Foundation Annual Reports

FORD FOUNDATION
320 East 43rd Street
New York 10017
(212) 573-5000
http://www.fordfound.org

Period covered: Year ending September 30, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was endowed in 1936 through gifts and bequests of Ford Motor Company stock from Henry Ford and his son Edsel. The fund no longer owns stock in the company.

In 1998-99 the foundation approved grants and program-related investments totaling $549.7-million. Of that, $388.7-million went to U.S. and worldwide programs and $161-million went to programs carried out through the foundation’s 14 offices abroad.

The foundation makes grants through three overarching areas: asset building and community development, which comprises community and resource development, economic development, and human development and reproductive health; education, media, arts, and culture, which comprises education, knowledge, and religion and the media, arts, and culture; and peace and social justice, which comprises governance and civil society, and human rights and international cooperation.

In 1998-99 grant approvals were distributed among the seven program units as follows: human rights and international cooperation received $107.4-million; economic development, $98.3-million; governance and civil society, $81.8-million; community and resource development, $74.8-million; human development and reproductive health, $73.5-million; education, knowledge, and religion, $69.6-million; and media, arts, and culture, $44.3-million.

The human-rights and international-cooperation unit supports organizations working on international human rights and the protection of the rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities, refugees, and migrants. It also emphasizes foreign policy, conflict resolution, nuclear non-proliferation, and the responsibilities of governments in supplying aid for international development.

The economic-development unit focuses on creating jobs, the development of marketable skills and personal assets for poor people, economic revitalization, and related policy research. The unit also administers the foundation’s program-related investments, which totaled $15-million in 1998-99.

The governance and civil-society unit finances activities to improve governmental performance, to increase public awareness of budget and tax issues, to strengthen citizen participation in civic affairs, and to promote philanthropy.

The community- and resource-development unit focuses on agricultural productivity, land and water management, international economics and development, community revitalization, and related research and policy development.

The human-development and reproductive-health unit supports policies and organizations that alleviate the effects of poverty and discrimination for disadvantaged children and families, and policies and activities related to reproductive health and sexuality.

The education, knowledge, and religion unit stresses teaching and scholarship, campus diversity, educational administration and policy research, curriculum development, international studies, and religious pluralism.

The media, arts, and culture unit emphasizes artistic creativity and resources, cultural preservation and vitality, the news media and public policy, and the role of the arts in society.

Paul A. Allaire, chairman of Xerox, will succeed Henry B. Schacht as chairman of the Board of Trustees on September 29.

Application procedure: Information about the foundation’s programs may be found in its publication Current Interests, its quarterly Ford Foundation Report, and on its Web site. Potential applicants should first submit a brief letter of inquiry; there is no grant-application form. The foundation considers applications throughout the year.

Key officials: Susan V. Berresford, president; Barron M. Tenny, executive vice president, secretary, and general counsel; Alexander W. Wilde, vice president for communications; Linda B. Strumpf, vice president and chief investment officer; Melvin L. Oliver, vice president for asset building and community development; Bradford K. Smith, vice president for peace and social justice; Alison R. Bernstein, vice president for education, media, arts, and culture; Nicholas M. Gabriel, treasurer and director of financial services; and Henry B. Schacht, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Frank F. DeGiovanni (economic development), Michael A. Edwards (governance and civil society), Virginia Davis Floyd (human development and reproductive health), Jeffrey T. Olsen (community and resource development), Janice Petrovich (education, knowledge, and religion), Anthony D. Romero (human rights and international cooperation), and Margaret B. Wilkerson (media, arts, and culture).

JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION
1 Biscayne Tower, Suite 3800
2 South Biscayne Boulevard
Miami 33131-1803
(305) 908-2600
http://www.knightfdn.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The brothers John S. and James L. Knight of the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain established the foundation in 1950.

In 1999 the foundation approved 311 grants totaling $69.5-million as follows: The journalism program allocated 41 grants totaling $21.9-million; education, 55 grants totaling $17.7-million; arts and culture, 85 grants totaling $14-million; and community initiatives, 99 grants totaling $13.5-million. In addition, the foundation approved 31 grants totaling $2.4-million for special and cross-cutting programs and for disaster relief.

The journalism program saw a significant increase in grant dollars over the previous year, when it received $7.7-million. Grants included $1.1-million over three years to the Inter American Press Association Press Institute, in Miami, for a program to protect journalists in Latin America and to investigate crimes committed against them.

The education program focuses on education reform and improving student achievement in kindergarten through the 12th grade and at the university level. The foundation’s largest grant of 1999, an award of $5-million, went to Cornell University (John S. Knight’s alma mater), in Ithaca, N.Y., to enhance and expand an undergraduate writing program. The foundation also makes grants to education and literacy groups in the 26 communities where the Knight brothers published newspapers.

Those cities are also the areas of interest in the foundation’s community-initiatives program, which in 1999 emphasized citizenship, community development, community foundations, homelessness, and youths.

Arts and culture grants included $250,000 to the Foundation for the National Archives, in College Park, Md., to restore the murals in the rotunda of the National Archives Building, in Washington.

Application procedure: The applicant organization must provide a copy of a letter from the Internal Revenue Service stating that it is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is not a private foundation as defined in Section 509(a) of the code. The foundation does not make grants to individuals. Each of the four major grant programs has separate priorities and eligibility criteria; applicant organizations should contact the foundation for a copy of its “Grant Guidelines and Application Form 2000-2001.”

Key officials: Hodding Carter III, president and chief executive officer; Penelope McPhee, vice president and chief program officer; Timothy J. Crowe, vice president and chief financial officer; Larry (Bud) Meyer, director of communications; Belinda Turner Lawrence, director of administration; J. Bryan McCullar, grants administrator; and W. Gerald Austen, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Program directors: Del Brinkman (journalism), Gary Burger (arts and culture), A. Richardson Love Jr. (education), and Linda L. Raybin (community initiatives).

ROBERT R. McCORMICK TRIBUNE FOUNDATION
435 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 770
Chicago 60611-4041
(312) 222-3512
http://www.rrmtf.org

Period covered: Year ending December 31, 1999.

Purpose and areas of support: The foundation was established as a charitable trust in 1955 upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. It makes grants in four program areas: communities, journalism, education, and citizenship.

Through the communities program, the foundation collaborates with 47 newspapers, broadcast stations, and sports teams to improve social and economic conditions in 25 cities nationwide. Each partner group uses its access to the public to promote charitable giving for issues including homelessness, hunger, health care, child welfare, science, literacy, and education. The foundation supplements funds raised by the partners.

Three organizations joined the program in 1999, all television stations: CLTV, in Chicago; KCPQ-TV, in Seattle; and WXIN-TV, in Indianapolis. They join, among others, the Colorado Avalanche, the Orlando Sentinel, and KTLA-TV, in Los Angeles.

The journalism program emphasizes effective leadership at news organizations, diversity of news staff and content, freedom of expression, and coverage of national-security issues. In 1999 it awarded $752,500 to the Medill School of Journalism and $705,000 to the Media Management Center, both at Northwestern U., in Evanston, Ill.

The education program seeks to improve early-childhood education in poor neighborhoods in Chicago, focusing on children up to age 5. The program supports the accreditation of preschools, the professional development of preschool educators, and efforts to promote the importance of early-childhood education.

The goals of the citizenship program are to promote patriotism and encourage philanthropy and volunteerism, with priority given to organizations in the Chicago area. Grants awarded last year included $75,000 to the Executive Service Corps of Chicago.

Application procedure: Guidelines for grant applications under the communities program may be obtained from the foundation or from local participating broadcasting, newspaper, and sports groups. To initiate a grant request for the journalism, education, or citizenship programs, send a short letter describing the proposed project. The foundation’s Web site provides details and examples of current grant-making priorities; until June 30, visitors may also take the “Great American Citizenship Test,” which is designed to assist the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as it considers developing a standardized citizenship examination.

Key officials: Richard A. Behrenhausen, president and chief executive officer; David L. Grange, executive vice president and chief operating officer; Nicholas Goodban, senior vice president for philanthropy; Louis J. Marisco Jr., vice president of finance and administration; and John W. Madigan, chairman of the Board of Directors.

Program officers: Catherine Brown (communities), Wanda Newell (education), John Sirek (citizenship), and Vivian Vahlberg (journalism).