Foundation Annual Reports

JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION

1 Biscayne Tower Suite 3300
200 South Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, Fla. 33131-1803
(305) 908-2600
http://www.knightfdn.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: This private foundation was created in 1950 by John S. and James L. Knight, who owned various newspapers nationwide that eventually became part of the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain. The brothers, who died in 1981 and 1991, respectively, both left large bequests to the foundation.

The foundation maintains three major programs: the community-partners program, which benefits 26 cities and towns nationwide where the Knight brothers owned newspapers; the National Venture Fund; and journalism. The foundation also supports a small number of other projects outside those program areas.

In 2002, the foundation approved 459 new grants totaling $80,949,242 as follows: the community-partners program received 75 grants totaling $33,032,960; journalism, 66 grants totaling $24,078,800; the National Venture Fund, 28 grants totaling $14,280,000; September 11 grants, 246 awards totaling $8,306,000; and 44 other grants totaling $1,251,482.

Community-partnership grants emphasize six priority areas: children and families, civic engagement, culture, economic development, education, and housing and community development. Over the past two years, foundation liaison officers have worked with local advisory committees to establish customized priorities for each community.

Grants included $300,000 to Urban Strategies, in St. Louis, to construct a ballpark and playground at an affordable-housing development in Gary, Ind.

Another grant recipient, the Schlow Memorial Library, in State College, Pa., received $30,000 to construct a children’s library.

Also under this program, the foundation awarded grants totaling $25,380,000 to strengthen and create donor-advised funds at community foundations in 14 of its eligible localities.

Grants for journalism are international in scope and focus on diversity; journalism education at high schools, colleges, and universities; freedom of the press; and new media forms, such as the Internet, that help journalists conduct research and report. For example, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, in Los Angeles, received $1.5-million to endow a chair in journalism focusing on the news media and religion.

Another grant recipient, the National Press Foundation, in Washington, was awarded $50,000 to train journalists from developing countries to provide better coverage of issues related to HIV/AIDS.

Also under its journalism program, the foundation awarded $5-million over five years to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor to establish new fellowships in an existing program for journalists from the United States and abroad, and to add an environmental focus to the program.

The National Venture Fund awards grants for innovative national projects that relate directly or indirectly to the foundation’s work in its 26 designated communities.

For example, One Economy Corporation, in Washington, received $750,000 over three years to provide computers, Internet access, technical assistance, training, and other technology-related services to low-income families in Miami and in San Jose, Calif.

Also under this program, the Youth Vote Coalition, in Washington, received $300,000 over two years for a program to train youths about voter registration and voting in 12 priority regions, including Broward and Dade Counties, Fla.; Minneapolis and St. Paul; and Ann Arbor, Mich.

In 2001, the foundation decided to increase its grant making in the journalism and community-partners programs, and to phase out national programs in education, arts, and culture. Currently, national groups located outside the 26 communities may apply for support only for projects that benefit at least one of those locales.

Application procedure: The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Potential applicants whose projects fall within the objectives and interests of the foundation should submit a two-page letter of inquiry.

Additional information, including detailed guidelines for submitting a letter of inquiry and a list of the foundation’s 26 designated communities, is available on the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Hodding Carter III, president and chief executive officer; Timothy J. Crowe, vice president and chief investment officer; Betty Clossick, vice president of accounting and treasurer; Belinda Turner Lawrence, vice president and chief administrative officer; Penelope McPhee, vice president and chief program officer; Larry Meyer, vice president of communications; John Bare, director of planning and evaluation; Joe Ervin, director of the community-partners program; Eric Newton, director of journalism initiatives; Lisa Versaci, director of the National Venture Fund; Julie Brooks, grants administrator; W. Gerald Austen, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

DONALD W. REYNOLDS FOUNDATION

1701 Village Center Circle
Las Vegas, Nev. 89134-6303
(702) 804-6000
http://www.dwreynolds.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established in 1954 by the media entrepreneur Donald Worthington Reynolds, founder of the Donrey Media Group. Upon Mr. Rey-nolds’s death in 1993, the privately held Donrey Media Group was sold, ultimately resulting in a bequest of approximately $850-million from Mr. Reynolds’s estate.

The foundation awards grants through regional and national programs. Regional grants, which totaled $45.3-million in authorizations in 2002, are awarded to nonprofit organizations in Arkansas, Nevada, and Oklahoma, states where Mr. Reynolds’s company operated newspapers, radio and television stations, and other media outlets. Regional grants emphasize building a network of children’s museums called Discovery Centers; improving food-distribution networks; and supporting shelters for women and their children. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals in those areas. In addition, the foundation provides a limited number of planning and technical-assistance grants to help charity employees improve their skills in such areas as fund raising, program planning, and technology.

Regional grants made in 2002 included $310,944 to Help in Crisis, a women’s shelter in Tahlequah, Okla., for furniture, equipment, and other improvements. Another grant recipient, the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum, in Las Vegas, received $20,000 to plan a network of Discovery Center children’s museums in Nevada.

National grants focus on aging and quality of life and on cardiovascular clinical research. The foundation authorized three national grants totaling $20.5-million in 2002, all through the program on aging and quality of life. The largest grant — a commitment totaling $18,250,000 — went to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, in Little Rock, for its geriatrics program and endowment. The grant is contingent upon the university’s ability to raise matching funds over a period of several years.

In 2002, the foundation issued its second call for proposals for multimillion-dollar grants to establish centers focused on cardiovascular clinical research. To date, four institutions have received at least $24-million each to create such centers: Harvard University and its affiliated Brigham & Women’s Hospital, both in Boston; the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore; Stanford University, in Palo Alto, Calif.; and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The foundation’s competitive capital-grants program, which made grants to nonprofit organizations in Arkansas, Nevada, and Oklahoma to support the construction, purchase, or renovation of equipment and facilities, was temporarily suspended in April of this year, pending a review of program results to date.

In January 2003, the foundation terminated its program that assisted nonprofit groups seeking to share office space with other charities.

Application procedure: Because the foundation is currently making program changes, it recommends that potential applicants contact staff members directly before submitting a proposal. Unsolicited proposals are accepted only for the planning and technical-assistance program. Additional information is available on the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Steven L. Anderson, president; Richard S. Sharpe, executive vice president of programs; Lynn Mosier, chief financial officer; Kathleen A. Fench, administrative-services director; Christian W. Kolberg, director of communications; Courtney E. Latta, Philip L. Thomas, and J. Craig Willis, senior program officers; Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION

225 Bush Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, Calif. 94104-4224
(415) 733-8500
http://www.sff.org

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 2002.

Purpose and areas of support: Established in 1948, this community foundation makes grants to benefit residents of the San Francisco Bay area, including California’s Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties.

During its 2002 fiscal year, the foundation approved 4,643 grants. Of that total, 3,793 grants were donor-advised, 841 were awarded through the foundation’s competitive-grants program, and 9 went to supporting organizations.

Competitive grants were made in nine program areas: community health, which received 22 percent of discretionary grant dollars; special initiatives and the Koshland Awards, 18 percent; environment, 14 percent; neighborhood and community development, 14 percent; education, 12 percent; arts and culture, 6 percent; social justice, 6 percent; awards and scholarships, 5 percent; and philanthropy and nonprofit groups, 3 percent.

Community-health grants seek to promote physical and emotional health and to ensure the safety and well-being of families and individuals in their communities and homes. Awards included $25,000 to Asian American Recovery Services, in San Francisco, for programs that prevent and treat substance abuse among Asian and Pacific Islander residents of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.

Grants for special initiatives included several “digital connect” grants, designed to help nonprofit groups improve their technological infrastructure, including databases, computer networks, and Web sites.

Environment-related grants promote environmentally sustainable development, preservation of the natural environment of the San Francisco Bay area, and programs that encourage healthful, sustainable environments for people. For example, the Edible Schoolyard, in Berkeley, received $13,000 to renovate a middle-school facility that will house an environmental-education program to teach students about organic gardening and cooking.

The neighborhood and community-development program emphasizes affordable, safe housing; services that help people meet basic needs and prevent homelessness; jobs that are secure and pay a livable wage; the leadership skills of individuals and groups working to improve neighborhoods; and sustainable economic-development projects.

Application procedure: The foundation awards grants to nonprofit groups located in the five counties listed above. Potential applicants should submit a letter of intent of three pages or less. The next deadlines for letters of intent are September 8, 2003, and March 15, 2004.

Additional information, including detailed instructions for writing a letter of intent, is available on the foundation’s Web site.

Key officials: Sandra Hernández, chief executive officer; Anthony Tansimore, chief operating officer; William D. Glenn, director of fund development; Sara Ying Kelley, director of public affairs; Derek Aspacher, director of grants management; Leslie P. Hume, chair of the Board of Trustees.

Program officers: Diane Aranda, community health; John R. Killacky, arts and culture; Carol Lamont, neighborhood and community development; Arlene Rodriguez, environment; Ronald M. Rowell, social justice; Norman Yee, education.