By Daily Press staff
The California Community Foundation has announced that it awarded more than $33 million to nonprofits serving Los Angeles County during 2005. The top three areas of grantmaking by percentage are: health care (29.3 percent); education (25.9 percent); and arts and culture (25.8 percent).
The community foundations makes grants to organizations throughout the county, including nonprofit agencies in Santa Monica.
“The staff and board of the community foundation are committed to making positive changes in Los Angeles County,” said Antonia Hernandez, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. “We are both excited and proud that the $33 million we and our donors invested in the Los Angeles community is being used to build affordable housing, teach kids to read, treat chronic asthma and address many other critical social issues.”
Grants were made through the community foundation’s discretionary grantmak-ing program, special initiatives and many of the more than 500 active donor advised funds managed by the foundation.
Donor advised funds are established by individuals, families and corporations, and donors can make grants to any qualified nonprofit agency through that type of fund. They are considered to be an alternative to a private foundation, since there are no start-up fees, administrative hassles or minimum payout requirements.
Field of interest and unrestricted funds are used by the foundation’s discretionary grantmaking program. Field of interest funds are created by donors who wish to support a particular issue area — children’s services or animal welfare, for example — but want the foundation to take care of deciding which specific organizations to support.
Since October, the foundation has awarded more that $2.4 million through its discretionary grantmaking program in the areas of neighborhood revitalization, health care, early education, economic development and more. The grants range from $26,000 to $357,000.
A $106,000 health care grant was awarded to Helen Keller International Childsight program, which provides screenings to 15,000 low-income children throughout Los Angeles. Additionally, the grant will fund up to 1,200 pairs of prescription glasses for those children who need them.
Established in 1915, the foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more that $760 million.
To see a full list of recently awarded grants or to learn more about the CCF, visit www.calfund.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 3, 2006. Read the original PDF.