Grants

Cornell University on Thursday announced one of the largest current-use gifts to undergraduate scholarships in the university's history — $15 million.

Cornell said The Atlantic Philanthropies gave the university a $15 million grant to support financial aid for students in the Cornell Tradition program. The gift will be paid in three annual installments of $5 million each, beginning this month, according to a statement from the university.

Four fundraising experts discussed donor giving trends and what they mean for fundraisers at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater New York Chapter's Fund Raising Day in New York. Consultant Kathryn Slocum discussed institutional giving.

Sage North America announced the results of its recently conducted Sage Nonprofit Insights, Q2 2011, survey of U.S. and Canadian organizations, which focused on questions about nonprofits’ views and practices related to grant funding and success measures.

About half of the organizations responding to the survey (52%) said grantors are demanding more success measures than two years ago. According to the survey, grantors most often request information about the following types of success measures: financial accountability/stewardship (81%); number of constituents served (77%); program quality from a participant perspective (57%); program sustainability (57%).

Opus Bank and the Opus Community Foundation announced that the foundation’s board of directors approved eight grant awards. These grants were awarded to eight nonprofit organizations that the bank and foundation believe will have an immediate and long-lasting impact.

These groups include Community Opus Project, H.E.L.P. of Los Angeles, Harmony Project, Junior Achievement of San Diego, Olive Crest, Peninsula Education Foundation, Rosie’s Garage and South Coast Repertory.

The New York City-based Elton John AIDS Foundation has announced a comprehensive $1.3 million grant to AIDS United, the organization formed from the recent merger of the National AIDS Fund and AIDS Action.

The grant will support four specific program areas, including the Community Partnership Network, which was awarded $950,000 to share with 39 local programs across the country.

The Prudential Foundation board of trustees approved $3.4 million in grants to four Newark, N.J.-based organizations focused on education and youth development, and a national organization dedicated to bridging the gap between the skills workers have and the skills employers need them to have.

To help develop education leadership in Newark, the board approved $250,000 for The Newark Education Trust (NET), an independent local education fund that mobilizes money, people and organizations to support quality public schools for Newark children.

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a leader in the national anti-hunger community, has awarded more than $3 million to 286 carefully screened organizations fighting hunger in the United States, Israel and selected developing nations. Over its 25-year history, MAZON has made grants totaling more than $53 million.

For a complete list of 2011 grant recipients, please visit http://mazon.org/go/2011grants/

Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management announced that it is the recipient of a $3 million federal grant through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program administered by NeighborWorks® America.

Congress created the NFMC Program in 2007 to help families at risk of foreclosure by connecting them to trained housing counselors.

As an award recipient, Springboard will receive funding for counseling, counselor training, program support and operational oversight.

The McKnight Foundation awarded 128 grants totaling $14,248,000 in its second-quarter 2011 grantmaking. 
 
Of the $14.2 million total approved, $1.4 million went to 18 small and midsized arts organizations that model innovation in connecting artists and people, or that develop and deliver the work of Minnesota artists.

Morgan Stanley announced that the nonprofits Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, Feeding America and Episcopal Social Services received cash grants to implement pro bono strategic advice provided by Morgan Stanley professionals at the Third Annual Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge. 

This year, the Strategy Challenge paired teams of outstanding Morgan Stanley professionals with 15 nonprofit organizations across the country for eight weeks to provide pro bono strategic advice on issues related to business model optimization, geographic and program expansion, and new ventures.