Foundation Annual Reports

ROBERT STERLING CLARK FOUNDATION
135 East 64th Street
New York 10021
(212) 288-8900

Period covered: Year ending October 31, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

Robert Sterling Clark, an art collector and grandson of Edward Clark, a founder of the Singer Manufacturing Company, established the foundation in 1952.

In 1998, the foundation awarded 92 grants through its three main program areas: ensuring access to comprehensive reproductive-health information and services, which received 29 grants totaling $1,840,800; improving the performance of government institutions in New York City and State, which received 31 grants totaling $1,438,500; and strengthening cultural institutions, which received 32 grants totaling $1,395,000.

The foundation’s grant making in reproductive health promotes the development of laws, policies, and practices that counter an “anti-women, anti-progressive, and anti-democratic” agenda in the United States, writes executive director Margaret C. Ayers in an introductory essay to the annual report. Grants awarded in this category support sexuality education, litigation to keep abortions legal, and comprehensive care for women. Projects entail policy analysis, public education, and grassroots and national activities, including strategies for reducing violence at abortion clinics and research on organizations opposed to abortion.

Grants included $100,000 to the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League Foundation, in Washington, to expand and update a computer database of abortion-related legislation and court decisions.

In a separate grant-making category, the foundation monitors government accountability and cost efficiency. Its grant making supports advocacy organizations in New York State that are often called upon by the press to comment on public policy. The foundation’s grant making emphasizes groups working to improve social services for poor New Yorkers. For example, $45,000 went to City Limits, a New York newspaper that reports on housing issues, and $30,000 went to the Nutrition Consortium of New York State, in Albany, to educate state lawmakers on the preservation of federal food-aid programs for people who are no longer eligible for such assistance.

Grants to cultural institutions focus on improving the use of resources by New York-area arts groups, with the aim of reducing their dependence on government support. The foundation finances projects that generate income, provide technical assistance, bolster fund raising, and build competent management. Grants included $30,000 to Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, to create new marketing materials.

Publications supported in part or in whole by the foundation included the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression’s “Understanding, Preparing for, and Responding to Challenges to Your Freedom of Artistic Expression,” and ProChoice Resource Center’s “(c)3s, (c)(4)s, and PACs: A Primer on Political Activities and Tax-Exempt Organizations.”

Application procedure: Proposals should be addressed to Ms. Ayers and should include a description of the planned project, its budget, its expectations, plans for evaluation, background of persons involved with the project, and a statement of plans for future support. Applicants also should provide information on the organization’s budgets (past, current, and projected), audited financial statements, an Internal Revenue Service letter explaining tax status, names and occupations of trustees, and examples of past accomplishments. The proposal should not exceed 15 pages and should include a one-page summary. The board meets in January, April, July, and October, and it reviews proposals year-round.

Key officials: Margaret C. Ayers, executive director; Darcy Hector and Laura Wolff, program officers; Winthrop R. Munyan, president of the Board of Directors.

GRAND RAPIDS FOUNDATION

161 Ottawa Avenue, N.W.
209-C Waters Building
Grand Rapids, Mich. 49503-2757
(616) 454-1751
http://www.grfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support:

Lee Hutchins, a Grand Rapids pharmacist, established the foundation in 1922 with a $25 gift from the president of the city’s Association of Commerce. Seven years later the foundation received its first major gift, of $100,000, and by 1999 the foundation held more than 150 funds totaling $161,709,172.

The foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations in western Michigan and emphasizes new programs or capital projects.

The majority of the funds the foundation manages — 53 percent — are unrestricted. From this pool, the foundation approved grants totaling $6,533,949 last year and paid out $3,860,723 in the following categories: human services, $1,399,158; education, $1,080,006; community development, $691,958; the environment, $365,858; health, $149,081; arts and culture, $121,950; and unclassified, $52,712.

Allocations included $150,000 to Home Repair Services of Kent County, to purchase and renovate a new facility; $50,000 to the Timberland Resource Conservation & Development Area Council, to construct a bridge on the White Pine Trail for pedestrians and bicycle riders; and $20,000 to the Adoptive Family Support Network, to shore up its fund-raising efforts.

The foundation also manages a series of donor-advised funds, including family foundations, endowments for designated charities, and funds earmarked for scholarships to students from the Grand Rapids area. The assets of such scholarship funds totaled $9,375,598 in 1999.

Application procedure: The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or acknowledge form letters. To receive an application packet, applicants should call Marcia Rapp, vice president of programs, at the number listed above or visit the foundation’s Web site. Proposed projects must be in the Grand Rapids area. The foundation emphasizes programs that promote cooperation among non-profit organizations without duplicating services; serve a broad segment of the community; and do not discriminate in staff hiring or provision of services on the basis of race, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or disability.

Key officials: Diana Sieger, president; Marcia Rapp, vice president of programs; Lon Swartzentruber, donor-relations director; Wendy Lewis-Jackson, program director; Laura Craft, program officer; Lynn Black, vice president of finance and administration; Molly Parker, vice president of development; Ruth Bishop, education-program associate; Casey Wondergem, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

CORPORATIONS

MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Community Affairs
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, Wash. 98052-6399
(425) 936-8185
http://www.microsoft.com/giving

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support:

Three objectives guide Microsoft’s giving: to provide access to computers and other information technology to the poor and others who have been left out by such advances; to encourage volunteering and giving among its employees; and to support arts, civic, cultural, educational, environmental, and human-services programs in neighborhoods where its employees reside and work.

The majority of donations in the last category are made in Washington State’s King and Snohomish Counties. The corporation also awards grants through its 18 field offices throughout the United States; internationally, Microsoft supports non-profit groups in 60 countries where its subsidiaries operate, and its grants abroad cover areas such as technology-skills training and disaster relief.

In the most recent fiscal year Microsoft donated $25,646,000 in cash and $79,013,000 in software to approximately 4,000 non-profit organizations in the United States and abroad.

The corporation supports national programs aimed at “bridging the digital divide” for organizations that lack access to high technology. The “Working Connections” program is a joint project with the American Association of Community Colleges that provides software and technical training at 25 community colleges nationwide. The corporation also finances “Open Studio,” a program developed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Benton Foundation to help arts organizations use the Internet.

Direct cash grants included $100,000 to the Atlanta office of the United Negro College Fund for programs to provide computer access and training.

Microsoft also coordinates an employee-volunteer program. In May 1999, for example, 100 Microsoft workers participated in Seattle’s “Y2K Day of Service,” on which 125 of the city’s non-profit groups tested software designed to eliminate the year 2000 glitch.

Microsoft matches dollar for dollar all employee contributions of $25 or more, up to $12,000 per person, including gifts of stock and software.

Application procedure: Applicants must be organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and must not be hospitals, medical clinics, amateur or professional sports groups or teams, or political, labor, religious, or fraternal organizations. Eligible applicants in Washington’s King and Snohomish Counties should include a description of the organization, including its mission, major accomplishments, governance, and area and population served; the operating budget for the current fiscal year, including a list of financial sources; a list of current board members and key staff members; a copy of the organization’s tax-exempt notification letter from the Internal Revenue Service; and any additional requested information. Although proposals are accepted throughout the year, internal grant-making deadlines are February 15, May 15, and October 15. Proposals sent by fax or e-mail are not accepted.

Key officials: Bill Gates, chairman; Steve Ballmer, president and chief executive officer; Bruce Brooks, director of community affairs.