Issue No. 4: April 2008

The New England Philanthropy Digest brings you the news of the essential role that philanthropy plays in your communities. Published monthly, the Digest is sent to funders, legislators and media sources throughout New England.

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A summary of recent activities by New England’s foundations and grantmakers. The New England Philanthropy Digest is brought to you by Associated Grant Makers, Maine Philanthropy Center, and the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy through a grant from the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers. Editor: Rick Schwartz.

cennecticut

UConn Huskies "Reach" into Manchester school

Endowment moved to new home; still covers medical and
dental expenses in northwest Connecticut

Housatonic River gets boost in stewardship

Library-based initiative offers resources for grant-seekers

Three United Ways look to merge in 2008

CT Transitions     

Philanthropy grows dramatically in state

Maine hosting national conference linking animal cruelty to family abuse

$5 million gift to Waterville Boys and Girls Club,
YMCA sparks immediate response

Maine foundation receives grant to engage post-60 baby boomers

Rockefeller Education Fund offers hope for students, teachers with ideas

ME Transitions     

Education foundation to focus $15 million in five areas

Wistariahurst Museum rises to Smart Giving Challenge

Nonprofit helps other nonprofits search for new leaders

AGM invites public into world of grantmakers

MA Transition     

Nearly $1 million awarded for Connecticut River projects

Pegasus Foundation sponsors animal welfare conference

NH Transitions     

RI Kids Count reports drop in child poverty, improvements in health

Academy offers fellowships, mentoring to new school science teachers

Nonprofit helps other nonprofits search for new leaders

Wanted: New storekeeper for community landmark

Northfield Savings Bank partner to further Oprah’s BigGive

Nearly $1 million awarded for Connecticut River projects

VT Transitions     

Connecticut
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UConn Huskies "Reach" into Manchester school

UConn athletes are providing positive role models for the children of Verplanck Elementary School in Manchester, with a community service program called “Husky Reach”, through the support of the SBM Charitable Foundation.

Teams and students have “adopted” Verplanck and participate in a variety of programs aimed at teaching the value of education, sportsmanship, integrity and teamwork to the children.

“Verplanck children are now talking about college, athletics and sports they could not name prior to the UConn visits,” said Principal Mary Luce. “They are using words like ‘campus’, ‘dormitory’ and ‘courses’. They are using a language that will take them to the future.”

During their first visit to the school, student-athletes from the baseball, lacrosse, rowing, women’s basketball, football and women’s ice hockey team led the group in a teamwork activity. The following week, the golf team came to the After School Program to help with homework and to play games.

The SBM Charitable Foundation honors the legacy of the former Savings Bank of Manchester, now part of Connecticut Bancshares, and serves Hartford, Tolland, and Windham Counties. Priorities for giving are health, human services, education, housing, and the arts.

For more information contact: Doreen H. Downham, SBM Charitable Foundation, 860-647-8285 or Janet Williams, University of Connecticut, 860-486-5066.

Endowment moved to new home; still covers medical and
dental expenses in northwest Connecticut

The Blue Horizon Health Fund is nearing its 60th year of providing grants to cover medical and dental expenses of residents of Canaan, Cornwall, North Canaan, Sharon, and Salisbury. This year, it’s working from a new home: the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.

Town social workers may apply for grants on behalf of individuals or families with acute needs. Berkshire Taconic will make payments directly to vendors, such as pharmacies, dentists, doctors or health clinics. This year, a total of $8,000 is available for grants.

“Blue Horizons serves as a last resort for local residents who simply do not have the means to pay for health-related expenses,” said fund advisor Judith McKernon.

The Blue Horizon Fund was created in 1951 through a trust established by John and Ethel Noble of Sharon. The fund now joins two other funds at Berkshire Taconic that serve people with short-term, acute financial need. The Jane Lloyd Fund helps cancer patients and their families in Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Salisbury, and Sharon. The Emergency Relief Fund provides one-time emergency assistance to residents throughout the Berkshire Taconic region.

For more information.

Housatonic River gets boost in stewardship

Three community foundations sharing the glories of the Housatonic River have contributed $25,000 towards its improved stewardship this year.

Lynn Werner, executive director of the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), announced grants from the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF), the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and the Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation, which has since merged with FCCF.

Werner said the funds will be used to “engage community leaders in conserving the Housatonic River’s natural, recreational, historical and economic assets in a new program – Housatonic River for Life.” The program will target the towns of Monroe, Shelton and Stratford.

The project’s leaders plan to create a River Water Quality Map and Issue Primer for riverfront communities. They will also work with local youth groups to complete a shoreline assessment and biological monitoring on the Far Mill River, a tributary to the Housatonic.

For more information, Liba H. Furhman, HVA Director of Community Affairs, 860-672-6678

Library-based initiative offers resources for grant-seekers

A new service to help nonprofits find funding is coming to the New Milford Public Library.

The library has become a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center, a national clearinghouse on organized philanthropy. Cooperating Collections are free information centers that provide detailed information about more than 90,000 grantmakers and how to apply for grants.

The library, along with key supporter the Nonprofit Assistance Initiative, will also hold training sessions on how to effectively use these resources and identify potential funders.

The Cooperating Collection will be available during regular library hours: Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Nonprofit Assistance Initiative was established in 1998 by the Connecticut Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Waterbury to offer workshops, grants, mentors, and services to nonprofit organizations and selected municipal agencies in Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Cheshire, Goshen, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, New Milford, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Southbury, Thomaston, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, and Woodbury.

For media information, contact Liz Acas, Connecticut Community Foundation, 203/753-1315 or eacas@conncf.org.

Three United Ways look to merge in 2008

Not two but three Connecticut United Way chapters have announced their intentions to merge later this year. The new entity – tentatively to be named the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County – would comprise the current United Ways of Norwalk & Wilton, Westport–Weston, and Eastern Fairfield County. It would encompass the 11-town area of Norwalk, Wilton, Darien, Westport, Weston, Fairfield, Trumbull, Easton, Monroe, Bridgeport, and Stratford. The three United Ways had a combined campaign of close to $6.7 million in 2006-07.

Board member Edward Musante, President of the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, commented, “The proposed merger will align the three Fairfield County United Ways with the One Coast One Future initiative of the regional business community. One Coast One Future seeks to spark new and renewed economic growth, job creation and individual economic opportunity throughout Coastal Fairfield County, goals reflective of United Way’s mission.”

For more information, contact Betty Karkut or David Kennedy, 847-4576.


CT Transitions

Maine

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Philanthropy grows dramatically in state

“Everyone needs to know how giving changes lives in Maine,” concludes Giving in Maine: A Report on Philanthropy 2008, co-produced by the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Philanthropy Center. Some key findings:

Maine hosting national conference linking animal cruelty to family abuse

Maine, already the first state to protect animals along with family members in cases of domestic abuse, is hosting a national conference in June.

Thanks to The Linkage Project of Youth Alternatives in Portland, family and animal advocates from across the U.S. will gather on June 8-9 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland for “Helping Communities and Policy Makers Stop?the Violence Against People and Pets,” which organizers are calling the first-ever national town meeting on the issue.

Long successful in Maine, The Linkage Project and the conference are supported by the American Humane Association, the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust, and the C.F. Adams Charitable Trust.

For more information contact: Linda Jariz, Project Coordinator, at Ljariz@youthalternatives.org, or 207-874-1175, ext 230.

$5 million gift to Waterville Boys and Girls Club,
YMCA sparks immediate response

Six months after his death at age 93, Harold Alfond continues to generously support the Alfond Youth Center that he helped found nearly 10 years ago.

The Harold Alfond Foundation has announced a $5 million gift to the Waterville Boys and Girls Club and YMCA, which, together with the city, operate the youth center. Half the grant is immediate; the other half is a challenge to raise $1 million from the community.

The first response was immediate, with Unity Foundation President Larry Sterrs committing his foundation to $150,000 to the match at the same ceremony where the $5 million gift was announced.

The Alfond Youth Center notes that it serves more than 8,000 youth from 125 towns and operates in ten locations across the state.

Maine foundation receives grant to engage post-60 baby boomers

National research shows that tens of millions of people over age 60 are looking to make a difference in their communities. With a $95,000 grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies — and the promise of additional grant support in two years — the Maine Community Foundation will work with other partners in Maine to help them help.

The Maine Community Foundation is one of ten such foundations in the nation that comprise the Community Experience Partnership. They are developing major programs designed to increase the civic engagement levels of baby boomers.

“Maine’s greatest asset is our people,” said Henry Schmeltzer, Maine Community Foundation president. “This grant will allow us to develop a customized program for Maine people who are planning to retire — or who are retired — and who want to make a significant difference in the public and nonprofit sectors.”

For more information, contact Carl Little, 877-700-6800.

Rockefeller Education Fund offers hope for students, teachers with ideas

James and Marilyn Rockefeller of Camden have established a fund at the Maine Community Foundation offering educational opportunities for Knox, Waldo and Washington counties.

K-12 teachers in the three counties could plan and implement innovative projects that would receive funding of up to $15,000 for three years. Area residents can seek scholarships for two- or four-year colleges or less traditional learning environments.

Application deadlines are May 15 & December 1, 2008. For complete guidelines and applications (Knox, Waldo, Washington) or call 877-700-6800.


ME Transitions

Massachusetts

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Education foundation to focus $15 million in five areas

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has announced it is realigning its strategic grantmaking of $15 million per year into five initiatives:

The foundation reports it will be entering into new research as well.

For more information, contact Nick Lorenzen, 781-348-4239.

Wistariahurst Museum rises to Smart Giving Challenge

The Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke recently won $25,000 for creatively spending $1,500.

The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts issued a Smart Giving Challenge to ten local charities at its annual meeting late last fall. Each charity had five weeks to devise, implement and document how their organization made the most creative, smart and effective use of a $1,500 gift that was donated to them that night.

Wistariahurst used its gift to create Bridging Generations: Shared Stories – a series of youth and elder oral histories. The museum collaborated on the project with students from South Hadley and Holyoke High Schools, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke, Enchanted Circle Theater, interns from Mt Holyoke and UMass, and the Loomis Communities.

A community foundation advisory committee voted it the best of the ten projects and awarded the Wistariahurst Museum an additional $25,000 to use as it chooses.

For more information.

Nonprofit helps other nonprofits search for new leaders

Grantmakers throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have been alarmed by reports that “baby boomer”-age executive directors of nonprofits will soon be retiring in record numbers.

An advisory board of foundations from Cape Cod to Providence to Bridgeport chose Third Sector New England, a nonprofit based in Boston, to design and implement the Executive Transitions Program. The initiative places expert transition consultants and interim executive directors at organizations to run, strategize, assess, and search for new leadership.

For more information, call Hez Norton at 617.523.6565 or hnorton@tsne.org.

AGM invites public into world of grantmakers

Associated Grant Makers, a regional association of grantmakers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, will be holding its popular (and free) Introduction to Grants Research Workshop for nonprofits learning how to apply for grants.

AGM writes, “The workshop introduces you to the world of philanthropy. You will discover the wealth of opportunity that exists in terms of foundation grants. We will introduce you to the process of grants research and all that it entails. You will learn how to approach the foundations, and most importantly how not to. We will demo several databases (AGM GrantMakers, FC Search, and Guidestar) that are critical to finding the right grantmaker for your organization. A primary focus of the workshop is to highlight key resources (books, websites, and databases) that will be important to getting a yes to your grant proposal.

The next session is May 7 at AGM’s Boston office, but requires advance registration.


MA Transitions

New Hampshire

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Nearly $1 million awarded for Connecticut River projects

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation have announced $832,815 in grants from the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund. As noted in the January New England Philanthropy Digest, the fund was created as part of the settlement agreement between the parties involved in the federal process to award a new operating license for three hydroelectric dams on the Connecticut River at Fifteen Mile Falls near Littleton, NH and Ryegate, VT. NHCF and the VCF administer the fund.

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

Pegasus Foundation sponsoring Caribbean animal welfare conference

The Pegasus Foundation based in Concord is a key sponsor of a four-day animal welfare conference taking place this month in the Dominican Republic.

Focusing on issues unique to the region, participants will focus on animals in disasters, animal welfare education, protection of marine species such as sea turtles, wild whales, and captive dolphins, veterinary topics, animal laws, and more.

The conference will also feature sessions on strategic planning, board development, fundraising, and other organizational issues.


NH Transitions

Rhode Island

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RI Kids Count reports drop in child poverty, improvements in health

Rhode Island Kids Count found hopeful signs when it released its annual report on the well-being of Rhode Island’s children this month. The report notes a significant drop in the number of children under age 18 living below the federal poverty line from 2004 (21%) to 2006 (15.1%). In real terms, the statistics suggest that nearly 15,000 fewer children were living in poverty over that period.

The 2008 Factbook also reported that 93.6% of Rhode Island’s children were covered by health insurance in 2006, nearly one-third by the state’s special children’s health insurance program.

Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director, credited government spending for many of the gains.

“Child poverty decreased in our state between 2004 and 2006, during a time when the state was making critical investments in child care, health care and adult education. It is imperative that we maintain and restore our critical investments in working families so that they can access the child care, health care and education necessary for stable employment.”

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT is a statewide children’s policy organization based on a model established by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Rhode Island effort is primarily funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Rhode Island Foundation, United Way of Rhode Island, Prince Charitable Trusts, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pre-K Now, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust, CVS Caremark Charity Classic, Hasbro Children’s Fund, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and United Healthcare.

For more information, contact: Raymonde Charles, rcharles@rikidscount.org or 401- 351-9400, ext. 22.

Academy offers fellowships, mentoring to new school science teachers

For the second year, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), is inviting applicants for its 2008-2009 New Science Teacher Academy. The Academy attracted nearly a thousand applications from across the country in its first year of supporting science teachers new to the profession.

Co-founded by the Amgen Foundation, based in Rhode Island, the Academy selects 150 Fellows to receive a comprehensive membership package, online mentoring with trained mentors who teach in the same discipline, and the opportunity to participate in a variety of web-based professional development activities. Each NSTA Fellow will also attend and participate in NSTA's 2009 National Conference on Science Education in New Orleans.

For more information.

Applications must be submitted no later than May 23, 2008 to be considered.

Nonprofit helps other nonprofits search for new leaders

Grantmakers throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have been alarmed by reports that “baby boomer”-age executive directors of nonprofits will soon be retiring in record numbers.

An advisory board of foundations from Cape Cod to Providence to Bridgeport chose Third Sector New England, a nonprofit based in Boston, to design and implement the Executive Transitions Program. The initiative places expert transition consultants and interim executive directors at organizations to run, strategize, assess, and search for new leadership.

For more information, call Hez Norton at 617.523.6565 or hnorton@tsne.org.


Transitions

Vermont

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Wanted: New storekeeper for community landmark

That is the question of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, the Freeman Foundation, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the state Division for Historic Preservation.

The groups contributed $300,000 and oversaw the total upgrading of the 150-year-old W.E. Pierce store in Shrewsbury, a local grocery and meetingplace that has been closed since 1992.

Now they’re looking to reopen it. It won’t be easy, Paul Bruhn, executive director of the Preservation Trust admitted in a recent article in the Rutland Herald.

"We understand that just selling staples from the store is not likely to produce enough income to work," Bruhn said. "They'll need to find another niche to support the effort.” In fact, stated Shrewsbury resident Chet Brigham, the store didn’t turn a profit between 1950 and 1992. ? But it was a wonderful gathering place. Bruhn said, ?"We need to find somebody that will really work with the community and really understand that this is a partnership with the community."

Northfield Savings Bank partner to further Oprah’s BigGive

Oprah’s BigGive meant a $10,000 gift to Vermont from the ABC network, and Northfield Savings Bank teamed up with the local TV affiliate to match another $5,000 in gifts to Therapy Dogs of Vermont (TDV).

TDV is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization of handler/canine therapy dog teams who bring comfort to patients in a host of hospitals, nursing and retirement homes, child and adult day care centers, libraries and more, all free of charge. TDV has about 200 certified teams throughout the state of Vermont and in some areas of New York and New Hampshire.


Nearly $1 million awarded for Connecticut River projects

The Vermont Community Foundation and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation have announced $832,815 in grant awards from the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund. As noted in the January New England Philanthropy Digest, the fund was created as part of the settlement agreement between the parties involved in the federal process to award a new operating license for three hydroelectric dams on the Connecticut River at Fifteen Mile Falls near Littleton, NH and Ryegate, VT. VCF and NHCF administer the fund.

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

For more information, contact Kevin Peterson of the Charitable Foundation’s Upper Valley Region at 603-653-0387, ext. 1270 or kp@nhcf.org.


VT Transitions

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Connecticut

Dorothy (Dotty) Weston-Murphy of Guilford has become the new vice president for Donor and Professional Services at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Her focus will be to strengthen the relationship between the community foundation and its donors as well as allied professionals, such as attorneys, bankers, accountants, financial and estate planners and other philanthropic leaders. For the past 13 years, she has primarily worked as an independent consultant and for the National Marketing Action Team for community foundations through Community Foundations of America.

Six Connecticut middle level and high school students recently were awarded Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for outstanding volunteer service. Prudential Financial created the awards in 1995 in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Each state’s two Honorees will receive $1,000 awards, engraved silver medallions, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. In Connecticut, Honorees were Brenden Gobell, 17, of Avon, who has prepared thousands of meals and served them to residents of a local homeless shelter over the past four years, conducted two collection drives to supply the shelter with linens and toiletries, and organized a miniature golf tournament that raised more than $1,100 for the shelter; and Erika Sloan, 13, of Simsbury, who formed a youth volunteer organization that has raised close to $10,000 for a variety of animal-welfare groups by selling animal-related merchandise. Erika launched "Kids for Paws" with her sister in 2005 after seeing news reports of stranded pets on the Gulf Coast after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Connecticut’s Distinguished Finalists were Kristen Fitzsimons, 17, of Enfield, who runs a free foreign-language tutoring program; Alexandra Schreiber and Jillian Ugol of Westport, both 17, who started a volunteering club that arranges for its 45 members to volunteer each week at a local hospital, a nursing facility, a cancer center, and a homeless shelter; and Christina Stewart, 18, of Meriden, who has volunteered for the past three summers as a counselor at a camp for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. For the complete story.

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Maine

Governor John E. Baldacci has nominated Lissa Widoff of Freedom to the Board of Environmental Protection. Members review permit applications, licensing, enforcement actions and rulemaking. Widoff has served as executive director of the Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation for eight years. The foundation, located in Belfast, focuses on environmental leadership development. She has also worked for the Maine Community Foundation, the State Planning Office and the Nature Conservancy, Maine Chapter. Her nomination must be reviewed by the Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources and approved by the full Senate.

Kristin Majeska, president and co-founder of Common Good Ventures, has announced she will step down in mid-July to take advantage of an opportunity to spend a year with her family in Madrid, Spain. The organization coordinates business professionals to work with nonprofits.

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Massachusetts

Vanessa Calderon-Rosado, CEO of Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, or Puerto Rican Tenants in Action, in Boston, and a member of the Associated Grant Makers board, was recently featured in the Boston Herald. For the past five years, Calderon-Rosado has been heading IBA’s 40-year effort to provide housing as well as programs that advance, educate and enrich the lives of its low-income, all-ages, primarily Latino service population. “Our mission is to increase the social and economic power of the individuals we serve, and we do that in four areas: education, economic development, technology and the arts,” she says.

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations in Washington, D.C., has welcomed Roberto Cremonini to its board of directors. Cremonini, chief knowledge and learning officer at the Barr Foundation, previously worked at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.

Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s latest annual report will receive a national award for excellence in communications by the Council on Foundations at the latter’s spring conference in Maryland. "It’s a great honor to be recognized at the national level," says Ann T. Lisi, executive director. She credited Atomic Design of Boylston, Dan Vaillancourt of Patrick O'Connor Photography in Shrewsbury, writer Susan Saccoccia of Cambridge, and editor Linda Chadwick, a member of the Foundation staff.

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts grew so much in 2007 that it needed to move to larger and more accessible offices in the Sundial Building at 63 Union Street, New Bedford, adjacent to the Whaling Museum. The new headquarters also house SEEAL (Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance), AHA! (Art History Architecture) and the Women’s Fund, all community foundation programs.

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New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is guided by advisory boards in seven regions of the state, each of which has added new members this spring. New appointments include:

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Vermont

Dr. John Bramley has taken over as president and CEO of the Windham Foundation in Grafton, succeeding Stephan A. Morse, who retired from the position after 24 years. Bramley was most recently a professor at the University of Vermont in Burlington, teaching animal science and microbiology and molecular genetics. He held several notable positions with the University including serving as Acting President in 2006 as well as Senior Vice President and Provost from 2001 to 2006. Prior to those positions, Bramley was the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Science; and the Chair of the Animal Sciences Department.

The Windham Foundation was established in 1963 with a special eye towards restoring buildings and economic vitality in the village of Grafton, as well as supporting other charities. The foundation has restored The Old Tavern and revived the Grafton Village Cheese Company, which once existed as a local cooperative for dairy farmers.

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