Posted on February 9, 2013

Community Foundation Update (2/09/13)

Alabama

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has announced a gift from the AT&T Foundation to establish the AT&T 50th Anniversary Civil Rights Scholarship Fund, which will award scholarships to ten seniors from Birmingham high schools this year.

Massachusetts

The Boston Foundation has announced that entrepreneur and philanthropic advisor Jamie Jaffee will join the Philanthropic Initiative, an operating unit of the foundation, as managing partner. Jaffee formerly served as the founding president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. The foundation also announced that it has appointed Travis McCready as its vice president for program.

New Jersey

The Community Foundation of New Jersey in Morristown has announced guidelines for the New Jersey Recovery Fund, a collaborative effort of local and national foundations, New Jersey-based corporations, and individuals to provide support for communities and nonprofits in the state that were affected by or are responding to Superstorm Sandy. The fund, which holds some $5 million in assets, seeks to address the intermediate and long-term effects of the storm and to serve as a flexible source of financial support for organizations and communities leading and participating in recovery efforts. To that end, the fund will support catalytic ideas and projects, with an emphasis on innovation, collaboration, resiliency and sustainability. It will not provide disaster relief funding for businesses, individuals, or nonprofits.

New York

The New York Community Trust has announced a request for proposals for research studies focused on understanding the cultural sector in New York State. The initiative is being supported by the trust, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John R. Oishei Foundation, and the New York Council for the Humanities. Competitive arts and culture research grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 will be awarded to nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored individuals/organizations for projects that make use of New York State Cultural Data Project (CDP) data and explore significant topics related to the state's creative community. All proposals must be received by noon on March 15.

Oregon

The Oregon Community Foundation has awarded $750,000 to the Oregon Angel Fund, an early-stage investment fund that supports young companies in Oregon and southwest Washington, the Oregonian reports. Last year, the foundation announced a three-year, $2.5 million commitment to OAF and to date has awarded $1.75 million of that.

Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Foundation has elected Edith L. Shapira as its new board chair. She is the first woman to chair the foundation in its sixty-eight-year history.

Wisconsin

The Oshkosh Area Community Foundation has announced a new online search tool, FoxRiverScholarshipCenter.org, to help area students find scholarships. In addition to letting students search for scholarships that match their background/educational plans and explore other options, it also allows them to obtain scholarship application materials and apply online.