PND (4/11/2000) -- Foundation Grants & Initiatives

Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute (GPPI) has received a $3 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri, to establish the Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy. The Nielsen Chair will support an annual visiting practitioner or scholar to pursue research, teaching and public discussion on issues in philanthropy in the Institute’s Center for the Study of Voluntary Organizations and Service. The chair is named in honor of Waldemar A. Nielsen. A former Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and foreign affairs writer for The New Yorker and Harper’s, Nielsen was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Marshall Plan. He served as one of the earliest staff members of the Ford Foundation, and later led the African American Institute.

FCnote: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (MO) had assets of $1,767,089,000 and made grants totaling $50,331,000 in the year ending 6/30/99.

"Georgetown University Receives $3 Million to Establish Nielsen Chair in Georgetown Public Policy Institute." Georgetown University Press Release 4/7/2000.

California Endowment Funds Grants for Health Care Delivery Programs for Underserved Populations

The California Telehealth and Telemedicine Center (CTTC) has awarded more than $3 million in grants to 18 health care and community-based programs in an effort to increase access to health care for underserved populations throughout the state. The funds, which are part of an $11 million grant program funded by the California Endowment, will be used to improve health care delivery through the use of advanced technology, such as high-speed communication lines and the Internet. Patients living in underserved inner-city or rural areas or minority populations who face cultural or language barriers in obtaining health care will particularly benefit from the programs. The CTTC works in partnership with the California Endowment to review and select grant recipients.

FCnote: The California Endowment (CA) had assets of $2,309,441,400 and made grants totaling $103,551,300 in the year ending 2/28/99.

"Telemedicine Grants Advance Care to Underserved; More Than $3 Million Awarded to Innovative Health Care Technology Programs." Business Wire 4/10/2000.

California HealthCare Foundation Funds Study of California Nursing Homes

The California HealthCare Foundation has announced that it is funding a $2.4 million program to evaluate the quality of the state's nursing homes and distribute the findings to the public. The program is called the California Nursing Home Consumer Information System. It will be carried out over the next two years by a coalition of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Wisconsin, Madison, RAND, the UCLA/Borun Center for Gerontological Research, and the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR). A comprehensive report on the quality of nursing home care will be released to the public in 2002.

FCnote: The California HealthCare Foundation (CA) had assets of $1,922,311,000 and made grants totaling $23,292,159 in the fiscal year ending 2/28/99.

"California Healthcare Foundation Funds First-Ever Quality Ratings of State Nursing Homes." California HealthCare Foundation Press Release 4/12/2000.

Sloan Foundation Gives $1.2 Million for Tech Center at Columbia University

The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI), at Columbia Business School in New York, has received a three-year, $1.2 million grant for research in the field of telecommunications from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The grant will allow CITI to expand into a multidisciplinary center, drawing from various parts of Columbia University, dedicated to research on the telecommunications sector. Through the establishment of such centers, the Sloan Foundation aims to build an academic base of observations and knowledge in order to make practical contributions to the industries studied and accelerate U.S. economic development and global competitiveness.

FCnote: The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (NY) had assets of $1,169,279,609 and made grants totaling $39,934,523 in the year ending 12/31/98.

"Sloan Foundation Establishes Center On Telecommunications Industry At Columbia Business School." Business Wire 4/10/200.