Grants That Make a Difference
Profiles in this archive may become incorrect over time.
"Grants that Make a Difference" highlights grants given to Southeastern organizations that have helped make a difference in people's lives. Getting the grant is only the beginning of the story. At least once a month, "Grants That Make a Difference" will profile these important grants and what their recipients are doing with them.
Frank Batten and his wife Jane have announced gifts totaling more
than $170 million to several educational institutions, according to the Associated Press. Batten
is the founder of Landmark Communications Inc., a Norfolk, Virginia-based media company,
Batten is a native of Norfolk. He originally planned to leave the gifts in his will
but changed his mind because the schools are struggling financially. "I'm 76 now and I felt the
time had come," he told the Virginian-Pilot, a newspaper owned by his company. "I believe
education is the best means for developing people — developing their lives, their minds, and
their opportunity to grow economically." Landmark Communications also owns newspapers in
Greensboro, North Carolina, and Roanoke, Virginia; cable television's Weather Channel; and a
string of community newspapers and special-interest publications.
The couple's $32 million gift to Old Dominion University in Norfolk — the largest in the
school's history — will be used to establish faculty chairs in science, engineering, and
technology, as well as support faculty research. Virginia Wesleyan College, also in Norfolk,
received $11.2 million, its largest gift ever, while the Norfolk Foundation received $20
million to create the Batten Educational Achievement Fund.
Several institutions that educated the Battens were also named as beneficiaries. Harvard
Business School, where Batten received his MBA, was awarded $32 million to support its
residential campus, while Culver Academies, the prep school he attended, received $20.8 million.
Batten had previously given two gifts totaling $70 million to the University of Virginia, where
he earned his undergraduate degree. Jane Batten's alma mater, Hollins University in Roanoke,
also received a gift of an undisclosed amount.
The selection of organizations for the "Grants that Make a Difference" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size of funding programs to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.
If you'd like to see support for your organization featured in "Grants that Make a Difference," e-mail a detailed description of the grant, including the name and contact information of the funder and of your organization, the amount given, and how the grant made a difference. For your convenience, we have provided a template to follow. We welcome press releases in addition to, or as a substitute for, the information in the template.
Email the description or press release to atweb@fcncenter.org, with "Grants that Make a Difference" in the subject line.
Recipient Name:
Project Name:
Organization Mission and how it relates to the project:
Beneficiaries or Community Impact:
Funding Partner(s): (Grantmaker Names)
Grant Amount:
Recipient Contact: Name, Address, Phone, Fax, E-mail, URL
Grantmaker Contact: Name, Address, Phone, Fax, E-mail, URL
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