Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Awards $6.6 Million in Grants

The Seattle-based Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has announced fourth-quarter grants totaling $6.6 million to fifty-eight nonprofits serving the Pacific Northwest region.

Grants were awarded in the areas of arts and culture, asset building and emergency relief, education and youth engagement, and science and international efforts. Within those areas, the foundation awarded nearly $1 million to groups with innovative projects designed to address serious challenges in Native American communities, including Shorebank Enterprise Group in Ilwaco, Washington, which received $240,000 to provide loan capital and technical assistance to Native entrepreneurs; the Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, which was awarded $150,000 to evaluate intervention efforts designed by Alaska Natives to reduce family violence in the state's rural and tribal communities; and the Anchorage-based Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, which received $45,000 in support of its Earthsongs radio show.

Through its arts and culture program, the foundation awarded grants totaling $2.2 million, including $125,000 to Boise's Idaho Shakespeare Festival for a technology development project; $125,000 to the Peter Britt Gardens Music and Arts Festival Association in Medford, Oregon, for capacity building; and $75,000 to the Tacoma Art Museum for its Art, AIDS, America exhibition. In addition, the Seattle-based Museum of History & Industry received a $500,000 grant toward the renovation of its new home, while Seattle's Lake Washington School District received $400,000 to create a school focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects.

"We've seen over the years that Native American and tribal communities face challenges that defy ordinary approaches," said Allen Family Foundation vice president Susan M. Coliton. "At the same time, these communities are characterized by great depth of cultural resources and strengths. To support them, the foundation looked for programs that were working across the sectors, trying to better the lives of tribal community members."

For a complete list of fourth-quarter grants, visit the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Web site.

“The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Focuses on Native Communities, Education Initiatives in Latest Grant Cycle.” Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Press Release 1/31/12.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Giving Pledge
Location(s): Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Washington

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