Foundation Awards $1.7 Million to 14 Local Children’s Agencies

Major grant to help nonprofits learn how to evaluate their work

PALO ALTO – The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health today announced $1.7 million in grants to 14 nonprofit organizations that serve children in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The awards include a three-year, $300,000 grant to develop a model that will enable nonprofit organizations to assess the effectiveness of their programs on an ongoing basis.

“The community partners we fund tell us they need assistance in evaluating their work,” said Stephen Peeps, foundation president and CEO, who announced the grants.” At a time when nonprofits are coming under increasing scrutiny, we are pleased to support our grantees in establishing systems for assessing the valuable services they provide to local children.”

The $300,000 grant will be managed by the Children’s Health Council, which will work with four current foundation grantees. Two of the organizations operate in San Mateo County – Family Connections and Women’s Recovery Association – and two are in Santa Clara County – Friends Outside and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Clara County.

The grant not only will provide a means to evaluate foundation-funded programs, but also aims to create within each agency a culture committed to evaluation. To that end, senior management, boards of directors, and staff directly responsible for programs all will be trained by Children’s Health Council evaluation experts.

“Through this grant, we believe that these agencies will become committed to, knowledgeable about, and confident in their ability to conduct ongoing evaluations using their own boards and staff. Our hope is that this model will become useful to other nonprofit groups,” Peeps said.

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health makes grants twice yearly in two areas: protecting children, ages 0-5, from injury, with an emphasis on preventing abuse and neglect; and promoting behavioral and emotional health in preteens, ages 9-13.

GRANTS IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Eight of the current grants, totaling $964,500, were awarded to organizations in Santa Clara County, which has a child population of about 440,000.

After-School All-Stars of Greater San Jose: $150,000 over two years, for the Burnett Academy Comprehensive After-School Program for sixth to eighth grade students in downtown San Jose. Funding will support academic and extracurricular offerings, including art, technology and life skills training.

Alum Rock Counseling Center: $150,000 over two years, for Truancy Reduction Services in San Jose, which provides case management, an after-school program, mental health services and home visits for preteens at risk of academic failure.

Gardner Family Care Corporation: $183,000 over two years, for the Family Enrichment Program in San Jose, which provides low-income parents of children ages 0 to 5 with case management, home visits, parent education classes, support groups and counseling.

International Children Assistance Network: $100,000 over two years, for Happy 5, a child abuse prevention program for Vietnamese families with children under the age of 5 in Santa Clara County.

Kidpower-Teenpower-Fullpower: $75,000 over two years, for Vaccine Against Violence and Abuse, a project offering self-protection skills to preschool children in Santa Clara County. Parents and caregivers also receive training to help reinforce the skills that the preschool children learn.

Mariposa’s Art: $95,000 over two years, for After School Art and Leadership Development Programs. The funding will enable this after-school arts enrichment and youth development program to offer year-round services at four elementary schools in Santa Clara County.

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence: $80,000 over two years, for the Youth and Children’s Program, which offers after-school services and support groups to preteens in Santa Clara County who are from families experiencing domestic violence.

Prevention Partnership International (through Friends Outside): $131,500 over three years, for the Preschool Component for Celebrating and Strengthening Families Programs in Santa Clara County. Foundation funds will be used to update and evaluate two family-skills training curricula for drug dependent parents and their children.

GRANTS IN SAN MATEO COUNTY

Five of the grants, totaling $448,000, were awarded to organizations in San Mateo County, which has a child population of about 164,000.

Coastside Children’s Programs: $100,000 over two years, for the Youth Enrichment Program, an after-school youth development program for preteens from communities along the San Mateo County coast.

East Palo Alto Mural Art Project: $90,000 over two years, for the History Though Art Program. Through this arts-based after-school program for middle school students in East Palo Alto, older students mentor younger students, as they work together on art projects.

Institute for Human and Social Development: $83,000 for the Home Visiting Improvement Project, to increase the quality and effectiveness of home visiting programs for low-income families with children ages 0-5 in San Mateo County.

The San Francisco 49ers Academy: $50,000 for the Youth Development Project, an after-school program for students of the 49ers Academy in East Palo Alto. Through mentoring and group activities, the project works to build self-esteem, conflict resolution and anger management skills in preteens.

Youth and Family Enrichment Services: $125,000 over two years, for Healthy Homes, a home-visiting program providing counseling and advice for families with children under the age of 5 who have witnessed family violence.

Funds for the grants program come from the foundation’s endowment and a partnership grant from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Since December 2000, the foundation has awarded 269 grants, totaling $24,582,006, to 146 nonprofit organizations.

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health is an 8-year-old public charity whose mission is to “promote, protect and sustain the physical, mental, emotional and behavioral health of children.” For more information about the foundation’s community grantmaking program, call (650) 736-0676 or visit http://www.lpfch.org/grantmaking