$60-Million Fund Produced by Telephone Merger
October 16, 1997 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Bell Atlantic Foundation and the NYNEX Foundation have merged into a new philanthropy with $60-million in assets.
Officials said that beginning in 1998, the fund plans to award $33-million to $35-million in grants to charities in New York and New England. The annual amount previously awarded by the two funds totaled about $5.5-million.
The merger of the two foundations came after the Bell Atlantic and NYNEX telecommunications companies joined forces in August.
The foundation, which will keep the Bell Atlantic name, plans to gradually phase out the grant-making programs now run by the two foundations before the merger.
By 2000, the new foundation plans to focus exclusively on making telecommunications and education grants. Previously, the two funds devoted about 40 per cent of their awards to technology projects. In addition, they have made grants to support groups in health care and human services, education, and the performing arts.
Information on the new foundation’s plans are available through its World-Wide Web site (http://www.bellatlanticfoundation.com). The site also allows organizations to apply for grants without submitting any paper records. As an incentive to encourage grant seekers to use the Internet, the foundation has promised to send an acceptance or rejection within two days after any proposal is received via the Web site.
For additional information, contact the Bell Atlantic Foundation, 1095 Avenue of the Americas, Room 3200, New York 10036; (800) 360-7955.
Correction
This article incompletely described the geographical locations where the foundation makes grants. It awards money to charities in 12 states and the District of Columbia. The item should also have said that the foundation has not made changes in the types of groups it will support, but that it is gradually changing the nature of the projects it will finance. By 2000 the foundation plans to support only those projects that help charities make better use of communications technology. Bell Atlantic officials incorrectly described their plans for responding to proposals submitted via the Internet. They have promised to acknowledge all such proposals within 48 hours, but will not necessarily accept or reject proposals in that time frame.
