Foundation Annual Reports

ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION

420 Fifth Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10018-2702
(212) 869-8500
http://www.rockfound.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The industrialist John D. Rockefeller endowed the foundation in 1913. In 1998 it announced an overhaul of its grant-making programs, and 2000 marked the first year that the foundation made grants in its five new program areas: creativity and culture, food security, global inclusion, health equity, and working communities.

In 2000 the foundation awarded grants and fellowships totaling $121,036,041 to the following areas: working communities, which received $28,808,721; global inclusion, $28,637,848; food security, $26,249,361; health equity, $21,504,450; and creativity and culture, $15,835,661. The foundation also allocated $14,165,259 for special programs and $6,346,519 for regional programs.

Grants for working communities support programs to revitalize poor urban neighborhoods by creating opportunities for jobs that pay a livable wage, improving the quality of schools, and increasing the participation of poor and marginalized people in designing and implementing sustainable solutions to improve their lives.

For example, a $150,000 grant to Community Voices Heard, in New York, supported grass-roots organizing and outreach activities designed to help low-income residents participate in policy debates about changes in the welfare system, “workfare,” and job creation in New York City and statewide.

The global-inclusion program makes grants to help broaden the benefits and reduce the negative impacts of globalization on vulnerable people worldwide. This cross-cutting program is intended to make connections among the foundation’s four thematic program areas. Grants focused on biotechnology, intellectual property rights, gender equity, peace and security, livelihoods and economic integration, and livelihoods and the environment. Awards included $200,000 to the International Peace Academy, in New York, for its project on the ways in which economic issues in civil wars affect the transition from war to peace.

Grants in the food-security program seek to aid poor people in rural regions by generating agricultural policies and supporting institutions and innovative practices that encourage sustainable farming in areas of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Awards focused on areas bypassed by earlier efforts in developing countries to alleviate hunger.

For example, a $1,276,200 grant to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, in Mexico City, supported a regional network of scientists in southern Africa investigating technologies, policies, and methods for encouraging the more widespread use of improved soil-fertility methods among poor farmers in that region.

Grants to the health-equity program seek to address the health problems of poor and at-risk people worldwide and to eliminate disparities in health care, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. Among this year’s grants was a $4.5-million allocation to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, for start-up support of this group investigating new medicines to treat tuberculosis.

Creativity and culture grants support the arts and humanities in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in other countries. Awards focused on museum exhibitions, the preservation of traditional art forms, cultural heritage and folklore, community-based arts projects, and efforts to promote cultural policy and literacy.

The foundation also made grants to two regional programs. One focused on revitalizing African institutions and building capacity among poor people in Africa; the other, the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, on Lake Como, Italy, hosted resident artists, policymakers, scholars, and scientists working on artistic projects or scholarly endeavors. In addition, special-programs grants focused on global philanthropy, public-private partnerships, and communications activities that foster social change.

The foundation maintains regional offices in Bangkok; Harare, Zimbabwe; Mexico City; Nairobi, Kenya; and San Francisco.

On December 12, 2000, Alice Stone Ilchman retired as chairman of the foundation.

Application procedure: Prospective applicants should send a letter of inquiry to the appropriate program director at the address above briefly describing the project and its purpose. Inquiries may also be made via the following e-mail addresses: creativity and culture, creativity@rockfound.org; food security, food@rockfound.org; global inclusion, global@rockfound.org; health equity, health@rockfound.org; or working communities, work@rockfound.org. Do not sent attachments. Additional information is available at the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Gordon Conway, president; Lincoln Chen, executive vice president for strategy; Donna Dean, treasurer and chief investment officer; Denise Gray-Felder, vice president for administration and communications; Robert Herdt, vice president for program administration; Charles Lang, comptroller; James Orr III, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Tim Evans, health equity; Julia Lopez, working communities; Susan Sechler, global inclusion; Raymund A. Paredes, creativity and culture; Gary Toenniessen, food security.

WINSTON-SALEM FOUNDATION

860 West Fifth Street
Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101-2506
(336) 725-2382
http://www.wsfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: Established in 1919, this community foundation makes grants to benefit residents of Winston-Salem and surrounding Forsyth County, N.C. To a lesser extent, it also serves residents of North Carolina’s Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin Counties.

The foundation makes advised, designated and agency, discretionary, and student-aid grants through more than 800 constituent funds. In 1999 the foundation awarded 93 discretionary grants totaling $1.5-million in the following seven program areas: arts and culture, education and recreation, health, human services, older adults, public interest, and youth.

Arts and culture grants included $22,500 to Salem Academy and College, in Winston-Salem, for an exhibition of the works of artists Andrew Wyeth and Bob Timberlake. Other grants in this category supported mural-painting projects, the renovation of arts spaces, and arts-education activities for children.

Education and recreation grants included scholarships for needy youths and funds for library services and science programs. For example, the foundation awarded $12,000 to the Downtown Middle School, in Winston-Salem, for the Youth Making a Difference program, which helps students with recurring disciplinary problems.

Health grants provided medication assistance to local residents and also included grants for smoking-cessation classes, an Alzheimer’s disease unit at a local hospital, and dental clinics.

Grants in the human-services category supported shelters for single women and their families, local food banks and ministries, and other groups.

Public-interest grants supported a wide variety of community activities, including assisting low-income people, supporting historic-preservation projects, financing spay-neuter clinics, and promoting economic activity.

Youth-related grants included a $15,000 start-up allocation to KidCommerce USA, in Winston-Salem, for its work to teach young people how to operate their own businesses.

Application procedure: The foundation makes grants to nonprofit organizations for the benefit of residents of the Forsyth County, N.C., region. It does not provide funds to individuals, for long-term operating support, for projects that ordinarily would receive public funding, or for religious activities that serve only members of a single congregation or that promote a particular religion. The foundation strongly recommends discussing project proposals with a staff member before submitting an application. Proposals should be two to four pages in length and should describe the organization’s mission and work; the issues to be addressed by the project; the project itself and its implementation plan, the people to be served, its goals, timeline, and the amount requested; and the expected long-term effects. The proposal also should include a budget, noting additional income sources; financial information about the organization and projections for the following year; a signature from the board chair or executive director; a list of current board members; evidence of the organization’s tax-exempt status; and any supplemental materials. Deadlines are January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1.

Key officials: Scott F. Wierman, president; Tom Lawson, vice president for donor services; Donna G. Rader, vice president for grants and programs; Todd Slate, vice president for finance and administration; Betty Gray Davis, program officer; Brenda Penney, director of marketing and communications; Ava Smith-Pegues, grants manager; Elizabeth L. Quick, chair of the Winston-Salem Foundation Committee.

CORPORATIONS

METROPOLITAN LIFE FOUNDATION
1 Madison Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10010-3690
(212) 578-6272
http://www.metlife.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a financial-services corporation, established the foundation in 1976. It primarily makes grants to nonprofit organizations in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York State.

In 2000 the foundation awarded $14,509,741 in grants in the following program areas: civic affairs, culture, education, health, public broadcasting, and United Ways.

Civic-affairs grants supported social and economic institutions in urban areas and stressed support for affordable-housing programs, community-development projects, family and youth programs, and projects that promote inclusion and civic participation. For example, a $190,000 grant went to SEEDCO, the Structured Employment Development Corporation, in New York, for start-up support of a fund that helps nonprofit youth groups in selected cities start businesses that train and employ disadvantaged youths.

Grants in the culture category supported arts education, after-school arts programs, the national tours of dance companies and visual-arts exhibitions, and cultural programs for families.

Education-related grants were made primarily to national groups to improve teaching, promote literacy and lifelong learning, and encourage parental involvement. The foundation also made grants for after-school programs, training-school counselors, and community colleges. For example, a $350,000 award went to Jobs for the Future, in Boston, to establish a program that helps community colleges better reach and serve at-risk students, low-income adults, and underserved people.

Grants in the health category supported programs that provide people with up-to-date health-related resources and emphasized national multimedia information campaigns for youths, families, minorities, and at-risk groups.

The largest United Way grant was a $700,000 award to United Way of Tri-State, in New York City, which serves Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

Application procedure: The foundation makes grants to organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations. Applications are accepted and reviewed throughout the year and should include the following: a brief description of the organization, the purpose for which the grant is requested, the amount requested and a list of other sources of financial support, a copy of the organization’s most recent audited financial statement, evidence of tax-exempt status, and a copy of the organization’s most recent Form 990. Requests should be directed to the president and chief executive officer at the address above.

Key officials: Sibyl Jacobson, president and chief executive officer; Timothy L. Schmidt, treasurer; Catherine A. Rein, chairman of the Board of Directors; Robert H. Benmosche, chief executive officer and chairman of the board, MetLife and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.