Foundation Annual Reports

GERALDINE R. DODGE FOUNDATION
163 Madison Avenue
P.O. Box 1239
Morristown, N.J. 07962-1239
(973) 540-8442
http://www.grdodge.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1974 through the will of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, the daughter of William and Almira Rockefeller. In her will, Mrs. Dodge provided suggestions for three areas of grant making — animal welfare, the arts, and local projects in Morris County, N.J. These were adopted subsequently by the trustees, along with two additional areas, education and critical issues.

In 1999, grants totaling $19.4-million were allocated as follows: education received $6.3-million; critical issues, $5.7-million; the arts, $3.7-million; animal welfare, $1.8-million; projects in Morris County, $1.0-million; and the Dodge Poetry Program and other, $900,000.

The education program emphasizes grants to improve elementary and secondary public education in New Jersey. However, the foundation also supports selected innovative projects and models elsewhere that can be applied effectively in New Jersey.

Special areas of interest include the early training and continuing professional development of teachers, the role of school principals and superintendents as educational leaders, systemic school change, increased access to high-quality education for disadvantaged students, and the creation of model curricula, instructional materials and techniques, and assessments.

Grants included $75,000 to All Kinds of Minds, in Chapel Hill, N.C., to collaborate with the Boston public-television station WGBH on a television series and public-education campaign examining the diverse learning styles of children.

The foundation also provided $100,000 to the Big Picture Company, in Providence, R.I., for an effort to improve the leadership skills of newly appointed secondary-school principals, especially those who work in urban schools.

The critical-issues program focuses on issues of sustainable development in New Jersey and the Northeast. Beginning in 2000 and continuing for three to five years, grant making is focusing on land use and the preservation of open space in New Jersey. The board is currently reviewing other grant-making areas under the program. However, the foundation will continue to consider proposals that focus on family planning and the connection between population, reproductive issues, the overconsumption of natural resources, and environmental damage.

Arts-related grant making focuses on New Jersey’s cultural institutions and on national organizations that benefit New Jersey artists or that advance the arts in the state. Grants went to Yaddo, the Vermont Studio Center, and eight other artists’ communities nationwide to provide residencies for 68 New Jersey artists.

The animal-welfare program makes grants nationwide to projects that foster the humane treatment of both wild and companion animals. Grants included $20,000 to the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, for Altweb, an online resource on alternatives to animal testing.

Giving for Morris County projects continued to focus on community development, family services, the environment, education, the arts, leadership development, and strengthened ties between nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Awards included $12,000 to the Myhelan Cultural Arts Alliance, in Long Valley, for programs on the millennium and Tibetan arts, a sculpture exhibition, a poetry residency, and a high-school film festival.

The Dodge Poetry Program holds a biennial poetry festival and supports innovative classroom approaches to poetry, including visits from poets, mini-festivals, and teacher workshops. The foundation has appropriated more than $2-million to the Dodge Poetry Program since its inception in 1987.

Application procedure: Potential applicants are advised to submit a one-page letter to determine if a proposed project falls within the foundation’s guidelines. If a project has received a grant from the foundation in the past, a letter of inquiry is not necessary. Letters of inquiry may be submitted throughout the year, but should be received at least three weeks prior to the corresponding proposal-submission deadline. Letters may be e-mailed, without attachments, to info@grdodge.org or sent by standard mail. Applicants will be informed whether or not to submit a full proposal. Due dates for proposals requesting funds in 2001 are as follows: the arts, March 1; critical issues and animal welfare, June 1; and education, November 1. For projects in Morris County, check the foundation’s Web site or call its office for further information.

Key officials: David Grant, executive director; John Yingling, chief administrative and financial officer; Alexandra Christy, senior program officer; Ross Danis, Lisa Garrison, Robert T. Perry, and Janet D. Rodriguez, program officers; Cynthia Sherwood Evans, grants manager; Robert H.B. Baldwin, chairman of the Board of Trustees; Robert LeBuhn, president of the board.

FOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS
P.O. Box 34769
Charlotte, N.C. 28234-4769
(704) 376-9541
http://www.fftc.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1958 as the United Community Foundation, and initially made grants only in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, N.C. In 1984, the organization’s name was changed to the Foundation for the Carolinas. It now serves 13 counties in North and South Carolina and manages approximately 1,300 constituent funds.

Through affiliate community funds or supporting organizations, the foundation reaches the following areas in North Carolina: Cabarrus, Cleveland, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Richmond, Stanly, and Union Counties and the Lexington and Salisbury communities. In South Carolina, it reaches Cherokee, Lancaster, and York Counties and the Waccamaw region.

The foundation’s Building a Better Future competitive-grants program was created in 1997 through a bequest from long-time supporter Lucille P. Giles. Applicant organizations must be located in or serve the metropolitan Charlotte region.

Four categories of grants are awarded through the program: Building Bridges, Building Families, Building Youth, and seed grants. In 1999, allocations totaling nearly $2.5-million were made through the program, including $70,000 for operating support of the Central Avenue Bilingual Preschool, which serves primarily Latino and Hispanic families.

Additional discretionary grant programs include the Regional H.I.V./AIDS Consortium and the African American Community Foundation. Awards made through the latter program included $1,500 to the Cabarrus Arts Council to present performances on African culture and arts to middle-school students.

The foundation joined with Child Care Resources and with Wellesley College on the Project on Out-of-School Time, a continuing effort to develop high-quality child-care options and activities during the hours when children and teenagers are not attending school.

Also in 1999, the foundation created the Impact Fund, an effort to encourage responsible philanthropy by “Generation X” donors. The fund comprises more than 30 donors aged 25 to 40 who awarded grants totaling $40,000 to eight nonprofit groups in the Charlotte area. For example, Girls on the Run received $5,000 for programs that promote positive physical, mental, and spiritual development through exercise.

The fund also administers 58 scholarship funds, which together allocated more than $643,000 to 437 students.

William L. Spencer retired in September 1999 after serving as president for 13 years. He was succeeded by Michael Marsicano, who had served as president and chief executive of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts & Science Council for 10 years.

Application procedure: The foundation offers various competitive-grants programs to which nonprofit groups may apply. Contact the foundation for application and deadline information.

Key officials: Michael Marsicano, president; Judy L. Kerns, senior vice president for finance and administration; Marilyn M. Bradbury, senior vice president for community initiatives; C. Barton Landess, senior vice president for development and donor services; McCray V. Benson, senior vice president for regional initiatives; Charity L. Perkins, vice president for communications and donor services; Mark R. Bernstein, chair of the Board of Directors.

WEINGART FOUNDATION
1055 West Seventh Street, Suite 3050
Los Angeles 90017-2305
(213) 688-7799
http://www.weingartfnd.org

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The California real-estate developer and investor Ben Weingart and his wife, Stella, established the B.W. Foundation in 1951. The fund’s name was changed to the Weingart Foundation in 1978. It makes grants primarily for projects to benefit disadvantaged people in seven Southern California counties: Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2000, the foundation awarded 386 grants totaling $38,069,654 in two main areas: adults and the greater community, which received $23,138,010, and children and youths, which received $14,931,644.

Grants to benefit adults and the greater community were made in four categories: colleges and universities, community services, culture and the arts, and health and medicine. Appropriations included $100,000 to Mercy Charities Housing California to develop low-cost housing for residents of Los Angeles’s Crenshaw District and $25,000 to Kern Valley Hospital Foundation, in Lake Isabella, to purchase a mobile mammography unit.

Nine grants totaling approximately $4-million were made to colleges and universities, primarily for capital support. For example, Pepperdine University, in Malibu, received $1-million to construct a new science center.

A special $2.5-million grant was made to the California Community Foundation, in Los Angeles, in memory of Harry J. Volk, who died May 12, 2000. Mr. Volk joined the Weingart Foundation’s board in 1978 and served in various capacities until his death, including as chairman and chief executive officer from 1981 to 1993.

Grants to benefit at-risk children and youths were made in five categories: community-based activities, crisis intervention, culture and arts, education, and health and medicine. Awards included $300,000 to El Proyecto del Barrio, in Arleta, to construct a pediatric wing and $250,000 to Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches for a rehabilitation project for juvenile offenders.

Grants for projects in San Diego and Imperial Counties are supported by the Weingart-Price Fund, which is administered by the San Diego Foundation. All communication regarding grant requests for projects in those two counties should be directed to the San Diego Foundation.

Application procedure: Applicant organizations must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and not a private foundation as defined under Section 509(a) of the code. The foundation accepts and processes grant applications throughout the year. Organizations that believe they meet the foundation’s eligibility criteria should first submit three copies of a brief “test letter” that contains a concise statement of the need for funds, the total project cost, the amount sought, and enough factual information to enable the foundation to determine its initial response. One copy of any supporting data may accompany the letter. If it is determined that the project meets the foundation’s interests and priorities, the applicant will be provided with the instructions and forms required to prepare and submit a formal application. All communication regarding grants should be sent to the attention of the president and chief administrative officer at the address above.

Key officials: Steven D. Broidy, chairman and chief executive officer; Fred J. Ali, president and chief administrative officer; Laurence A. Wolfe, vice president for administration and real estate and corporate secretary; Ann L. Van Dormolen, vice president and treasurer; Rosa M. Castillo, Barbara Kaze, and Jerry C. Yu, program officers.