Foundation Annual Reports

HENRY LUCE FOUNDATION
111 West 50th Street, Room 4601
New York 10020
(212) 489-7700
World-Wide Web: http://www.hluce.org
Period covered: Two years ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, co- founder and editor in chief of Time Inc. Its grant making is arranged into six areas: Asia, American art, theology, opportunities for women in science and engineering, higher education, and public affairs.

The foundation’s Asian programs currently focus on three areas: the Luce Scholars Program, through which 18 young Americans annually serve one-year internships in Asia; the United States-China Cooperative Research Program, which involves Chinese and American scholars in joint humanities or social-science projects pertinent to China or U.S.-China relations; and Asia project grants, which emphasize scholarship and the exchange of ideas.

The final round of competition for grants through the U.S.-China program took place earlier this year.

During 1996 and 1997, 48 new awards totaling $7,451,000 were approved for Asia projects. For example, $65,000 went to the Korea Society in New York for a project on the role of Christianity in Korean culture and society, and $250,000 went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington for an exhibition on outstanding archaeological finds from China.

Grants totaling $10.1-million were allocated through the theology program, up from $5.4-million during the previous two-year period. Awards are made for projects in the United States and Asia in six areas: seminary education, religious leadership, publications, religion and the arts, ecumenical programs, and special initiatives.

The Clare Boothe Luce Fund is designed to advance the academic careers of women in engineering, mathematics, and science. Awards are made through 13 institutions designated by Mrs. Luce, and invitations to apply are issued periodically to other colleges and research universities.

Awards to expand knowledge of, and scholarship in, American art were made in three major areas: the Luce Fund in American Art, which emphasizes scholarly exhibitions and publications; American Collections Enhancement, a special five-year program to provide support to small and mid-sized museums with significant holdings of important American art; and dissertation awards for doctoral research.

The foundation re-examined its public-affairs program in 1996; most grants currently fall into two categories: support for promising at-risk youths, and domestic public policy, including immigration, education policy, and the rule of law.

Application procedure: No special forms are required, although separate guidelines and deadlines exist for specific programs. In most cases, an initial letter of inquiry to determine whether a project falls within the foundation’s guidelines can be addressed to the appropriate program officer. The foundation normally does not provide funds for endowments, capital campaigns, general operating support, or annual fund drives. Outside of specifically designated programs, such as the Luce Scholars Program, no grants are made directly to individuals.

Key officials: Henry Luce III, chairman and chief executive officer; John W. Cook, president; Terrill E. Lautz, vice-president and secretary; John P. Daley, vice-president for administration and finance; Suzanne W. Neuman, grants manager and special-projects director.

Program officers: Evelyn Benjamin, program director (Clare Boothe Luce and public-affairs programs); John W. Cook, program director (theology); Ellen Holtzman, program director (the arts); Terrill E. Lautz, program director (Asia and the Henry R. Luce Professorship Program); Helene E. Redell, program director (Luce Scholars Program).

DONALD W. REYNOLDS FOUNDATION
7130 South Lewis, Suite 900
Tulsa, Okla. 74136
(918) 496-0033
Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1954 by Donald W. Reynolds, founder of the Donrey Media Group. Upon the death of Mr. Reynolds in 1993, the foundation received a large bequest from his estate that has enabled it to greatly expand its grant making.

Although the foundation maintains several giving programs, the capital-grants program is the only one that invites applications. Grants are made for projects in Arkansas, Nevada, and Oklahoma to construct new buildings, to renovate existing structures, and to provide capital equipment and furnishings. Recipient organizations must be tax-exempt, be at least five years old, and serve a well-documented need in the arts and culture, civic and public affairs, education, health, or human services.

In 1996-97, the foundation appropriated six capital grants totaling $43,218,765. Three universities in Arkansas received awards: Henderson State University, in Arkadelphia; Mid-South Community College, in West Memphis; and the University of Central Arkansas, in Conway. The remaining recipients were the Salvation Army in Oklahoma City, the University of Tulsa, and Western Nevada Community College, in Carson City.

The foundation made the inaugural grant in its new “Aging and Quality of Life” program: a $25,038,320 award to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, in Little Rock, to establish a national center on geriatrics and aging.

The foundation recently announced the creation of a program that will support clinical research on cardiovascular disease.

Application procedure: The grant-application process begins with a summary proposal, which must include a three-page, typewritten description of the applicant organization, the proposed capital project, evidence of the need for the project, the expected effect or outcome, and a specific dollar request. The letter must be signed by the applicant organization’s chief volunteer officer and chief executive officer. The proposal package must also include a copy of the applicant’s Internal Revenue Service tax-exempt determination letter and a resolution from the applicant’s governing board certifying that it approves the summary proposal and that the project conforms to the organization’s long-range facility and capital-campaign plans. Up to four architectural drawings must also be submitted. The deadline for summary proposals for the 1998-99 cycle was May 15; contact the foundation for information on future deadlines.

Key officials: Donald E. Pray, executive director; James C. Dailey, treasurer; David M. Zemel, senior program officer; Pat Carragher and Margaret J. Skyles, grant administrators; Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

CORPORATIONS

COCA-COLA FOUNDATION
P.O. Drawer 1734
Atlanta 30301
(404) 676-2568
Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1984 as a charitable-giving vehicle of the Coca-Coca Company. Since 1989, its grant making has focused exclusively on education and falls chiefly into three program areas: higher education, classroom teaching and learning, and global education.

Higher-education grants emphasize scholarship programs for undergraduate and graduate students; the advancement of minorities through scholarships, urban programs, and cultural-diversity projects; and “pipeline” programs that link various educational levels and that encourage at-risk students to remain in school and to pursue higher education. For example, $200,000 went to Spelman College, in Atlanta, for its science and mathematics mentorship program at local public schools, and $250,000 went to the Ohio State University Foundation, in Columbus, for the “Critical Difference for Women” program, which provides scholarships to women returning to college as older adults.

Classroom-oriented grants emphasize innovative and exemplary kindergarten-through-12th-grade programs, including those outside the “four walls” of the classroom, and teacher-development activities. Awards included $200,000 to the HealthSouth Sports Medicine Council, in Birmingham, Ala., to develop a traveling health-education curriculum for middle-school students.

Global-education grants promote international studies, global understanding, and student and faculty exchanges, as well as foreign programs that are designed to strengthen education. A $50,000 award went to Fund Naukova Zmina, in Kiev, Ukraine, for a project that allows Ukrainian schoolchildren to study biological changes that occur during space travel.

Application procedure: Applicants should submit a program summary of five pages or less, along with an application form obtainable from the foundation. The program summary should provide an organizational mission statement; a description of the proposed program and information on its goals and purposes, the ways in which it relates to the foundation’s goals, its objectives and plans for evaluation, specific activities to be carried out in order to meet those objectives, staff members working on the program and their backgrounds and qualifications, and the relationship of the program to the organization’s overall mission; a program budget and accompanying notes; a copy of the latest I.R.S. letter documenting tax-exempt status; and a brief statement, signed and dated on the organization’s letterhead, that there have been no changes in the organization’s purpose, character, or structure subsequent to issuance of that letter.

Key officials: Donald R. Greene, president; Ingrid Saunders Jones, chairperson of the Board of Directors.