Foundation Annual Reports

BOSTON FOUNDATION
One Boston Place, 24th Floor
Boston 02108-4402
(617) 723-7415
Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: This community foundation was established in 1915. It makes discretionary and donor-advised grants to non-profit groups in metropolitan Boston and comprises more than 450 funds.

In 1996-97, 1,802 grants totaling $21,270,598 were paid in these program areas: education, which received 33.9 per cent of total grant dollars; social services, 17.8 per cent; community development, 15.8 per cent; cultural institutions and the arts and humanities, 12.0 per cent; health, 8.5 per cent; civic affairs, 4.3 per cent; conservation and the environment, 3.1 per cent; religious organizations, 1.3 per cent; and other, 3.3 per cent.

Of grants paid, 43.2 per cent were allocated from donor-advised funds; 34.8 per cent from discretionary funds; 21.6 per cent from designated funds; and 0.4 per cent from support organizations.

Since 1993, grant making from discretionary funds has focused on priorities enumerated in the foundation’s Building Family and Community Initiative. Those grants provide support for community-based educational, employment, health-care, and housing programs that help people overcome poverty and emphasize preventive programs that take up the root causes of urban poverty.

For example, $25,000 went to Sociedad Latina to provide career-development assistance to Boston’s Latino community, and $15,000 went to the Washington Street Corridor Coalition for community-organizing activities in the Chinatown, Dorchester, and South End neighborhoods.

Education-related grants included $60,000 to the Algebra in the Middle Schools Project for its curriculum and professional-development activities in Boston middle schools.

Grants in other areas included $50,000 to the Boston AIDS Consortium for staff support for three new working groups on issues affecting people with HIV and AIDS.

Application procedure: Potential applicants should contact the foundation to obtain a copy of its publication The Grant Seekers’ Guide to the Boston Foundation, which is published in both English and Spanish. The foundation also schedules periodic “Meet the Foundation” sessions to answer questions about the proposal process. The board considers proposals on a quarterly basis. Deadlines are December 15 for consideration at the March meeting, March 15 for the June meeting, June 15 for the September meeting, and September 15 for the December meeting. There are no deadlines for letters of inquiry or concept papers. The foundation does not accept faxed proposals or concept papers.

Key officials: Anna Faith Jones, president and chief executive officer; Christine Green, vice-president for program; John McDonagh, vice-president for devel- opment; James A. Pitts, vice-president for finance and administration; Robert R. Wadsworth, program director; Angel H. Bermudez and Lissette Rodriguez, senior program officers; Corey L. Davis, grants manager; Frieda Garcia, chair of the Board of Directors.

W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION
One Michigan Avenue East
Battle Creek, Mich. 49017-4058
(616) 968-1611
World-Wide Web: http://www.wkkf.org
Period covered: Year ending August 31, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was endowed in 1930 by W. K. Kellogg, founder of the cereal company that bears his name. In 1996-97, grants and program payments totaling $270.8-million were made in the following areas: youth development and higher education, which received 23 per cent of grant dollars; health, 20 per cent; “cross-cutting themes,” 19 per cent; food systems and rural development, 12 per cent; philanthropy and volunteerism, 9 per cent; special opportunities, 7 per cent; foundation-operated programs, 6 per cent; projects in the Battle Creek, Mich., area, 3 per cent; and other, 1 per cent.

The foundation made payments to 1,469 of its 3,448 active projects and made 942 new commitments. Geographically, 79 per cent of new dollars committed went to U.S. programs, 15 per cent to Latin America and the Caribbean, and 6 per cent to southern Africa. Grants in southern Africa are made in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and portions of Mozambique.

Youth-development grants promote the well-being of children and teen-agers in the United States through prevention-oriented, community-based programs. A few grants also support basic education in southern Africa and Latin America.

Health grants emphasize increased access to integrated, comprehensive services that stress public health, prevention, and primary care.

“Cross-cutting themes” include leadership, information systems and technology, diversity, and family, neighborhood, and community development. Awards included $300,000 to the Center for Black Women’s Wellness in Atlanta to provide neighborhood-based financial and technical services to women interested in initiating or expanding small businesses.

Food and rural-development awards are made to help provide residents with safe, nutritious food; to insure that agricultural and food production is environmentally and economically viable; and to improve the quality of life in rural communities.

Through its Michigan Community Foundations’ Youth Project, the foundation made matching grants of up to $1-million to create community funds in Michigan.

Application procedure: Interested organizations should submit a one- to two-page pre-proposal letter that describes the basic problem to be considered and the plan for its solution. The letter should briefly explain the project’s objectives, operational procedures, and time schedules as well as the personnel and financial resources available and needed. Pre-proposal letters should be sent to the Manager of Grant Proposals at the address above. It is not necessary to provide a plastic-bound or expensively produced letter, since all requests must be disassembled for electronic imaging and filing. Videotapes, binders, photo albums, and personal visits to the foundation are discouraged. If the proposal is within the foundation’s guidelines, interests, and resources, the applicant may be asked to develop a more-detailed proposal.

Key officials: William C. Richardson, president and chief executive officer; Gregory A. Lyman, senior vice-president and corporate secretary; Anne C. Petersen, senior vice-president for programs; Geraldine Kearse Brookins, Richard M. Foster, Gail D. McClure, Dan E. Moore, and Gloria R. Smith, vice-presidents for programs; Karen R. Hollenbeck, vice-president of administration and assistant corporate secretary; Paul J. Lawler, vice-president of finance and treasurer; Chris T. Christ, chair of the Board of Trustees.

CORPORATIONS
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Community Affairs
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Wash. 98052-6399
(425) 936-8185
World-Wide Web: http://www.microsoft.com/giving
Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1997.

Purpose and areas of support: Founded in 1975, the Microsoft Corporation makes grants for arts, civic, cultural, environmental, human-services, higher-education, and technology programs in communities where its employees live and work. The majority of this support goes to non-profit organizations located in Washington State’s King and Snohomish Counties, where the company’s headquarters facilities are located. Some corporate giving is channeled through the corporation’s 15 district offices nationwide.

The corporation also supports several national programs, including the “Working Connections” program to provide information-technology training at U.S. community colleges, and the “Open Studio: the Arts Online” program to train artists and arts groups to create cultural content for the Internet.

Increasingly, the corporation is focusing its corporate giving on providing disadvantaged communities with greater access to computers and the Internet. For example, it has pledged to match the Gates Library Foundation’s five-year, $200-million cash commitment with software donations. The Gates Library Foundation, which was created in 1997 by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, provides technical assistance and training to public-library staff members and grants to equip public libraries in low-income neighborhoods with on-line technology and access.

Application procedure: Applicant organizations must be 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 organizations in the Puget Sound, Wash., area may submit proposals throughout the year and should also 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 information that is requested by Microsoft. Proposals sent by fax or e-mail are not accepted.

Key officials: Bill Gates, chairman and chief executive officer; Barbara J. Dingfield, manager of corporate contributions and community programs; Christopher Hedrick, senior program manager for corporate contributions.