MENLO PARK, Calif. – The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has authorized $60,195,043 in new grants to a total of 152 organizations. Some highlighted new grants awarded include:
Education – Enhancing Open Educational Resources
The Foundation announced a total of $15,772,333 in grants to reform and improve education in California and across the country, including several grants to help organizations create and distribute educational materials to educators and students around the world for free through the Internet. The Foundation continues its support of leading organizations providing these open educational resources with a $1,500,000 grant to Utah State University to build its collection of online materials and software and a $1,300,000 grant to San Francisco-based Creative Commons, the innovative intellectual property licensing nonprofit organization.
The Foundation is also making technology-related grants to address critical education needs in California, and has awarded the University of California, Irvine’s Extension School $200,000 to develop several free online courses designed to prepare California educators for teaching credentials in mathematics at a time when the state faces a shortage of well-qualified math teachers.
Environment – Helping Organizations Achieve a Cleaner Environment
The Foundation announced $14,485,270 in grants from its Environment Program in support of organizations committed to environmental stewardship in the western United States and around the world. The Western Conservation Foundation (WCF), a newly created organization in Denver dedicated to strengthening the network of conservation groups in the West, is the recipient of a $700,000 grant.
Also receiving support is the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), which will continue its work to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transportation-related sources with a $2,400,000 grant from the Foundation. This funding will help the ICCT promote international fuel economy standards for passenger and heavy-duty vehicles and find low-sulfur fuel alternatives.
Global Development – Promoting Transparency in the Developing World
Fostering transparency and accountability among governments in the developing world is one of the goals of the Foundation’s Global Development Program, which has made $7,860,000 in new grants. The Foundation is providing $1,000,000 to the Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública (IFAI), a Mexican agency that makes it easier for the public to access government information, a right guaranteed in Mexico’s first national freedom of information law passed in 2002. The grant will enable the IFAI to work with civil-society organizations and state and local agencies in Mexico to support government compliance with the new law and provide additional access to government information for Mexican organizations and the public.
Performing Arts – Providing Opportunities for Artists
The Foundation announced a total of $3,972,500 in grants to organizations that promote creative expression, cultural diversity and broad community participation in the arts. The Foundation’s Performing Arts Program is especially committed to supporting the development of emerging artists and awarded $200,000 to support the Montalvo Association’s artist residency program.
The funding will allow ten Bay Area performance artists to hone their craft and interact with a community of other extraordinary artists during a three-month residency at the Villa Montalvo cultural campus in Saratoga, Calif. Artists in residence at Villa Montalvo are selected on the basis of their potential to become major voices in the next generation of artists and thinkers. Other organizations dedicated to nurturing new talent that received Foundation grants this year include PlayGround ($24,000) and Z Space Studio ($150,000), two San Francisco-based incubators for emerging playwrights.
Philanthropy – Supporting the Nonprofit Sector
The Philanthropy Program has awarded $3,618,500 in grants to organizations that help advance the field of philanthropy by providing support, research and evaluative tools to nonprofits and foundations. One such organization, the Innovation Network, a nonprofit consulting firm, is the recipient of a $300,000 grant from the Foundation. The Innovation Network works closely with nonprofits on goal development, strategic planning and program evaluation. More than 20,000 nonprofits have already used the tools that the Innovation Network has developed.
Population – Supporting High Quality Science to Promote Reproductive Health
The Population Program seeks to promote good family planning and reproductive health for individuals in the U.S. and in some of the world’s poorest regions. The program announced $9,765,000 in grants, including $2,050,000 of continuing support to the Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York. The Institute, a leading organization on reproductive health issues, conducts social science research, evidence-based advocacy and public education activities. Current projects include examining the role of publicly supported family planning and reproductive health services, determining strategies for effective contraceptive use and responding to misinformation and flawed research on public health issues.
Regional Grants – Restoring Urban Parks and Playgrounds in the Bay Area
The Hewlett Foundation is dedicated to supporting disadvantaged communities in the Bay Area through its Regional Grants Program and has made $2,562,000 in new grants. The Foundation is supporting the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national conservation organization, with a $500,000 grant. The grant will help fund TPL’s Community Parks and Playgrounds Program, which works to create or restore public parks in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. This grant will enable the organization to expand its work in the Bay Area where it is already helping to restore several playgrounds and parks in Oakland and San Francisco.
About The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation makes grants to solve some of the most difficult social and environmental problems facing society. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking on activities in education, environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy, population, and makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Foundation has total assets of approximately $6.76 billion. Thus far in 2005, the Foundation has authorized new grants totaling $103,097,471. For more information about the Hewlett Foundation, visit www.hewlett.org.