Foundation Annual Reports

DUKE ENDOWMENT
100 North Tryon Street, Suite 3500
Charlotte, N.C. 28202-4012
(704) 376-0291
http://www.dukeendowment.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The endowment was established in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke, a North Carolina industrialist who, along with his brother Benjamin Newton Duke, amassed a fortune based primarily on tobacco and electric power.

In the endowment’s indenture, Mr. Duke enumerated the specific institutions and individuals he wanted its grant making to support. Under those guidelines, the endowment makes grants to nonprofit hospitals and health-care organizations in North and South Carolina; nonprofit children’s homes and groups in those states; United Methodist churches and related organizations in rural North Carolina; retired ministers who served at least five years with the United Methodist Church in North Carolina, and their surviving dependents; and to Davidson College, Duke University, Furman University, and Johnson C. Smith University. Trustees may also make grants to selected organizations carrying out charitable work similar to that of the above-named beneficiaries.

In 2000 the endowment awarded grants totaling $99,226,727 as follows: programs in higher education received $43,031,777, or 43 percent of the total; health care, $33,851,198, or 34 percent; endowmentwide programs, $8,583,683, or 9 percent; child care, $6,942,286, or 7 percent; and rural churches, $6,817,783, or 7 percent.

Approximately $32.4-million went to Duke University, in Durham, N.C., which was known as Trinity College before it was renamed after the two Duke brothers in 1924. Of that amount, the endowment awarded $9.2-million each for undergraduate financial aid and for the Perkins Library.

Health-care grants emphasized increased access to health-care services, early intervention and illness prevention, chronic disease and long-term illness, and strengthening nonprofit hospitals and related health institutions. For example, $191,749 went to WakeMed, in Raleigh, N.C., to initiate a pediatric asthma program in Wake County. The endowment also reimbursed eligible hospitals with one dollar for each day of care they provided to indigent patients.

Child-care grants focused on general operating support, collaborative programs, family preservation, organizational effectiveness, and training and education. Allocations included $157,000 to Carolina Children’s Home, in Columbia, S.C., to establish a crisis-intervention and respite program.

Endowmentwide grants included a $4-million grant to the Duke Endowment Fund for Flood Relief, in Charlotte, N.C., for damages resulting from Hurricane Floyd, which devastated parts of the region in September 1999.

Application procedure: Applicants who believe they are eligible under the endowment’s guidelines may send a letter to the attention of the president describing the proposed project. The endowment will refer eligible requests to the appropriate program officer, who may request a full proposal, including a project description, budget, list of board members, and other pertinent information.

Key officials: Elizabeth H. Locke, president and director of the education division; Eugene W. Cochrane Jr., vice president and director of the health-care division; Stephanie S. Lynch, chief investment officer; Rhett N. Mabry, director of the child-care division; W. Joseph Mann, director of the rural-church division; David H. Roberson, director of communications; Janice C. Walker, chief financial officer and treasurer; Russell M. Robinson II, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

Route 1 and College Road East
P.O. Box 2316
Princeton, N.J. 08543-2316
(609) 452-8701
http://www.rwjf.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1936 and became national in scope in 1972. It supports programs to improve health and health care in the United States.

In 2000 the foundation made 723 grants and awarded 98 contracts totaling almost $400-million to achieve the following goals: $124.7-million, or 31 percent of grant dollars, went to “other” health or health-care programs, which included the foundation’s work-force training projects and grants consistent with its overall goals; $90.8-million, or 23 percent, went to programs that seek to ensure that all Americans have access to basic health care at a reasonable cost; $84.8-million, or 21 percent, went to projects that improve services for people with chronic health conditions; $83.4-million, or 21 percent, went to programs that promote health and reduce the health, social, and economic problems associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs; and $15.9-million, or 4 percent, went for general philanthropy, primarily for relevant projects in the New Brunswick, N.J., area, where the foundation began operations.

In 1999, the foundation reorganized its existing programs into two main categories — health and health care — and this year marked the first time the foundation utilized the new structure.

Grants in the health category seek to reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol and illegal drug use; to understand how social isolation contributes to poor health and to strengthen support systems; to increase physical activity among Americans and promote healthful behavior as part of routine medical care; to promote leadership and develop tools to find population-based approaches to improving health; and to decrease the number of people who use tobacco.

For example, the foundation allocated $52-million over three years to SmokeLess States: National Tobacco Policy Initiative, a foundation-administered program that makes grants available to coalitions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to seek policy changes to deter tobacco use and decrease its social acceptability.

Also in this category was a $250,000 grant to KidsPeace, in Orefield, Pa., for TeenCentral, an interactive Web site that helps isolated adolescents get advice and help for health-related problems.

In the health-care category, grants seek to improve care for people with chronic diseases; to increase the number of Americans with health insurance; to ensure that more Americans receive high-quality palliative care at the end of life; to improve public and private policymaking in the field of health care by increasing the timeliness, accuracy, and relevance of information; to encourage access to health care by underserved populations; and to prepare for increased demand in the future for supportive services.

For instance, the foundation approved a $26-million award for communications activities related to its Covering Kids program, an effort to increase the participation of eligible children in health-insurance plans.

The foundation also contributed $2.75-million toward the production of On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying, a four-part documentary, broadcast on PBS, that examined end-of-life issues.

Application procedure: The foundation awards grants in two ways: through competitive national programs, in which it issues a call for proposals or invitational announcements, and through awards made in response to unsolicited projects that address the foundation’s goals and interest areas. Applicants for unsolicited projects should submit a preliminary letter of inquiry of five pages or less on the institution’s letterhead. Proposal letters should be sent by mail or fax to the director of the office of proposal management, or by e-mail to proposals@rwjf.org. The foundation’s Web site provides additional, up-to-date information about its grant making.

Key officials: Steven A. Schroeder, president and chief executive officer; Lewis G. Sandy, executive vice president; Ruby P. Hearn, senior vice president; Calvin C. Bland, interim group director for health care; J. Michael McGinnis, senior vice president and group director for health; Frank Karel, vice president for communications; Richard J. Toth, director of office of proposal management; James R. Knickman, vice president for evaluation and research; J. Warren Wood III, vice president, general counsel, and secretary; Peter Goodwin, vice president and treasurer; Robert G. Hughes, Paul S. Jellinek, Nancy J. Kaufman, and Doriane C. Miller, vice presidents; John D. Gilliam, chief investment officer; Robert E. Campbell, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

DEWITT WALLACE-READER’S DIGEST FUND

2 Park Avenue, 23rd Floor
New York, N.Y. 10016
(212) 251-9700
http://www.wallacefunds.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

LILA WALLACE-READER’S DIGEST FUND
2 Park Avenue, 23rd Floor
New York, N.Y. 10016
(212) 251-9700
http://www.wallacefunds.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The funds were established in 1987 by a merger of four smaller foundations created in the 1950’s and 60’s by the founders of Reader’s Digest magazine, DeWitt Wallace and his wife, Lila Acheson Wallace.

Although they remain legally separate entities, the two funds merged in 2000 and now operate as a single grant-making unit under the name Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds. Their grant making is national in scope and supports projects in the United States only.

In 2000 the funds awarded $70,202,424 through the following program areas: the arts, which received $28,431,369; education, $26,260,295; and communities, $15,510,760.

Arts grants focus on promoting the arts to the public and “making art part of everyday life.” To that end, the funds awarded grants to theaters, museums, dance companies, community-based art schools, and other artistic programs to encourage increased, sustained access to high-quality arts opportunities.

Allocations included a $1.25-million grant to the Seattle Opera to expand its Young Artists Program, allowing additional elementary and high schools and residents statewide to learn about opera through recitals, regional concerts, and neighborhood performances.

Grants in education emphasize developing leadership skills among principals and superintendents, attracting and placing a broader pool of qualified candidates in those positions, and creating more-supportive working conditions for educators.

For example, $8,853,000 was awarded to the Council of Chief State School Officers, a new consortium in Washington, D.C., composed of five national organizations that work on education-quality issues, for its work to identify 15 states that are examining which factors affect education leadership. Ultimately, the funds plan to provide significant grants to 15 districts within the identified states.

Community grants support libraries, youth services, parks, and other groups that provide opportunities to improve learning.

Application procedure: The funds make grants to nonprofit groups that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Usually, the funds solicit proposals from grantees identified through a screening process; therefore, they rarely make grants based on unsolicited proposals. However, prospective grantees may write a one- to two-page letter of inquiry describing the proposed project, the organization, and the estimated total budget for the project, noting the portion requested for the grant. Such letters may be sent to “General Management” at the address above. Additional information is available at the funds’ Web site.

Key officials: M. Christine DeVita, president; Mary Lee Fitzgerald, director of education programs; Michael Moore, director of arts programs; Lee Mitgang, director of communications; Edward Pauly, director of evaluation; Rob D. Nagel, director of investments and treasurer; Jack Booker, director of operations; Kimberly Jinnett, Judith Johnson, Rory MacPherson, Sheila Murphy, and Jessica Schwartz, senior officers; George V. Grune, chairman of the Board of Directors.