Recently, a California foundation donated $8.2 million in grant funds to a variety of organizations in the state.
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation made the grant donations during the spring of this year, with funds going to 36 different organizations. The efforts of the organizations focus on helping disadvantaged and diverse communities in the state.
The grant funds were given to organizations that involve themselves in one of the foundation’s four areas for grants. Those include the population, the environment, education, and the performing arts.
The largest amount of grant funds was given via the foundation’s efforts in education. Grants totaling more than $6 million went to 16 organizations, including the Advancement Project. The Advancement Project received $600,000, which will help the Los Angeles-based group continue to work toward improving inner-city schools.
The foundation’s performing arts project granted more than $1 million in funds to help low-income and diverse communities take part in art programs. For example, a $300,000 grant went to San Francisco’s Community Music Center, which offers a number of free and low-cost shows and also provides after-school music programs.
The population portion of the foundation donated $30,000 for strategic planning to the Latino Community Foundation in San Francisco. The Latino Community Foundation will use the funds to help promote philanthropy in the Latino community, and will also try to curb unwanted teen pregnancies in the community it serves.
Eleven organizations will benefit from the $989,000 in grants donated from the Hewlett Foundation’s environmental section. Included in those is a $110,000 grant given to the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. The group works to reduce the high impact pollution has on disadvantaged communities.
Along with the grants awarded in spring, the Hewlett Foundation recently announced more than $154 million in grants to organizations located in the United States and abroad. Like the spring grants, the $154 million in funds given focuses on the foundation’s four grant initiatives.