Foundation Annual Reports

J. PAUL GETTY TRUST
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 400
Los Angeles 90049-1681
(310) 440-7555
http://www.getty.edu

Period covered: Two years ending June 30, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

The trust was founded in 1953 by the oil tycoon J. Paul Getty when he created an art museum at his home in Malibu, Cal. Mr. Getty died in 1976; most of his personal estate passed to the trust in 1982, enabling it to expand its mission significantly to include support for conservation, education, and scholarship in the arts and humanities.

The trust currently administers six operating programs: the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Information Institute, the Getty Education Institute, and the Leadership Institute for Museum Management.

The trust also administers the Getty Grant Program, which awards grants to both individuals and institutions in six areas: art and architectural conservation, museums, professional organizations, scholarship in the history of art, art history and scholarship in Central and Eastern Europe, and museums and visual-arts organizations in Los Angeles, with a focus on internships for minority youths.

Grants included $60,000 to the Slovak National Gallery, in Bratislava, for library acquisitions, and $25,000 to the Little Rock School District to prepare a plan for conserving Little Rock Central High School, a focal point in the civil-rights movement.

The new Getty Center in Los Angeles opened to the public in December 1997, and drew nearly two million visitors in its first year of operation. The Getty Villa in Malibu, which formerly housed the museum’s collections, will reopen in 2002. It will house the Getty Museum’s Greek and Roman pieces, as well as temporary exhibitions, and will conduct programs on comparative archaeology and ancient cultures.

Application procedure: Guidelines providing current information about eligibility, deadlines, and application procedures are available for the Getty Grant Program, as are lists of recent grants awarded. Those materials may be obtained through the trust’s Web site or by contacting the Getty Grant Program at 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 800, Los Angeles 90049-1685; (310) 440-7320; fax (310) 440-7703.

Key officials: Barry Munitz, president and chief executive officer; Stephen D. Rountree, executive vice-president and chief operating officer; Russell S. Gould, senior vice-president for finance and investments; John Walsh, vice-president and director of the Getty Museum; Theodore Mitchell, vice-president for education and strategic initiatives; Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Grant Program and interim director of the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities; Timothy P. Whalen, director of the Getty Conservation Institute; Robert F. Erburu, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

RESEARCH CORPORATION

101 North Wilmot Road, Suite 250
Tucson, Ariz. 85711
(520) 571-1111
http://www.rescorp.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support:

This foundation makes grants for scientific research; it was established in 1912 by the scientist and inventor Frederick Gardner Cottrell, with the assistance of Charles Doolittle Walcott, who was secretary of the Smithsonian Institution at the time.

In 1997, appropriations totaling $6,764,127 were made in six programs.

The Cottrell College Science Awards, the foundation’s largest and oldest program, allocated 77 grants totaling $2,457,188. Those awards support astronomy, chemistry, and physics research at primarily undergraduate institutions.

The new Research Innovation Awards program made its inaugural round of 48 grants totaling $1,620,152. The awards support innovative research in astronomy, biochemistry, and physics by beginning faculty members at Ph.D.-granting institutions.

The Cottrell Scholars Awards program made grants of $50,000 each to 22 faculty scientists who are beginning a third year in astronomy, chemistry, and physics departments that grant Ph.D.’s.

The Partners in Science program provides stipends to enable high-school teachers to participate in research activities at local colleges and universities. In 1997, 30 new awards totaling $420,000 were made. The final awards in this program will be made this year.

Nine grants totaling $180,935 were allocated through the Research Opportunity Awards program, which enables mid-career faculty members who teach astronomy, chemistry, or physics at doctorate-granting institutions to explore new areas of experimental research.

Application procedure: Guidelines for all Research Corporation awards are available on the foundation’s World-Wide Web site or may be obtained by contacting the foundation’s Science Advancement Program.

Key officials: John P. Schaefer, president and chief executive officer; Michael P. Doyle, vice-president; Mary Lynn Grayeski and Raymond Kellman, program officers; W. Stevenson Bacon, communications officer.

RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION

70 Elm Street
Providence, R.I. 02903
(401) 274-4564
http://www.rifoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: Created in 1916, this community foundation makes grants through roughly 565 endowed funds for projects that benefit Rhode Island residents.

In 1997, 49.6 per cent of grants were awarded through discretionary funds, 37.9 per cent through designated funds, and 12.5 per cent through advised funds. This allotment was consistent with the previous year’s grant making.

Discretionary grants emphasize three major program areas: children and families, community and economic development, and education.

The children and families program focuses the provision of low-cost health care and other comprehensive social services. For example, $200,000 was awarded to Rhode Island Kids Count for its work to collect and distribute data on the well-being of children statewide, and $58,850 to the Providence Public Library to establish intergenerational literacy programs at 12 sites.

The foundation’s community-development program is its newest grant-making area; it stresses civic participation, safe and low-cost housing, neighborhood revitalization, and arts and cultural activities. Awards included $25,000 to the Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy for organizational and professional development, and $20,000 to the Providence Black Repertory Company for educational outreach and performances.

A conference on urban sprawl was held at the University of Rhode Island with support from the foundation; the meeting led to the creation of “Grow Smart,” a coalition of academic, business, environmental, and non-profit leaders concerned with the problem.

The education program focuses on public-school reform, increasing parental involvement, and early-childhood education. Awards included $25,000 to the Duncan Avenue Arts Collaborative for a school-to-work program that provides selected students with professional opportunities in the performing and visual arts, and $55,000 to the Northern Rhode Island Collaborative for the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters.

The foundation made its largest grant ever, $5-million over three years, to the “Teachers and Technology” project, which seeks to provide laptop computers and training to 3,000 Rhode Island teachers, approximately 30 per cent of the state’s teaching work force.

Through the Basic Human Needs Program, the foundation makes a limited number of $5,000 grants to social-services groups in order to provide emergency assistance with rent, food, and medical-prescription costs.

Application procedure: Organizations interested in applying should submit a three- to four-page letter of intent that provides a statement indicating how the goals of the proposed project relate to one of the foundation’s three major areas of interest, an explanation of how the work being proposed 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 D. Thorpe, Jr., vice-president for program. Letter-of-intent deadlines are as follows: education, June 15; children and families, October 15; and economic and community development, February 15. 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; Robert D. Rosendale, vice-president for finance and administration; Rick Schwartz, director of communications; Karen Voci, director, office of evaluation and special partnerships; Melvin J. Bell, Jr., and Barbara Wong, program officers; Tina Donate-Gonzalez, grants administrator; Melvin G. Alperin, chairman of the Board of Directors.