Foundation Annual Reports

GILL FOUNDATION

2215 Market Street, Suite 205
Denver 80205
(303) 292-4455
http://www.gillfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1994 by Tim Gill, the founder and chairman of Quark Inc., which develops and markets electronic publishing and communications software.

The foundation emphasizes support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people; causes related to AIDS and H.I.V.; and human rights and pluralism. It accomplishes this through grant making, technical assistance, and other special programs.

Grants are made to national organizations, as well as to groups in Colorado and “non-urban” areas with populations of fewer than 1.5 million people.

In 1999, grants both paid and pledged by the foundation totaled $3,425,704. Of that, 77 percent, or $2,631,829, went to projects that benefit homosexual and bisexual individuals. Allocations included $100,000 to the Gay, Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in New York, for its media research and analysis program, and $18,000 to the North Carolina Lambda Youth Network, in Durham, for general operating support.

The remaining 23 percent of grant dollars, or $793,875, supported AIDS/H.I.V.-related projects. For example, $12,500 went to Identity Inc., in Washington, to provide training in rural areas on H.I.V. education and prevention.

The offshoot Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado has a twofold mission: It highlights the contributions that gay men and lesbians make to society, while also supporting Colorado-based programs in the arts and culture, children and youths, social justice, public broadcasting, leadership development, and communications. Awards included $10,000 to Denver-based Young Audiences of Colorado for workshops that promote the arts as a mechanism for social change.

The OutGiving Project is the foundation’s training and technical-assistance program. Since its creation in 1995, it has helped more than 500 qualified non-profit groups in dozens of communities, and has held national and regional conferences on effective philanthropy for more than 1,000 donors.

The foundation expanded its operations and moved its headquarters office from Colorado Springs to Denver. It also closed its Washington office, and moved the OutGiving Project to Denver. The Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado continues to be based in Colorado Springs.

Application procedure: For information on grant guidelines and technical assistance, visit the foundation’s Web site at http://www.gillfoundation.org.

Key officials: Katherine Pease, executive director; Mary Lynn Korch, director of finance and administration; Scott Blaine Swenson, director of communications; Tony Tapia, director of grant making; Erika J. Shatz, senior program officer; Jan Brennan, program coordinator, Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado; Donna Red Wing, director of OutGiving; Richard K. Jung and Marielle Oetjen, program officers; Cristina Y. Arnal, grants manager; Tim Gill, founder and chairman.

RICHARD KING MELLON FOUNDATION
1 Mellon Bank Center
500 Grant Street, Suite 4106
Pittsburgh 15219-2502
(412) 392-2800
http://www.fdncenter.org/grantmaker/rkmellon

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was created in 1947 by Richard King Mellon, an avid sportsman and former chairman of the board of the Mellon National Bank and Trust Company. Mr. Mellon died in 1970; his wife, Constance, served as chairman of the board until her death in 1980.

The foundation’s grant making emphasizes two major areas: programs to benefit residents of Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania, and efforts nationwide to protect key tracts of land from urban sprawl and destructive development. In 1999, grants totaling $74.1-million were made in these program areas: conservation, which received $52.7-million; education, $7.8-million; cultural activities, $6.8-million; human services, $4.9-million; and civic affairs, $1.9-million.

The American Land Conservation Program, initiated in 1988, represents the fund’s single largest grant-making priority. Through the program, six tracts of endangered land in Alaska, Florida, Maryland, Montana, South Carolina, and Vermont were purchased in 1999. Other conservation-related grants included $600,000 over three years to American Rivers, in Washington, to develop the online American Rivers Resource Center.

Education-related allocations included an in-kind gift of properties valued at $5,809,700 to Pennsylvania State U., in University Park. Other awards included $300,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for Project Beacon, a literacy program for young children in day-care homes and centers in low-income Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

Through the cultural-activities program, a $3-million award went to the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, to expand and renovate galleries in its West Building. The gift was made in honor of Paul Mellon, a lifelong patron of the National Gallery, which was founded by his father, Andrew W. Mellon. Another major grant of $2.5-million went to the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh to upgrade and expand the zoo’s aquarium.

Human-services grants stressed support for Pittsburgh-area non-profit groups that aid at-risk families and individuals. Some grants reflected the increasingly significant role of technology both in the region and for non-profit operations; for example, $800,000 went to the Pittsburgh Foundation for the Information Systems Integration Project for the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

Also in 1999, the foundation engaged in a comprehensive review of its priorities and outlined policies that will guide its grant making over the next five years. One recommendation was the creation of a new priority area called System Reform, which will foster efforts to redesign and enhance human-services delivery.

Application procedure: Proposals should include a completed application form, obtainable from the foundation, and should be addressed to Michael Watson, vice president. The foundation also accepts the “Common Grant Application Format.” In addition to the application form, applicants must include a copy of the latest Internal Revenue Service letter indicating tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3); a cover letter co-signed by the board president or chairperson and the executive director; an executive summary providing an overview of the organization, the proposed project, how it will benefit the community, and the organization’s capacity and plan to operate the project; the project budget; the organization’s history, including its goals, current programs and activities, and accomplishments; a list of board members and officers, with their affiliations, addresses, and telephone numbers; audited financial statements for the last two years, with corresponding operating budgets; and other sources of funding and a financial plan for sustaining the project. The foundation does not make grants to individuals or to organizations outside the United States, and does not normally consider grants to conduit organizations.

Key officials: Seward Prosser Mellon, president and chairman of the Executive Committee; Michael Watson, vice president and program director; Scott D. Izzo, program officer; Ann Marie Helms, program associate; Richard P. Mellon, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION
1 Union Station
Providence, R.I. 02903
(401) 274-4564
http://www.rifoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: This community foundation was established in 1916. It allocates grants through more than 600 endowed funds for projects that benefit Rhode Island communities and residents. At the end of 1999, the fund ranked 22nd among U.S. community foundations, with regard to the market value of its assets.

Last year the foundation distributed 3,273 grants totaling $17-million. Discretionary grants — which comprise the foundation’s unrestricted and field-of-interest funds — were made in three program areas: children and families, community and economic development, and education.

The children and families program emphasizes access to affordable health care and other social services and to productive activities that deter young people from gangs and other negative behavior. Grants included $50,000 to the Rhode Island Youth Guidance Center for programs for at-risk male adolescents in the Blackstone Valley region, and $150,000 to the Rhode Island Department of Human Services for a project on working people in the state who lack health insurance.

Through its community-development program, the foundation supports projects throughout the “Ocean State” that focus on employment and training, housing, the environment, civic engagement, and arts and cultural activities. For example, a $35,000 grant went to Progreso Latino, a group based in Providence, to educate the public, policy makers, and others on issues related to temporary employment.

The foundation’s grant making in education focuses on improving Rhode Island’s public schools. Specific emphases include leadership, professional development for teachers, equity, parental involvement, early-childhood education, and expanding access to technology and other resources that complement the academic curriculum. Grants included $150,000 to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island to create and open an education center, and $70,000 to the Providence School Department to establish family- and parent-oriented resource centers in Providence public schools.

In 1997, the foundation committed approximately $6-million to the multiple-year Rhode Island Teachers and Technology Initiative. Its goal is to train the state’s public-school teachers in the latest technological advances, and to provide laptop computers and training to some 3,000 Rhode Island teachers and principals.

A total of $21,000 was awarded through the Sizer Fellowships Program, which supports middle- and high-school teachers who have innovative ideas for involving parents more directly in the education of their adolescent children.

The fund’s Basic Human Needs Program makes a limited number of small grants to social-services groups in order to provide direct, emergency assistance with rent, food, utility, and medical-prescription costs. Grants must be matched on a one-to-one basis.

Application procedure: Organizations interested in applying should submit a three- to four-page letter of intent that includes: the goals of the proposed project and a statement indicating how those goals relate to one of the foundation’s three major areas of interest, an explanation of how the proposed work involves the community being served, a description of the basic strategies and activities designed to bring the project to a successful conclusion, and an estimate of the total costs and the amount requested from the foundation. Letters of intent should be addressed to Ronald Thorpe, vice president for program. Letter-of-intent deadlines are as follows: the arts and education, June 1; children and families, October 1; and economic and community development, February 1. Letters of intent may also be submitted online at the foundation’s Web site. If the foundation desires, organizations will be invited to submit a full application.

Key officials: Ronald V. Gallo, president; Ronald D. Thorpe Jr., vice president for program; Carol Golden, vice president for development; Karen Voci, vice president for special projects; Michael Jenkinson, director of finance and administration; Rick Schwartz, director of communications; Melvin J. Bell Jr. and David Karoff, program officers; Tina Donate, grants administrator; Norman E. McCulloch Jr., chairman of the Board of Directors.