The Hite Foundation
Areas of Focus
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THE HITE FOUNDATION makes grants in two distinct areas of focus: child welfare grants intended to improve public policy and practice with regard to permanency planning for children in placement; and grants intended to promote the understanding and appreciation of 19th century British photography. The Hite Foundation makes grants of approximately $350,000 annually. Given its relatively limited resources and part-time staff, the Foundation considers proposals by invitation only.


Child Welfare Policy and Permanency Planning

The following quote describing permanency planning is offered as a guideline to the Foundation's thinking behind its grantmaking:

Permanency planning is intended to safely limit entry of children into out-of-home foster care placement, and limit the time children spend there. It is widely acknowledged that separation, loss, and unresolved grief, as well as the uncertain and long-term nature of the foster care experience can have a negative impact on children's overall sense of belonging, identity formation, and emotional well being.

Permanency planning requires that case-by-case assessments and interventions balance the time needed for a family to change with a child's need for a continuous and secure family relationship. Great harm can be brought to a child by the passage of time and delays in decision-making.

An array of permanency outcomes may be considered desirable for children, beginning with the benefits of keeping children at home safely with their parents or relatives to prevent the trauma of unnecessary separation and placement. For children who cannot remain with their families and for whom placement in family foster care or group care settings is temporarily necessary, family reunification efforts are in most cases the preferred permanency option whenever that can be done safely. When children cannot return home within the timeframes established by federal law, alternative permanency options should be pursued, including: adoption by relatives, foster parents or a new family; guardianship with relatives, foster parents or another caring adult; and in special circumstances, another planned alternative living arrangement with relatives, foster parents or in a group or residential setting.

— SARAH B. GREENBLATT
Director of the Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice at Casey Family Services (formerly Director of the National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning)

The Hite Foundation makes grants intended to improve public policy and practice with regard to permanency planning for children in placement. "Permanency" is defined as a safe, loving, and permanent family, that a child can call his/her own.

The Foundation judges each grant project by its potential to either:

  1. Prevent children from being placed in the foster care system as long as they can remain safely at home; or

  2. Enable children already in the foster care system to be released as quickly as possible, through reunification with their birth families, or if that is not possible, placement in another permanent, safe and loving family.

The Foundation makes grants to national and local child welfare policy initiatives, but prefers making grants to nonprofit organizations located in cities near enough to permit the Foundation to cost-effectively monitor each project's progress. Programs funded include pilot projects to test an idea in action, as well as conferences, studies and reports to provide information useful in improving public policy to benefit children in the child welfare system.

Within the Foundation’s focus on child welfare policy and permanency planning, a special funding interest is children of incarcerated parents.


19th Century British Photography

The Hite Foundation recently began making grants designed to promote the understanding and appreciation of 19th century British photography. To develop its thinking, the Foundation has been meeting and talking with nationally recognized experts in 19th century British photography, including curators and academics. The Hite Foundation expects that its grantmaking will evolve over the coming years as it continues to gain greater understanding of the early history of photography and of the funding possibilities that the field presents.

The Foundation considers funding proposals for:

  • Study, research, and scholarship
  • Publication and distribution of books
  • Public exhibitions at highly-regarded institutions
  • Lecture series, seminars, and gallery talks open to the public

The Hite Foundation will concentrate on programs that involve recognized experts in the field. The Foundation judges each grant project by its ability to:

  • Build public awareness of 19th century British photography
  • Enhance appreciation of 19th century British photography
  • Reach a significant audience within the general public