Foundation Annual Reports

EDNA McCONNELL CLARK FOUNDATION
250 Park Avenue
New York 10177-0026
(212) 551-9100
World-Wide Web: http://www.fdncenter.org/grantmaker/
emclark
Period covered: Year ending September 30, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was endowed in 1950 by Edna McConnell Clark, whose father started the cosmetics company that later would become Avon Products, and her husband, Van Alan Clark. The couple expanded the foundation in 1969, donating enough Avon stock to double the fund’s endowment.

In 1996-97, 170 grants totaling $16.7-million were allocated in these program areas: children, which received $5.3-million; New York City neighborhoods, $3.6-million; tropical-disease research, $2.9-million; student achievement, $2.8-million; and the Venture Fund, $2.1-million. The average grant award was $103,567, down from $160,000 the previous year.

The children’s program works to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect by developing more-effective partnerships between community groups, schools, families, government agencies, and child-protective-services agencies. Four cities are currently participating in the fund’s “Community Partnerships for Protecting Children” program: Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Jacksonville, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; and St. Louis. Strategies emphasize preventive measures that deal with the links between child-rearing issues and domestic violence, poverty, and substance abuse.

Allocations included $30,000 to the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Jefferson County Family Court in Louisville to test the use of mediation, rather than formal court proceedings, in selected child abuse and neglect cases.

The program for New York City neighborhoods supports efforts by residents and local institutions to improve overall conditions in central Harlem and the South Bronx. Through the Neighborhood Partners Initiative, the fund works to prevent homelessness, particularly among families; to develop local leadership; to improve housing conditions; and to increase employment opportunities. In June 1996, the fund selected five community-based groups that continue to lead its work in those neighborhoods: the Abyssinian Development Corporation and the Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families in central Harlem and the Highbridge Community Life Center, the Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, and Bronx ACORN in the South Bronx.

Grants for tropical-disease research focus on the prevention and control of onchocerciasis and trachoma and on improving health policy and practices in Ghana and Tanzania. In 1997, the foundation joined with other grant makers and international groups to create the Alliance for Global Elimination of Trachoma by the Year 2020.

The student-achievement program, formerly called the program for disadvantaged youth, works with urban school districts to improve academic performance among middle-school students. Since 1994, it has worked with six urban school systems to develop and adopt high academic standards for what students should know in the language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies by the end of the eighth grade. Those districts — Chattanooga, Tenn.; Corpus Christi, Tex.; Long Beach, Cal.; Louisville, Ky.; Minneapolis; and San Diego — are currently working to implement and evaluate performance standards for expected student achievement.

In September 1996, the foundation transferred the work of its former state-centered criminal-justice program to the University of Minnesota Law School. It is currently overseeing that transition and the corresponding development of the university’s Institute of Criminal Justice.

Through the Venture Fund, the foundation explores new areas for grant making and supports projects that fall outside its established program areas. In 1996-97, grants focused on welfare reform, the devolution of social-services programs from the federal to the state level, and the exploration of a possible new grant-making program on youth development.

Application procedure: Before applying for a grant, applicants should read the foundation’s “Grant Guidelines” brochure, which is available, along with detailed statements on each program, from the foundation and from its World-Wide Web site. Applicants should then write a brief letter describing the program or project for which they are seeking funds. The letter should include the purpose of the grant, a description of the proposed activity, an identification of the key participants, and an estimate of the budget and time frame. It should be sent in an envelope marked “Proposal Letter Enclosed” and addressed to the appropriate program director. The proposal letter will be reviewed, usually within one month of receipt. If the proposed activity falls within the foundation’s interests, the appropriate program director may ask for more information and a formal proposal. The foundation primarily supports organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It does not consider proposals for capital purposes, endowments, deficit operations, scholarships, or grants to individuals.

Key officials: Michael A. Bailin, president; Carol Glazer, vice-president and chief operating officer; Joanne Edgar, director of communications; Edward C. Schmults, chair of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Joseph A. Cook (tropical-disease research), M. Hayes Mizell (student achievement), Susan J. Notkin (children), and Nancy Roob (New York neighborhoods).

FORD FOUNDATION
320 East 43rd Street
New York 10017
(212) 573-5000
World-Wide Web: http://www.fordfound.org
Period covered: Year ending September 30, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1936 through gifts and bequests of Ford Motor Company stock from Henry Ford and his son Edsel; it no longer owns stock in the company.

In 1996-97, the foundation approved grants, projects, and program-related investments totaling approximately $411.4-million. Of that, $287.3-million went for U.S. and international-affairs programs, and $124.1-million went for programs carried out through the foundation’s field offices in developing countries.

In October 1996, the foundation restructured its grant making into three large program areas: asset building and community development, which comprises economic development, community and resource development, and human development and reproductive rights; peace and social justice, which comprises human rights and international cooperation and governance and civil society; and education, media, arts, and culture, which comprises education, knowledge, and religion and the media, arts, and culture.

In 1996-97, allocations were made among the seven program units as follows: human rights and international cooperation received $80.1-million; community and resource development, $69.5-million; governance and civil society, $65.7-million; education, knowledge, and religion, $61.7-million; economic development, $55.2-million; human development and reproductive health, $52.3-million; and the media, arts, and culture, $26.9-million.

The human-rights and international-cooperation unit focuses on legal methods and services to safeguard the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, migrants, and other disadvantaged people; conflict resolution and peace; nuclear non-proliferation; civil-military relations; U.S. foreign policy; and the role of governments in supplying international development assistance.

The community- and resource-development unit emphasizes agricultural productivity, community revitalization, international economics and development, low-income and rural communities’ access to land and water resources, and related research and policy development.

For example, a $225,000 grant went to the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund in East Point, Ga., to coordinate forestry-related services for black farmers and landowners in the southeastern United States.

The governance and civil-society unit supports efforts to improve governmental performance, to develop public awareness of budget and tax issues, to create more-democratic social and economic policies, to increase citizen participation in civic affairs, and to promote philanthropy and pluralism.

The education, knowledge, and religion unit emphasizes teaching and scholarship, campus diversity, educational administration and policy research, curriculum development, international studies, and religious pluralism.

The foundation is providing $25-million over six years to the new “Crossing Borders: Revitalizing Area Studies” program, which will support research and teaching on specific global regions.

The economic-development unit stresses employment generation, economic revitalization, loans and technical assistance for microenterprises and medium-sized businesses, and related policy research.

The human-development and reproductive-health unit focuses on welfare, teen-age pregnancy, child development, at-risk families, reproductive rights, reproductive-health policy, AIDS, and sexuality.

The media, arts, and culture unit emphasizes artistic creativity and resources, cultural preservation, the news media and public policy, and the role of arts and cultural leaders and institutions in society.

The playwright and performer Anna Deavere Smith became the foundation’s first artist in residence; her work with staff members and grant recipients focuses on the role of the arts in effecting social change and in improving civic life.

The foundation maintains offices in New York and in Bangkok, Thailand; Beijing; Cairo; Hanoi, Vietnam; Jakarta, Indonesia; Johannesburg; Lagos, Nigeria; Manila; Mexico City; Moscow; Nairobi, Kenya; New Delhi; Rio de Janeiro; Santiago, Chile; and Windhoek, Namibia.

Application procedure: Information about the foundation’s program activities may be found in its publication Current Interests of the Ford Foundation, its quarterly Ford Foundation Report, and on its World-Wide Web site. Potential applicants should first submit a brief letter of inquiry to determine whether the foundation’s interests and funds permit consideration of a proposal. The letter of inquiry should include the purpose of the project for which funds are being requested; problems and issues the proposed project will take up; information about the organization conducting the project; estimated overall budget for the project; period of time for which funds are requested; and the qualifications of individuals who will be engaged in the project. After receiving the letter, foundation staff members may ask the grant seeker to submit a formal proposal. Most of the foundation’s grant funds are given to tax-exempt organizations. Although the foundation makes some grants to individuals, those grants are few in number and are limited to research, training, and similar activities related to the foundation’s program interests. Applications are considered throughout the year. Requests in the United States should be sent to Attn: Secretary, at the address above; requests in foreign countries should be directed to the nearest Ford Foundation field office.

Key officials: Susan V. Berresford, president; Barron M. Tenny, executive vice-president, secretary, and general counsel; Barry D. Gaberman, senior vice-president; Robert Curvin, vice-president for communications; Linda B. Strumpf, vice-president and chief investment officer; Alison R. Bernstein, vice-president-education, media, arts, and culture; Melvin L. Oliver, vice-president-asset building and community development; Bradford K. Smith, vice-president-peace and social justice; Henry B. Schacht, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Elizabeth C. Campbell (community and resource development), Frank F. DeGiovanni (economic development), Virginia Davis Floyd (human development and reproductive health), Janice Petrovich (education, knowledge, and religion), Anthony D. Romero (human rights and international cooperation), Christine J. Vincent (acting deputy director, media, arts, and culture), and June H. Zeitlin (governance and civil society).