News about grants, gifts
Bonnaroo Works Fund, the charitable arm of the world-renowned Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, has named more than 40 nonprofit organizations as 2015 recipients of the Fund’s grants, totaling nearly $200,000. Some of this year’s grant recipients include Notes for Notes, First Book, Land Trust of Tennessee and Keep Coffee County Beautiful.
Earlier this spring, Awesome Foundation Miami (AFM) partnered with The Idea Center to offer Miami Dade College students and affiliates the opportunity to apply for a special batch of grants. Out of 100+ applicants, this month’s winners are: Bringing Tech to Liberty City, Let’s Talk It Out, and MDC Wolfson Shark Pantry. AFM encourages anyone with an idea to apply by June 15 for consideration next month. #AwesomeMDC
Find out first-hand how transformative programs and services funded by the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls create life-changing opportunities. On Wednesday, June 17th from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. the Fund will hold its Grants Celebration at Sykes Theater, West Chester University, to celebrate the 25 agencies who received $255,000 in Fund grants this year.
HomeAid America announced a $250,000 two-year grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. The investment will fund volunteer activities, including financial literacy education. HomeAid America and its 16 chapters will coordinate these efforts with its network of non-profit agency partners across the country.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation, San Mateo County Office of Education and the County of San Mateo and their community partners will be celebrating the first cohort of grantees to receive funding as part of The Big Lift initiative. Big Lift grants will foster an educated and diverse local workforce and ultimately will improve Silicon Valley’s economy. These grants help provide high-quality learning experiences from preschool to third grade for hundreds of children in San Mateo County communities where reading skills lag including high-quality preschool and summer programs, and a focus on reducing absenteeism and engaging parents to support learning. The school districts that were selected after a competitive public process are Cabrillo Unified School District, La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, Jefferson Elementary School District and South San Francisco Unified School District. A total of approximately $4.3 million will be awarded to these school districts and preschool providers within these communities.
The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists announced 32 National Finalists who will be competing for three spots as the 2015 Blavatnik National Laureates. The Finalists were selected from 300 nominations of highly qualified faculty-rank researchers from 147 of the nation’s leading academic and research institutions. The annual Awards, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and administered by the New York Academy of Sciences, recognize and support America’s top young scientific innovators in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. The three National Laureates will be announced in June 2015 and will each receive an unrestricted cash prize of $250,000, the largest prize of its kind for early-career scientists.
MoneyGram, a global provider of innovative money transfer services, announced eight grants across six countries from MoneyGram Foundation. For the first grant cycle of 2015, the foundation will renew support to six innovative educational programs operating in India, Colombia, Mexico, Vietnam and Pakistan, as well as fund two new Dallas-based organizations.
Anchorage artist Garry Kaulitz has been named the 2015 Rasmuson Foundation Distinguished Artist. The $40,000 award, announced today, recognizes an artist with stature and a history of creative excellence. Kaulitz is the twelfth Alaskan artist to receive the award and he joins a prestigious list of previous winners including Peggy Shumaker (2014), Teri Rofkar (2013), Kes Woodward (2012), Ray Troll (2011), John Luther Adams (2010), Nathan Jackson (2009), Ronald Senungetuk (2008), Rie Munoz (2007), Delores Churchill (2006), John Haines (2005) and Sylvester Ayek (2004).
The Evanston Community Foundation announced its 2015 responsive grant recipients and celebrate all of its grantmaking at the annual Grant Awards Celebration on May 27th. Responsive Grant award recipients represent the broad range of Foundation grantmaking interests ranging from early childhood education, community development, family support and counseling, housing, workforce development, seniors, the arts, and basic human needs. These one-year grants are typically are for both program and organizational sustainability.
SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. announced a commitment of $1.5 million over three years to a new partnership with The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program (KWRCP). Support of the KWRCP is part of SeaWorld’s $10 million pledge to fund research and conservation for killer whales in the wild – the largest private commitment of its kind.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, a leading private international philanthropic organization, announced a $1 million grant to ArtPlace America for several national placemaking program areas, becoming the latest foundation to partner with this ten-year arts initiative. ArtPlace America was established in 2010 as a ten-year collaboration among a number of leading US foundations, federal agencies, and financial institutions that works to position arts and culture as a core sector of comprehensive community planning and development in order to help strengthen the social, physical, and economic fabric of communities. This entails having arts and culture represented alongside sectors like housing and transportation – with each sector recognized as part of any healthy community; as requiring planning and investment from its community; and as having a responsibility to contribute to its community’s overall future.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced an initial $25 million commitment over the next three years to fund innovative research on policies, laws, system interventions, and community dynamics that improve health and well-being, with emphasis on sectors not typically associated with health, such as transportation and housing. The research grants will support RWJF’s vision, introduced in 2014, to work with others to build a national Culture of Health, in which everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life possible.
The Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation, founded by real estate icon Harold Brown, has pledged $1 million to the 109-year-old West End House to support expanded programs and facilities for at-risk youth throughout Boston, MA. The Hamilton Company gift will support development plans that call for both renovations to the existing facility and the construction of a two-story, 5,000 square foot addition. Andrea Howard, West End House’s Executive Director since 1999, said that when completed, the renovations will provide for a performance space, a teen wing dedicated to academic preparation and college success in addition to social activities, a larger fitness facility, and an expanded Kids In Motion Café.
Achievement First in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island, IDEA Public Schools in Texas, and Noble Network of Charter Schools in Illinois have been named America’s top three large charter school systems in the running for the 2015 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced. The $250,000 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, awarded to the best-performing public charter management organization in the country, will be announced on June 22 at the National Charter Schools Conference in New Orleans.
SimplyFun, LLC., a developer of award winning educational board games, lends their support with a $100,000 product donation to the My Stuff Bags Foundation for their recent Stuffathon benefiting children in need. SimplyFun has been working with the My Stuff Bags Foundation for the past eight years and is honored to be able to support the My Stuff Bags Foundation and foster children across the United States throughout 2015 with this product donation.
News about people, groups
Anika Rahman has joined the The Rainforest Alliance as Vice President of Development, based out of the New York City headquarters. In this role, Rahman will oversee the development team in creating and implementing long and short-term strategies that support the Rainforest Alliance’s mission. A Bangladeshi-American lawyer with a distinguished career as a leader for human rights and social justice, Ms. Rahman’s expertise has been focused on women, health and economic development.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s MBA Opens Doors Foundation today released a new video featuring two of the Foundation’s success stories as well as a brand-new, original song, Call It Home. Since 2012, the MBA Opens Doors Foundation has helped more than two hundred families with a child undergoing a critical illness or injury make their mortgage or rental payments.
Nearly a dozen Vietnam Medal of Honor recipients helped the Postal Service dedicate the Limited Edition Medal of Honor: Vietnam War Forever Stamps during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. See the whole story here.
Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day; how many of those cups help create better lives for people? Cozzee™, a hybrid word for coffee and a cause, is the new, socially conscious way to buy and consume specialty coffee. The company is leading the way for a new movement that gives 100% of profits to charitable organizations.
HomeAid Northern Virginia and Women Giving Back (WGB) announced today that WGB, a program started by the HomeAid Northern Virginia Board of Directors in 2007, is now officially a separate 501(c)3 charity. This new status will enable the organization to help more women who are in crisis due to homelessness, domestic violence, job loss and more.
More than 500 community leaders gathered May 19th at the Georgia Aquarium for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Atlanta Gala Dinner, raising more than $500,000 to support the brave men and women of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The evening, one of the Atlanta Jewish community’s largest events, which has grown in attendance by almost 100 people over last year or 25 percent, saluted the women soldiers of the IDF who served during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza – several of whom attended the gathering.
The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation announced today that it raised over $1 million at this year’s 11th Annual Night of Heroes Gala, “Building the Future. Honoring the Past,” making it another record-breaking year. The event, which was held on Thursday, May 14 at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., honored those who lead the way in serving our nation’s defenders, including a special tribute to those who served during the Vietnam era.
The Center for Global Philanthropy at The Philanthropic Initiative today announced the establishment of the The US-Nepal Fund at the Boston Foundation, a unique donor advised fund that will draw from the wisdom of Nepali Americans and international development experts to assist grassroots Nepali organizations caring for the victims of the earthquakes which struck Nepal on April 25 and May 12. Nepali involvement will ensure cultural competence, provide needed networks, and lend crucial expertise to ensure every dollar sent goes to organizations that can have the greatest impact locally. All funds raised will support community-led, long-term reconstruction and renewal with attention to human rights.
Elizabeth Derby
Voya Financial, Inc., announced today that Elizabeth Derby has joined the company as vice president of Diversity and Inclusion. In this role, Derby will work closely with Voya’s executive leadership team to oversee the development and implementation of the company’s evolving diversity and inclusion strategies.
For the second year, Spark Energy celebrated Earth Month through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation that will result in thousands of trees planted on behalf of residential customers. The retail energy services company surpassed its target of donating ten thousand trees by twenty percent, resulting in a total of twelve thousand trees being provided for reforestation efforts in California, Texas, Michigan, and New Jersey.
Armanino LLP, the largest independent accounting and business consulting firm based in California, announced today it will hold its community outreach program by closing its offices and sending employees into their communities to volunteer for the Great Give, on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The company-wide program, now in its seventh year, works with nonprofits to set up a variety of projects serving numerous communities to work on.
AmeriCares is delivering $13 million worth of medicine and supplies to Kathmandu this week to resupply damaged hospitals and clinics providing essential health services to earthquake survivors. The shipments include medicine to manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as treatments for diarrheal and respiratory diseases. The emergency response and global health nonprofit also continues to provide surgery, trauma and wound care supplies, as well as pain relievers and antibiotics. The medicine and supplies, which are headed to health facilities in Bhaktapur, Dhading, Kathmandu and Sindhupalchok, were approved by the World Health Organization and will be distributed in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population.
On May 20th, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools Cami Anderson and ShopRite of Newark owner Neil Greenstein were joined by executives from Dole Packaged Foods, the Captain Planet Foundation, the Greater Newark Conservancy and Camden Street School officials to inaugurate a Project Learning Garden at the school. These organizations collaborated to offer students the opportunity to interact with the environment through a learning garden, while expanding their palates and learning about food origins.
The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping NY/NJ families tackle childhood cancer, held its annual Sundae Blitz on May 29th. The Sundae Blitz gives pediatric oncology patients and their families from NYU Langone Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center and Hackensack University Medical Center a chance to meet and interact with their favorite New York Giants players and coaches during a fun-filled afternoon.
St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long launched his charitable foundation with a kickoff event May 20th. The Chris Long Foundation will raise money for “Waterboys,” the Foundation’s signature initiative, which is dedicated to building wells for communities in East Africa. After visiting East Africa and being exposed to their extreme poverty and lack of access to clean water, Long was inspired to help address this dire need. He is partnering with WorldServe International, a nonprofit based in Missouri that is a leading provider of clean water wells in sub-Saharan Africa, to assist with the project. He has also recruited other NFL players from around the league to serve as fundraising representatives, with the goal of building 32 wells to represent the 32 NFL teams.
Montblanc and DEPARTURES magazine, published exclusively for American Express Platinum Card® and Centurion® Members, have jointly announced the winners of Great Characters, a new philanthropic initiative for 2015. The collaborative program between the iconic luxury brands is proud to recognize nine individuals from across the country, whose passion for giving back to their communities is both illuminating and inspiring. Montblanc will celebrate each of the honorees throughout 2015 with a private fundraising reception benefitting their designated charity at a regional Montblanc boutique. In addition, DEPARTURES has published their stories in special vignettes on DEPARTURES.com/greatcharacters.
On May 20th in San Francisco, leaders from some of the country’s top foundations and the city’s nonprofits gathered for the third annual NCRP Impact Awards. Hosted by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), these awards call attention to high-impact philanthropy that supports meaningful change in communities across the U.S. This year’s recipients include: Blue Shield of California Foundation, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Needmor Fund, New York Foundation and Open Society Foundations.
The HealthWell Foundation®, an independent non-profit that provides a financial lifeline for inadequately insured Americans, announced the launch of a new fund to assist people living with hepatitis C (also known as HCV). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 30 baby boomers has HCV. Through the fund, the HealthWell Foundation will provide copayment assistance for HCV treatment, up to $15,000, to eligible patients who are insured and have annual household incomes up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level.
Michael Brown
Independent Sector announced that Michael Brown, co-founder and CEO of City Year, will receive the 2015 John W. Gardner Leadership Award. The award will be presented at the John W. Gardner Leadership Luncheon on Thursday, October 29, 2015, concluding the 2015 Independent Sector National Conference in Miami.
Andrew Sta. Ana of Day One New York was named by the NoVo Foundation as one of 20 new leaders selected to join its groundbreaking Move to End Violence program, a 10-year program to strengthen leaders and organizations, and build a breakthrough movement to end violence against girls and women in the United States. Leaders selected for the Move to End Violence program begin their work with a group of extraordinary peers in an intensive, two-year capacity building program that includes: time and space to explore critical movement questions, transformative leadership development and organizational development, social change skills and liberatory practices.
Voya Financial, Inc. was the presenting sponsor of Scholarship America’s inaugural “From Dreams to Degrees” celebration, which took place on May 19, 2015 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The event honors young adults completing their postsecondary degrees as well as those who have helped students achieve educational success.
Mondelez International, the world’s largest chocolate company, announced its $400 million Cocoa Life program is fully operational in Indonesia, the world’s third largest cocoa origin and the biggest cocoa origin in Asia. By the end of 2015, Cocoa Life will be operating in more than 100 Indonesian communities and will have trained 8,000 farmers in agricultural and business skills to help improve cocoa yields, protect the environment and boost farmer incomes. By 2022, the program plans to train 50,000 farmers and in turn benefit about 200,000 people in local communities, promoting women’s empowerment and education for children.
Insomniac’s very first “EDC Week Charity Auction” came to a close on Friday, May 15, raising approximately $70,000 for Culture Shock Las Vegas. The 10-day online auction was the first of its kind surrounding any music festival, attracting more than 2,000 fans to eBay Giving Works to bid on once-in-a-lifetime Electric Daisy Carnival inspired experiences. Lucky winners will now live out their Las Vegas and festival wishes, making memories that will last a lifetime.
BirdieBox – an eCommerce platform delivering a curated mix of premium golf and lifestyle products to event organizers, gift givers and monthly subscribers – announces the new “Give Back” program, wherein the company will donate $1,000 to the charitable partner of any golf or corporate event when outing organizers and event planners place a minimum purchase order through BirdieBox.
Great Plains Conservation shares a story of hope: The largest airlift of rhinos ever undertaken has begun, as on the 28th of April, the first group of rhinos was released into Botswana. They will form part of a seed population which will have a chance to expand in number and gene diversity, whilst protected by the latest technology and a specialized anti-poaching unit. They will be moving at least 100 rhinos to Botswana, as part of the Rhinos Without Borders initiative in partnership with andBeyond, and they are already moving steadily towards being able to get the next group to safety.
Green 2.0, which works to advance diversity in the mainstream environmental movement, congratulates Aaron Mair on his election as president of the Sierra Club, one of the nation’s largest and oldest environmental organizations. Mair will be the organization’s first African American president in its 123 year history. Green 2.0 applauds the Sierra Club for its efforts to improve diversity and inclusion at the highest levels of its leadership.
Hear the World Foundation
The Hear the World Foundation is committed to creating a world in which everyone has the chance to enjoy good hearing. In the 2014/15 financial year, the Swiss foundation supported 25 projects in 17 countries by providing more than 1,500 hearing solutions and funding totaling over CHF 2.1 million. The foundation has thus increased its support for people with hearing loss who are in need of aid by 45 percent in comparison with the previous year.
With the goal of assisting non-governmental organizations to support their host national communities while helping private sector companies and their employees navigate new cultures and international workplaces with greater sensitivity and finesse, Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business and the National Peace Corps Association have teamed up to develop the Cultural Agility Leadership Lab.
Allied Van Lines, one of the world’s largest household goods moving companies, has announced an exclusive charitable partnership with The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center program. Through this partnership, usable items that might be pitched during the moving process or left behind – vehicles, furniture, clothing to appliances – can be donated. To learn more, visit www.allied.com/partners/salvation-army.
Elliot Fukui will be transitioning out of his role as program coordinator of TransJustice, a political organizing group led by and for Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color at the Audre Lorde Project.
The Arcus Foundation, a global foundation promoting respect for diversity among peoples and in nature, selected 13 executive directors to participate in the Arcus Leadership Fellowship. Formerly known as the Arcus LGBT Leadership Initiative, the fellowship is designed to support early-stage executive directors of LGBT and allied nonprofit organizations based in the United States. The fellowship is part of the foundation’s commitment to advance the strength, diversity, and effectiveness of leadership in the LGBT movement.
News about opportunities, initiatives
Red Cross Giving Day is June 2, 2015. Giving Day is an opportunity for the entire country to come together to support the critical work of the American Red Cross by making a donation that will help ensure that neighbors and community will not be alone when something unexpected happens and leaves them with nowhere to turn.
The Gordon Parks Foundation honors individuals who have contributed their lives to the arts. The Foundation permanently preserves the works of Gordon Parks and other artists, makes it available to the public through exhibitions, books, and electronic media, and supports artistic and educational activities that advance what Gordon described as “the common search for a better life and a better world.” The Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction will take place June 2nd.
The Young People’s Chorus of New York City will participate in the Transmusica: Resounding Hope Through Music Concert on Tuesday, June 23rd at Symphony Space. The Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC) is a recipient of the 2011 National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award, the nation’s highest honor recognizing community-based, after-school arts and humanities youth programs in the United States, presented by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
West Marine, one of the world’s largest waterlife outfitters, will launch the West Marine BlueFuture(R) Fund to benefit youth boating, marine conservation and healthy fish stocks. On June 8, World Oceans Day, West Marine will donate 5% of sales (up to $70,000) to the BlueFuture Fund.
Services for the UnderServed‘s (SUS) brightest athletes flocked to Astoria Park with one goal in common: to return home with a medal, a trophy — or a collection of both, in the case of many competitors. The 5th Annual SUS Olympics and Family Fun Day celebrate the accomplishments of the participants in our Developmental Disabilities programs as they take center stage as athletes. They show up with a passion and determination you’d expect from any Olympian going for the gold. The successful and fun-filled day would not have been possible without the Young Leaders Council who raised over $15,000 at their annual Spring Fling benefit to fund all activities.
The application period for Premier’s annual Cares Award competition is underway until July 31. This is Premier’s annual program to recognize exemplary efforts by not-for-profit community organizations to improve the health of populations in need. Premier encourages organizations to apply for this prestigious award.
Breakaway, a CYCLE Kids event, was created to celebrate bringing the joy of biking to kids, giving them the opportunity to make important, positive life changes. The CYCLE Kids program makes children feel good about themselves so they make better choices, both physically and emotionally. #CKBreakaway
The Screen Actors Guild Foundation, celebrating 30 years of giving back, is hosting its 6th Annual Los Angeles Golf Classic. Celebrity golfers and executives from the entertainment industry will tee off to raise money for the nonprofit’s Catastrophic Health Fund and Emergency Assistance programs, which benefit SAG-AFTRA professionals in times of urgent need. Over the last 30 years, the SAG Foundation has granted over $17 million in financial and medical assistance to SAG-AFTRA professionals and their families.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world’s most popular dance companies, will return to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for a two-week season at the David H. Koch Theater, June 10 – 21, 2015. For more information about Ailey’s performances, please visit www.alvinailey.org.
In the United States, from May 16 through August 15, 2015, Mary Kay Inc. will donate $1 from each sale of the limited-edition Beauty That Counts® NouriShine Plus® Lip Gloss in two new shades, “Create Change” and “In Harmony.” The initiative provides funding to support The Mary Kay FoundationSM. Over the past 15 years, the Foundation and Mary Kay Inc. have given $50 million to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs to women’s shelters across the country in an effort to end the cycle of abuse.
Kelli O’Hara
2015 Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara will be honored at Westport Country Playhouse’s annual fundraiser, “Something Wonderful: A Gala Evening Celebrating Kelli O’Hara,” on Monday, September 21. The evening will also mark the presentation of the third annual Playhouse Leadership Award to John Samuelson. Mr. Samuelson has been a Playhouse trustee for the past decade, and with his wife Barbara has been a dedicated philanthropist and community leader, both in Westport and New York City. Gala proceeds will benefit the non-profit, professional producing theater, now in its 85th season – its work on stage, with schools, and throughout the community.
Through the collaborative efforts of two liver transplant surgeons, one based in New York and the other in Venezuela, the FundaHigado Foundation was established in 2005 to develop a pediatric liver transplant program in that country. Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the FundaHigado program has enabled dozens of children to undergo successful liver transplants in their home country of Venezuela and to lead normal lives. On June 11, 2015, the FundaHigado America Foundation will hold a fundraising event at The Glass Houses at Chelsea Art Tower (545 W. 25th Street) in New York City. Hosted by Carolina Herrera, Dr. Tomoaki Kato and Dr. Pedro A. Rivas-Ventencourt, the event will help support the foundation’s efforts to bring life-saving liver transplants to children in Central America, South American and the Caribbean.
Enset, the non-profit domain organization and home of Register.NGO, announced its organizational launch and unveiled its plans for the availability of .NGO and .ONG domains for all validated non-profits. Enset, a non-profit organization, built Register.NGO to help NGOs register their new .NGO and .ONG domains.
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