Small Foundation Seeks Big Impact
January 28, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
The $4.7-million Frank and Ruth E. Caruso Foundation is seeking to expand its influence beyond its relatively small size by focusing nearly all its giving over the next two years on a single issue, combating sexual violence in New York, The Wall Street Journal writes.
The foundation, which makes grants totaling $140,000 to $240,000 a year, has previously supported education, medical research, and forest preservation. In recent years it has concentrated on mental health but late last year decided to narrow its focus further.
Lisa Turngren, the Caruso Foundation’s president and the niece of its late founders, said “pinpointing” a specific issue can help a small fund like hers maximize the effect of its gifts. The focus on anti-violence efforts, which the foundation has supported since 2007, arose out of Ms. Turngren’s experience as a clinical social worker.
