News about grants, gifts
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is offering a $100 million grant to one organization to solve any of the world’s biggest problems. The competition, 100&Change, will award the grant to an organization working in any field in any location that offers the best idea for tackling a critical problem that affects people, places, or the planet. The foundation is encouraging other grant makers to back the top ideas that don’t get the $100 million prize. Organizations that want to apply must register with the foundation by September 2 and submit proposals by October 3.
Henry Schein, Inc. is the first corporate sponsor of MedShare‘s newly created Disaster Relief Fund. The Fund will provide MedShare with the funding needed to send shipments of supplies to disaster-affected areas.
The Napa Valley Vintners trade association’s Auction Napa Valley raised $14.3 million for children’s education and community health nonprofits.
The Target Corporation donated $200,000 to assist Houston, TX, and surrounding communities affected by heavy rainfall and severe flooding over the Memorial Day weekend.
American Family Housing received a grant from the Home Depot Foundation in the amount of $100,000. The grant will meet some of the immediate needs for constructing energy-efficient and sustainable housing site for veterans.
Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer raised over $318,000 at the 7th Annual Dream Makers Gala on April 9th. The funds will be used to fund research and benefit stomach cancer patients around the world.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation will be partnering with the Ethan Jostad Foundation. The Ethan Jostad Foundation committed to donating $25,000 to St. Baldrick’s to help fund the childhood cancer research.
The Buck Family Fund of MCF announced $5 million in grant support to 15 Marin County nonprofits that supply essential safety net services. The grants are for a two year period.
California’s Strongest Farmers & Merchants Bank has supported over 200 local community events and has donated nearly two million dollars so far this year to benefit local schools, faith-based organizations, Chamber of Commerce, as well as the arts.
Medical Teams International raised $1.6 million at its 15th annual Field of Dreams Auction with the help of nearly 800 volunteers, business leaders and local supporters. Funds raised this year are going to strengthen and increase Medical Teams’ health care services and medical supplies.
Granite Telecommunications celebrated its 13th annual Granite Day in support of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The event helped raise more than $600,000 for Dana-Farber.
Arrow Electronics are the presenting sponsor of Junior Achievement Business Week, a project-based program for Colorado area students in grades nine through 12 focused on practical application and real-world problem solving.
The Gruber Foundation named Mu-Ming Poo, PhD the recipient of the $500,000 2016 Gruber Neuroscience Prize. Poo is currently the Paul Licht Distinguished Professor in Biology Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and the director of the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.
Hensel Phelps Construction will be donating their general contractor services for construction of the Chanda Plan Foundation Patient Centered Medical Home for people with long-term physical disabilities. The home is expected to open January 2017.
UC Davis student philanthropy group We Are Aggie Pride (WAAP) raised $110,000 from and in honor of UC Davis students this academic year. The WAAP board met a challenge posed by the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees to raise $10,000. Donations made were then matched tenfold by the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees, resulting in an additional $100,000 for the student philanthropy group.
News about people, groups
The Parkland Health & Hospital System‘s camp for children with burn injuries celebrated their 25th anniversary. Camp I-Thonka-Chi welcomes children ages 6 to 18 for a weeklong event where campers build friendships and improve social skills.
The Memorial Day Flowers Foundation, with the help of more than 300 volunteers, placed 130,000 flowers at the headstones of fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday, May 29th.
The Isaac Bruce Foundation held a free football clinic on Saturday June 11th for 500 St. Louis area youth. More than 4,800 kids have participated in the IBF’s free football clinics since 2007.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law held the A. Leon Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Awards. The events celebrated diversity and inclusion in the workplace and addressed barriers to reentry as a major criminal justice issue faced by minority communities, including African Americans and Latinos.
The Accelerate Institute named Hannah Lofthus, founding principal and Chief Executive Officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman School in Kansas City, MO, a recipient of the Ryan Award for exceptional leadership in closing the achievement gap in urban K-12 schools. The award includes a $25,000 honorarium and the opportunity to teach her approach at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Esri supported the Hopeworks ‘N Camden‘s Promise Zone National Day of Civic Hacking in Camden, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 4th. The hackathon helped promising young developers in the Camden area learn software development and interactive mapping to expose data to the public and create smarter, more connected communities.
SAG-AFTRA Foundation named actress Kerry Washington as a recipient of the Actors Inspiration Award in recognition of her work giving back to fellow actors and the community at large.
Goodwill Industries of San Antonio Board of Directors elected Kevin J. Bergner as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Bergner has been serving as interim CEO since March 7, 2016.
Medical Teams International appointed Martha Newsome as their new President and CEO, replacing Jeff Pinneo who retired earlier this year.
AXA will be partnering with Bright Pink, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer, to host joint seminars and workshops in the upcoming months.
Give Kids The World Village, a nonprofit resort for children with life-threatening illnesses, has received a perfect score of 100 and a four-star rating for financial health, accountability, and transparency from Charity Navigator.
Edyth Bush Institute held it’s 2nd Annual Leadership Panel on Corporate Social Responsibility on May 20th. The event focused on integrating social responsibility into overall business strategy.
VWR Foundation appointed Valerie Collado as the Foundation President and Vey Garofalo as a Board Member.
HIAS appointed Dianne F. Lob as Chair of their Board of Directors.
Mrs. Ohio, Rebecca Lynn Ryan, chose The EOD Warrior Foundation for her platform partnership at the United States National Pagent. The EOD Warrior Foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps military EOD(Explosive Ordnance Device) personnel and their families.
KeyCorp hosted its 26th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day, where nearly 50 percent of bank employees participated in a day of volunteerism supported by paid time off. Employees spent the day volunteering with more than 700 community organizations and service projects in the 15 states.
News about opportunities, initiatives
UnitedHealthcare and Optum are assisting health plan participants who may need to make alternate arrangements to ensure continuity of care and providing a free emotional-support line to help people in Southeast Texas communities who may be affected by recent flooding.
Alliance for Justice will hold a legal workshop on June 15th in Los Angeles to educate nonprofit professionals on how to communicate concerns of their community to policy makers and elected officials.
Project ALS began a new social media campaign with Broadway called “SLAM ALS.” The campaign encourages people to show how they’d “slam” this neurodegenerative disease while generating new levels of awareness and spurring donations to research for a cure.
Urban Institute, in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity, is holding a talk on “Rethinking the Future: The Opportunities of Longevity” on June 14. The talk will explore issues and policy initiatives across the age span, from millennials to baby boomers.
More than 200 community, business, policy, and foundation leaders from Durham, Detroit, Cleveland, and New Orleans are joining forces in Cleveland on June 14th through 17th to bolster entrepreneurship and social innovation in minority communities. This effort is part of Forward Cities, a national learning collaborative project where leaders and donors from cities undergoing a transformation can identify and share best practices on inclusive innovation.
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.
