A foundation recently awarded grants totaling more than $43 million in order to help people with lower incomes deal with current economic difficulties.
The Kresge Foundation announced the grants during its September board meeting. The foundation presented awards to 208 organizations in 26 states, the District of Columbia and a number of organizations in South Africa.
"We are supporting exemplary nonprofit organizations in this time of financial hardship so they, in turn, may better serve and sustain those suffering in their communities," Elaine D. Rosen, chair of the foundation’s board of trustees, said.
One organization that received funds from Kresge was Feeding America, a Chicago-based group that helps distribute food to those in need. The group was given $2.5 million, which will be used to purchase 20 to 25 refrigerated food delivery trucks. In addition to the funds for the trucks, the foundation gave an additional $2.5 million to help pay for their operation costs, including fuel and paying drivers.
Education was also the subject of a number of the grants. For example, the National Advising Corps (NAC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received $1 million in order to help fund its programs. The NAC helps place young people who recently graduated from college into high schools as "college advisors," acting as a compliment to guidance counselors. The young advisors help high school students get ready for the prospect of going to college.
Some of the grants from the Kresge Foundation focused on helping with the environment. The group gave $1 million to Enterprise Community Partners, which works to retrofit lower-income housing with environmentally-friendly equipment. It also offers grants to property developers to help entice them to build lower-income homes that are greener.
Recently, the Kresge Foundation announced second-quarter grants totaling $26 million. The grants went to a variety of organizations, including those that help homeless shelters, food banks and child-support services.