News about grants, gifts
The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation awarded grants to 36 area nonprofit organizations, totaling $135,965 during its third grant cycle of 2017. The Community Foundation awards discretionary grants to Northwest Connecticut charities three times a year: early spring, late June and late fall.
Riverzedge Arts is slated to start construction on their Second Avenue Studio Complex later this spring. With a focus on structural and systems upgrades, these much-needed building improvements are made possible through a $249,000 grant from Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
The Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation awarded a Community Grant to Robert L. Bailey, Elementary, IV School in Providence, RI to expand its reading program. Specifically, the grant will be used to help purchase a Leveled Literacy Intervention system, which is designed to improve literacy achievement for struggling readers through engaging leveled books and fast-paced systematically designed lessons.
Atlantis Charter School received an $80,000 gift from BayCoast Bank to support its newly launched capital fundraising campaign. Atlantis hopes to raise $2.5 million to help fund construction of a new, $35 million, state-of-the-art campus.
Thanks to a $5 million gift from the late Sallie Robinson Wadsworth, the Taft Museum of Art endowed a new lead curatorial position.
The position will be held by current Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator Lynne D. Ambrosini, PhD.
The Surdna Foundation awarded $650,000 to five national organizations to strengthen the field of impact investing. The five grants complete a special Centennial year initiative and complement the Foundation’s commitment, announced in February 2017, to allocate $100 million of its endowment to impact investing to advance its social justice mission and grow the field.
The Hall Family Foundation and the Sunderland Foundation each donated $75 million to kickstart the construction of the future home of the Children’s Research Institute and accelerate the recruitment of top researchers from around the globe.
Columbia College Chicago received a $1 million challenge grant from the Efroymson Family Fund in support of the college’s initiatives centered around student success. The challenge grant is intended to engage and inspire alumni, trustees, and friends of the college to match the $1 million donation.
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) and ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) received a $90,000 gift from Hines to support the creation of the WLI Hines Innovation Grants, with the goal of helping raise the visibility and number of women in leadership roles in the real estate industry and within ULI’s membership.
The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools received a renewed financial commitment of $35 million by Southern California philanthropists Richard and Melanie Lundquist. This donation, combined with their initial investment to launch the Partnership 10 years ago, totals $85 million—the second largest investment ever made by individuals to America’s K-12 public school education system.
News about people, groups
Goodwill Central Texas will open a new hub for financial education as part of the future Goodwill Career and Technical Academy, with funding generously provided by the BBVA Compass Foundation. The BBVA Compass Center for Financial Education will break ground in late 2018.
The Arthritis Foundation has chosen DonorDrive Peer-to-Peer Fundraising software for their Walk to Cure Arthritis, Jingle Bell Run and Sustainer Gift program. DonorDrive will consolidate fundraising and registration for these events, in addition to serving as the cornerstone for building their Do-It-Yourself fundraising program.
The Council on Foundations has named Julianne Sobral as its new Chief Operating Officer. Julianne comes to the role after serving the last two and a half years as its Senior Vice President for Operations and Talent Development and having been with the organization since 2013.
Evite’s Donations feature has enabled over $5 million in charitable contributions since its launch in September 2015. Evite Donations, powered by Pledgeling, allows event planners and party hosts to offer guests charitable donations as part of their event options. This service is free, and unlike many online donation-processing services, Evite does not take a fee.
BidPal, the leading mobile fundraising platform helping nonprofits raise more money and connect with more donors, has rebranded as OneCause. This new name signals the company’s evolution from a single point solution provider of mobile bidding services to an integrated fundraising technology partner for nonprofits.
Human Rights First has named Alexi Ashe Meyers, former prosecutor and a lawyer with Sanctuary for Families, to its distinguished board of directors.
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society appointed Stephanie Linder as Executive Director. She will begin in her new role February 26, 2018.
Linder has been both a national and local San Francisco Bay Area park advocate for much of her career, with over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector including leadership and advancement roles at many prestigious conservation and park organizations.
Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine and Legendary Soul Man Sam Moore have joined Code of Support Foundation‘s Advisory Board. In recent years, Chef Irvine and the Legendary Soul Man – Sam Moore have demonstrated their unwavering support of our nation’s military service members, veterans, and their families by creating awareness by leveraging their own celebrity profiles to engage the 99% of Americans who benefit from the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes.
News about opportunities, initiatives
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2018 round of its Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions, an $8 million commissioning initiative that is the largest of its kind in the United States. In 2018, 10 nonprofit organizations will receive grants of $150,000 each to commission significant new works of theater, spoken word and musical theater and premiere them in the Bay Area.
Barrett-Jackson will hold a 2018 charitable initiative, “Driven Hearts.” The yearlong multifaceted campaign, which will help raise money and much needed awareness, will benefit the American Heart Association (AHA), kicks off at the 2018 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction January 13-21, 2018, at WestWorld of Scottsdale.
The National Grants Management Association (NGMA) published the Grants Management Body of Knowledge (GMBoK) Guide. Produced and prepared by NGMA and Kforce Government Solutions, Inc., the GMBoK Guide provides grants management professionals with a comprehensive resource to help navigate the field of grants management.
The Dr Pepper Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Infrastructure Grant Program opened its 2018 application process, offering new opportunities to make recycling convenient for communities across the country. Applications are available at kab.org/parkrecycling through February 16, 2018.
If you are interested in having your organization’s news announced in the next News Bits, please send announcements or press releases to news@philanthropyjournal.com.
