Foundation Annual Reports

THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT

21650 Oxnard Street, Suite 1200
Woodland Hills, Cal. 91367
(818) 703-3311
http://www.calendow.org

Period covered: Year ending February 28, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support:

The foundation was established in May 1996 as a result of Blue Cross of California’s conversion from non-profit to for-profit status. It emphasizes regional approaches to improving the overall health of California residents — with an emphasis on children and disadvantaged people — and makes grants in four program areas: access to health-care services, community innovation, health and well-being, and multicultural health.

During its first three years of operation, the foundation made grants totaling more than $280-million and saw its endowment grow from $900-million to $2.5-billion.

Many grants focused on improving health care and services for rural, minority, and inner-city populations, including homeless people, farmworkers, and American Indians. For example, $656,525 over two years went to the California Institute for Rural Studies, in Davis, to assess the health needs of farmworkers in seven agricultural communities, and $81,023 over two years went to the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, in San Bernardino, to establish physical-fitness and nutrition programs for Indian children based on the group’s cultural traditions.

Grants to aid low-income and underserved women included a two-year, $7,197,019 award to the California Health Collaborative Foundation to provide services and treatment for uninsured women statewide with breast cancer who are not eligible for publicly financed treatment.

Child-health grants included $173,333 to the Children’s Council of San Francisco for an educational campaign for low-income parents on the dangers of childhood lead poisoning, and $179,920 over two years to Youth News Services, in Los Angeles, to create a special insert in health and public-policy issues for a newsletter written and produced by teen-agers.

In addition to its headquarters in Woodland Hills, the foundation maintains offices in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, and Carlsbad.

Application procedure: The endowment uses a variety of grant-making approaches, including open-application grants, loans, requests for proposals, funding partnerships, and commissioned grants. Contact the foundation for a copy of its “Grant Application Guidelines” brochure.

Key officials: E. Lewis Reid, president and chief executive officer; Peggy Hinz, director of communications; George Nicholas, chief financial officer; Chris McCarns, director of human resources; Kathy Sanders-Phillips, director of research and evaluation; Becky Martin, manager of grants administration; Leroy T. Barnes, Jr., chairman of the Board of Directors.

Senior program officers: Joel Diringer, Mario Gutierrez, Alicia Lara, Cassandra Malry, Marion Standish, Gwen Walden, Lorraine Whitehorse, and Jai Wong.

HARTFORD FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC GIVING

85 Gillett Street
Hartford, Conn. 06105-9833
(860) 548-1888
http://www.hfpg.org

Period covered: Year ending September 30, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

Established in 1925, this community foundation allocates both donor-advised and discretionary grants to organizations in Hartford, Conn., and 29 surrounding towns.

In 1998, the Hartford Foundation authorized grants that totaled $25,412,512 in these program areas: “special projects” received 28 per cent of grant dollars; the arts and humanities, 20 per cent; housing, employment, and neighborhood revitalization, 17 per cent; family and social services, 12 per cent; educational, 9 per cent; health, 8 per cent; and miscellaneous, 6 per cent.

As the foundation’s assets grow, it is undertaking new “special projects” that augment other areas or meet pressing issues. New efforts undertaken in 1998 included the Public Library Initiative, which awarded $2-million to meet increased demand for information services at 15 regional libraries, and the Marketing Initiative for Small and Mid-Size Arts Organizations, which initially is helping five participating arts groups to develop marketing and business plans.

Housing and economic-development grants included $307,782 to the Housing Education Resource Center to establish a security-deposit fund for clients, and $100,000 to the Capitol Region Council of Governments to improve and evaluate the Welfare-to-Work Transportation Pilot Program.

The Non-Profit Management Program introduced the new “Agency Automation” project to help local non-profit organizations to obtain needed computers, telephone and voice-mail systems, and other technological services.

Application procedure: Contact the foundation at (860) 548-1888 or hfpg2@ursa.hartnet.org to request a copy of its “Guidelines for Funding” publication. Detailed information is also available at its World-Wide Web site.

Key officials: Michael R. Bangser, executive director; Christopher H. Hall, director of programs; Virgil Blondet, Jr., director of finance and administration; Sandra B. Wood, director of development and communications; Hubert E. Sapp and Sara A. Sneed, senior program officers; Michael E. Rosano, grants manager; Blanche S. Goldenberg, chair of the Board of Directors.

CORPORATIONS

HITACHI FOUNDATION
1509 22nd Street, N.W.
Washington 20037-1073
(202) 457-0588
http://www.hitachi.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1998.

Purpose and areas of support:

The foundation was endowed in 1985 by the Japanese corporation Hitachi Ltd., which has headquarters in Tokyo.

It makes grants for projects in three broad areas: community development, education, and global citizenship. Over all, grants emphasize programs that encourage diversity and multiculturalism, community development and reinvestment, collaboration, youth service, and corporate responsibility.

The foundation no longer considers unsolicited grant proposals. Instead, it issues requests for proposals, develops collaborative projects, convenes grantees, makes program-related investments, and distributes program results.

The foundation has an annual giving budget of $2.7-million. Grants typically range from $15,000 to $250,000.

Education grants emphasize local projects to prepare youths for employment and for participation in an increasingly multicultural and technology-oriented society. To that end, $1.2-million was awarded through the Education Technology Initiative to finance 13 projects that use technology creatively in classroom instruction, improve teacher training, integrate local content into lesson plans, and create opportunities for collaborations among educators.

Grants for community-development included a three-year, $200,000 award to the Wai’Anae Coast Coalition, in Wai’Anae, Hawaii, to develop culturally based tourism without the negative environmental and social effects that tourism can often bring to communities.

The foundation selected 11 high-school seniors to receive 1998 Yoshiyama Awards of $5,000 each in recognition of their outstanding contributions to community service.

Application procedure: The foundation only accepts proposals in response to its formal requests for proposals, which are issued up to twice a year. Each RFP specifies a substantive focus and provides details on deadlines and submission criteria. Information may be found at the foundation’s World-Wide Web site or through the foundation’s fax-on-demand system at (202) 457-0588, ext. 551. If the foundation has issued a request that seems relevant to an organization’s work, the organization should request the full document from the fax-on-demand system, review the eligibility requirements, and follow the instructions for submissions and further instructions. The foundation does not consider unsolicited proposals that are not submitted in response to a specific request for proposals.

Key officials: Barbara Dyer, president and chief executive officer; Scott Lippmann, director of finance; Renata D. Hron, program officer; Joseph E. Kasputys, chairman of the Board of Directors; Katsushige Mita, honorary chairman.