THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505110181
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY NEWSOME, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
The Virginia Beach Foundation displayed what pooling resources can do by announcing Tuesday more than $26,000 in grants to local organizations.
Grants went to 25 groups serving Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads, with most of the checks for $1,000. Eighty-seven groups submitted applications, up 20 from last year.
Ted Clarkson, executive director of the foundation, said the money is the result of a $1.2 million endowment the organization has raised since its creation in 1987. The money is invested locally and the dividends pay for the grants.
According to Clarkson, more than 98 cents from every dollar raised is returned to the community. A seven-member distribution committee decides how to return that money. City Council, Circuit Court, the Federal District Court for Eastern Virginia and the financial advisers each appoint members for five-year terms.
The committee looks for ways ``to meet the one, long-term, critical need of an organization,'' said Clarkson.
One of the needs for the Seton House girls in 1991 was a new roof for the home, which houses 200 runaway girls a year. Kathy Jeffries, director of Seton House, said a $1,000 grant helped toward the $5,400 total for repairs. Another $1,000 grant last year went toward training materials on crisis intervention.
Seton House received $250 from the foundation Tuesday for training materials. Jeffries said most of the agency's funds come in small amounts and that is why foundation grants are important.
Cindy Storm, of the Tidewater Center for Technology Access, said the foundation has been one of the center's most consistent funding sources, providing grants for two of the past three years. One established a software library and another bought specialized computer keyboards. Storm said the center helps 300 to 400 disabled area residents gain greater independence each year.
Storm and others said the foundation's role as a broker is often as valuable as the grants it provides. Storm and Jeffries said Clarkson and foundation board members are able to put them in touch with local businesses or other agencies to find solutions to their needs.
The foundation's ability to fill local needs will grow, Clarkson said, and one reason is that its endowment is assured of growth.
Another reason for future growth is that Linda Hyatt, executive director of the Landmark Foundation, said her organization and others will be more likely to work with community foundations in the future.
Hyatt, who spoke at the Virginia Beach Foundation's annual meeting Tuesday, said the emphasis is part of having to ``think and act smarter.'' Businesses increasingly ask, ``Why aren't you managed as well as we are,'' she said, and one goal of the Landmark Foundation is improving the professionalism of the non-profit sector. ILLUSTRATION: VIRGINIA BEACH FOUNDATION GRANTS
This week the Virginia Beach Foundation awarded grants totaling
$26,250 to 25 local groups. They are:
American Red Cross, Tidewater Chapter, $1,000.
Beach Health Clinic, $1,000.
Child Abuse Center of Hampton Roads, $2,000.
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Augmentative
Communication Clinic, $1,000.
Easter Seal Society of Virginia, $1,000.
Endependence Center, $1,000.
Family Services of Tidewater, Resource Mothers Program, $1,000.
Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, $1,000.
Girls Incorporated of Tidewater, Youth Services, $1,000.
Holy Spirit Parish, Spirit House, $1,000.
Hospice Volunteers, $1,000.
Judeo-Christian Outreach Center, $1,000.
Justine's Clothes Bank, $500.
Seton House, $250.
Norfolk Botanical Gardens, $1,000.
The Planning Council, $1,000.
Sugar Plum Inc., $1,000.
Tidewater Winds, $1,000.
YMCA Consortium, $1,000.
Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, $1,000.
Virginia Beach Police Department, Police Athletic League, 3rd
Precinct, $1,000.
Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad, $1,500.
Virginia Marine Science Museum Foundation, $1,000.
Bettie F. Williams Elementary School, $1,000.
Young Audiences of Virginia, $1,000.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA FOUNDATION GRANTS by CNB