chief executive officer; Barbara Kibbe, vice president, program and effectiveness; Sandy Herz, vice president, marketing and communications; Pamela Lawrence, program coordinator; Richard Fahey, controller; Christy Chin and Ruth Norris, senior program officers; Terry Nagel, communications officer; Cristina Yoon, grants administrator; Jeffrey S. Skoll, founder and chairman.