Foundation Annual Reports

JAMES IRVINE FOUNDATION
1 Market, Steuart Tower
Suite 2500
San Francisco, Calif. 94105
(415) 777-2244
http://www.irvine.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1937 by James Irvine, who inherited a 110,000-acre ranch in Southern California that was among the largest privately owned land holdings in the state. In addition to its San Francisco headquarters, the fund maintains a second office, in Los Angeles.

In 2000, the foundation allocated 253 grants totaling $69,972,-855. In accordance with Mr. Irvine’s wishes, the foundation promotes “the general welfare of the people of California,” and grants currently are made in six program areas: the arts; children, youths, and families; civic culture; higher education; sustainable communities; and special projects. It has phased out a previous program area on work-force development, and integrated that program’s work into the sustainable-communities area.

Arts grants emphasize three elements: advancing artistic creation and connections, encouraging innovation and change, and strengthening institutional leadership and program capacity. For example, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre received a $100,000 grant for a comprehensive market-research and audience-development campaign coinciding with the opening of its new, larger venue.

The children, youths, and families program supports community organizations that provide educational activities for children and adolescents outside of school hours. Awards are made primarily through the Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) Initiative and the Museum Youth Initiative. Some grants are also made for direct services, research and policy activities, and efforts to involve young people in philanthropy. Grants included $600,000 over three years to the Developmental Studies Center, in Oakland, for the California component of KidzLit, an after-school literacy program.

Civic-culture grants support collaborative problem-solving efforts in California communities, particularly those with rapidly changing demographics. In general, awards emphasize civic participation, faith-based efforts, and the promotion of positive interactions among members of different racial and ethnic groups. The foundation also makes awards through the Central Valley Partnership for Citizenship, which helps local groups provide citizenship, education, employment, and other services to immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers. In all, 53 projects received small grants totaling $255,000, up from $120,500 distributed among 34 projects the previous year. Awards included $5,000 to the Hmong American Women Association, in Fresno, to provide naturalization training and citizenship assistance to eligible refugees.

The higher-education program area emphasizes campus diversity, particularly at private institutions; high-quality teacher education and preparation; the educational needs of ethnic minorities and low-income families; and related public-policy activities. Awards ranging from $750,000 to $2,200,-000 went to six colleges and universities for programs to foster diversity among students and faculty members.

Through its sustainable-communities program, the foundation supports groups working on the often overlapping issues of economic development, employment, the environment, government, social equity, and urban sprawl. For example, a two-year, $150,000 grant went to the Endangered Habitats League, in Los Angeles, for the Southern California Transportation and Land Use Coalition.

Dennis A. Collins, who has headed the foundation since 1986, announced that he would step down in early 2002. He will be succeeded by Mary G.F. Bitterman, president and chief executive officer of San Francisco’s public radio and television station KQED.

Application procedure: After carefully reviewing information on the program area that most closely matches the organization’s interests, an applicant should first send a brief letter of inquiry, preferably less than two pages long. In order to expedite the inquiry, the foundation encourages grant seekers to use the Online Inquiry Form on its Web site. If sent by regular mail, the letter should include the requested amount and a one-sentence summary of the proposed project, a brief description of the organization and its qualifications, a statement of the problem or need to be addressed, and a summary of the activities and objectives of the proposed project. Mailed letters of inquiry should be sent to the attention of Grants Administration at the address above. Applicants should not send a full proposal unless requested to do so by a representative of the foundation. Detailed and regularly updated information on grant-making guidelines and applications can be found at the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Dennis A. Collins, president and chief executive officer; James E. Canales, vice president and corporate secretary; Larry R. Fies, chief financial officer and treasurer; Martha S. Campbell, director of evaluation and program director; Judy Belk, senior adviser; Ann L. Clarke, director of grants administration; Thomas L. Harris, chief administrative officer and director of finance; Mark A. Sedway, director of communications; James C. Gaither, chairman of the Board of Directors.

Program directors: M. Melanie Beene (arts), S. Kimberly Belshé (sustainable communities), Diane B. Frankel (children, youth, and families), Craig E. McGarvey (civic culture), and Robert M. Shireman (higher education).

WINTHROP ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION

308 East Eighth Street
Little Rock, Ark. 72202
(501) 376-6854
http://www.wrockefellerfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1974 from the Rockwin Fund, which had been created in 1956 by Winthrop Rockefeller, grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the billionaire founder of Standard Oil. In addition to being a philanthropist, Mr. Rockefeller owned Winrock Farms and served two terms as Governor of Arkansas during the late 60’s.

In 2000, the foundation awarded grants totaling $4,050,-061. Grant making is limited to projects that benefit Arkansans and focuses on three program areas: economic development; economic, racial, and social justice; and education.

Economic-development grants support efforts designed to improve the standard of living and economic vitality of low-income Arkansas communities. Awards included $30,000 to the National Economic Development and Law Center-Mississippi County to evaluate the possibility of duplicating the Cotton Boll Technical Institute’s welding and other vocational-training programs.

Education-related grants are given to projects that help children and adults achieve their full potential and contribute to civic, cultural, economic, educational, and social progress. For example, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute received $72,400 to provide communities with selected documentaries intended to promote critical thinking on contemporary events and issues.

Awards in the economic, racial, and social justice area seek to engage institutions and individuals in advocating “pervasive justice” for all Arkansas residents. Allocations included $93,518 to Centers for Youth and Families, in Little Rock, to create a public-awareness campaign about the approximately 50,000 Arkansas children whose parent or parents are incarcerated.

To commemorate its 25th anniversary, the foundation made several one-time grants to statewide arts groups to support public-outreach activities, particularly in rural communities. The foundation also awarded a $1,000,-000 program-related investment to the Southern Development Bancorporation-South Arkansas to expand its rural-development lending program.

Application procedure: Potential applicants should first visit the foundation’s Web site or read its annual report to ensure that any proposed project is compatible with the foundation’s three program areas. The next step is to submit a concept paper of no longer than three pages without attachments that provides the following information: a summary of the goals and objectives of the proposed project; a brief description of the intended beneficiaries and how the project will affect them; a brief background of the applicant organization and its accomplishments; a description of how the project will be evaluated and its progress measured; a description of collaborative partners and the role of each, if appropriate; and a proposed timeline and budget for the project. Organizations whose concept papers closely match current grant-making priorities will be invited to develop formal proposals.

Key officials: Sybil Jordan Hampton, president; Andrea M. Dobson, chief financial and operations officer; Bill Rahn, program manager; Mary Kaye McKinney, program manager I; Robert D. Cabe, chairman.

SKILLMAN FOUNDATION

600 Renaissance Center, Suite 1700
Detroit, Mich. 48243
(313) 393-1185
http://www.skillman.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2000.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1960 by Rose Skillman, using funds from the estate of her husband, Robert, a vice president and director of the 3M Company. Mrs. Skillman lived in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and in Florida until her death in 1983.

The foundation concentrates on improving the lives of children and youths in southeastern Michigan, with an emphasis on the metropolitan Detroit area of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. Its current goals are to improve children’s homes, through the Children’s Relationships program area; children’s schools, through the Learning Opportunities program; and children’s neighborhoods, through the Home and Community program.

In 2000 the foundation paid out grants totaling $26,664,669 and approved grants totaling $45,569,-467.

The Home and Community program received the largest proportion of both grants paid and new grants allocated ($10.2-million and $17.1-million, respectively). Awards included $3,434,000 over three years to the Youth Sports and Recreation Commission, in Detroit, for continued support of its work with disadvantaged children in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.

The Learning Opportunities program stresses the availability of high-quality educational opportunities for children. Its main focus is the Schools of the 21st Century Initiative; grants included $885,000 over five years to Wayne State University’s Merrill Palmer Institute to increase the number of Detroit Head Start teachers who receive special professional-development training.

The Children’s Relationships program emphasizes positive, nurturing relationships between children and adults, particularly parents. For example, a three-year, $1,171,000 grant went to the Detroit-based Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan for its Family Visitation Centers for noncustodial parents and their children.

Other awards included $5,000,-000 over two years to the Detroit Public Library to renovate and restore its downtown branch, and $200,000 to Detroit’s Heat and Warmth Fund to provide emergency heating assistance to low-income families.

Since 1991, the foundation has been actively involved in efforts to improve the Detroit public schools, and this annual report focuses heavily on that aspect of the fund’s grant making.

Application procedure: The foundation accepts applications from organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that are not private foundations as defined by Section 509(a) of the code. It primarily awards grants to programs located in southeastern Michigan’s Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties. Detailed information about grant-making programs and procedures is available at the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Kari Schlachtenhaufen, president and secretary; Richard Connell, vice president, treasurer, and chief investment officer; Halcyon Liew, communications officer; Carol Goss and Alison Harmon, senior program officers; Rex Nelson and Robert Thornton, program officers; Suzanne Moran, grants manager; Walter E. Douglas, chair of the Board of Trustees.