Foundation Annual Reports

BLANDIN FOUNDATION

100 North Pokegama Avenue
Grand Rapids, Minn. 55744
(218) 326-0523
http://www.blandinfoundation.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support: Charles K. Blandin, a paper manufacturer, established the foundation in 1941 to benefit rural areas of Minnesota. Its grant making focuses mainly on Itasca County, in the northern part of the state.

In 1998, the foundation awarded grants to 95 organizations in six categories: infrastructure and services, which received $2,535, 633; economic opportunity, $2, 159,611; lifelong learning, $1, 385,100; environment, $1,333, 000; recreational and cultural opportunities, $1,149,300; and community leadership, $1,066,712.

The foundation’s largest grant was $1,158,000 to the School Nature Area Project, in Northfield, Minn. The SNAP grant enabled 20 schools to establish areas for nature study and to implement a curriculum of environmental-education programs.

Other large grants included $1-million to Twin Cities Public Television, in St. Paul, to support coverage of rural issues.

The foundation allocated $1,051,112 to the Blandin Community Leadership Program, which recruits approximately 200 people annually to participate in workshops designed to help people improve their cities and towns — in areas such as education, government, health care, and volunteerism.

The foundation receives almost all of its non-investment income from the Charles K. Blandin Residuary Trust, which was set up by Mr. Blandin to operate independently of the foundation. The trust is required by the Internal Revenue Service to distribute 5 percent of the average market value of its net assets annually to the foundation, which is the sole beneficiary.

Application procedure: The foundation commits most of its grant dollars to pre-selected partner organizations, but it will consider new proposals that take up major issues, opportunities, and trends affecting rural Minnesota. Eligibility for grants is restricted to organizations in Minnesota that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The foundation does not support religious activities, medical research, media projects, or travel expenses; nor does it provide capital or operating support for groups outside of Itasca County. Letters of inquiry should be sent to the address above.

Key officials: Paul M. Olson, president and chief executive officer; Kathryn Jensen, senior vice president; James Krile, director of the Blandin Community Leadership Program; Liam Clarke, program officer; James Hoolihan, chair of the Board of Trustees.

THE COMMONWEALTH FUND

1 East 75th Street
New York 10021-2692
(212) 535-0400
http://www.cmwf.org

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: Anna Harkness, the widow of an early investor in the Standard Oil Company, established the foundation in 1918.

The fund makes grants nationally in four program areas: improving health-care services, bettering the health of minority Americans, advancing the well-being of elderly people, and developing children and youths. Internationally, the fund finances programs to develop health-care policy and health research in the United States and other industrialized nations.

The fund also allocates a limited number of grants to improve public services and spaces in New York City.

In 1998-99 the fund awarded $13-million to its four national programs. Improving health-care services received 37 percent of those grant dollars; developing children and youths, 26 percent; advancing the well-being of elderly people, 25 percent; and minority-health issues, 12 percent.

Health-care grants emphasize projects to educate the public about gaps in health-insurance coverage, to establish and adopt standards for evaluating and monitoring managed-care health plans, to develop information to help academic health centers carry out their functions while adapting to managed care, and to educate doctors and the public about women’s-health issues.

In July 1998 the fund established the Task Force on the Future of Health Insurance for Working Americans. The fund committed a total of $1,233,546 to five research institutions to examine ways of insuring families that earn too little to afford private premiums and too much to qualify for Medicaid.

Grants for child and youth development stress expanding pediatric practice to include child-development services and parental support, and strengthening the ability of health-care systems, particularly at the state level, to provide care to poor families and their children.

Grants to promote the well-being of elderly Americans emphasize improving the quality and accessibility of long-term care and guaranteeing that the Medicare program is capable of providing for growing numbers of elderly people.

Minority-health projects focus on identifying barriers to adequate care for the increasingly diverse U.S. population and on developing minority leaders to shape health-care policy for minority Americans.

Awards to benefit New York City included $20,650 to Publicolor, a group that organizes students, parents, and teachers in impoverished neighborhoods to paint public schools.

Application procedure: Applicants should submit a brief letter that describes the proposed area of work, the importance of the problem to be dealt with, and the strategies to be employed. The letter also should include an estimate of the total amount of money needed and the amount requested from the fund, a proposed schedule and work plan, expected outcomes, and relevant qualifications of the person or people who will direct the project. Grants are made only to tax-exempt organizations and public agencies; grants are not made directly to individuals or for general support, endowment, planning or continuing activities, capital support, or work for which achievements cannot be measured.

Key officials: Karen Davis, president; John E. Craig Jr., executive vice president and treasurer; Stephen C. Schoenbaum, senior vice president; Karen Scott Collins and Kathryn Taaffe Mc Learn, assistant vice presidents for national programs; Mary Lou Russell, assistant vice president for special projects; Cathy A. Schoen, vice president for research and evaluation; Robin I. Osborn, director for the International Program in Health Policy; Michael C. Barth, David Blumenthal, Peter Budetti, Arnold M. Epstein, Judith Feder, Marilyn Moon, and Janet Shikles, program directors; Adrienne A. Fisher, director of grants management; Charles A. Sanders, chairman of the Board of Directors.

SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION

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

Period covered: Year ending June 30, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: This community foundation was created in 1948; it makes grants to benefit residents of California’s Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties.

In 1998-99, donor-advised grants totaling $41,106,437 and competitive grants totaling $9,327,715 were made in seven program areas: arts and humanities, community health, education, the environment, neighborhood and community development, philanthropy, and social services.

The community-health category received the largest share of competitive grants: 23 percent. Projects focused on AIDS, health-care reform and access, mental health, services for the elderly, and women and girls. For example, the foundation awarded $66,000 over two years to the Homeless Prenatal Program, in San Francisco, to analyze how changes in welfare law affect homeless women in the city.

Grants in other areas included $20,000 to the Classical Philharmonic Orchestra, in San Leandro, for an annual competition for young Bay Area musicians, and $15,000 to People United for a Better Oakland, for its “Safe Health” project to eliminate toxins.

The foundation works with other Bay Area grant makers to operate the Gateway Initiative, which awards funds to some 40 organizations serving gay, lesbian, and transgendered people.

Application procedure: The foundation supports non-profit organizations that operate programs in the counties listed above. Potential applicants should contact the foundation to request a copy of its “How to Apply” guide or to register for a workshop on the grant-application process.

Key officials: Sandra Hernandez, executive director; William Powers, chief financial officer; Eleanor Clement Glass, director of programs; Derek Aspacher, grants manager; F. Warren Hellman, chair of the Board of Trustees.