In the December 24, 1999 Double Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2002. Information in this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected. Any opinions expressed in the Digest do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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Editor’s Note
The SSTI Weekly Digest has typically focused on state and federal activities in technology-based economic development. This special issue of the Digest, however, focuses on the important role that foundations can play in technology-based economic development by:

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Foundations as S&T Partners
At first glance, the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation’s quiet contribution of almost $25 million over the past ten years to support local economic development may not raise much interest from state and federal technology-based economic development professionals across the country. However, the reaction might be different after learning that most of the investment was to emerging businesses in the form of venture capital.

The Abell Foundation has created a venture fund to support a variety of industries, and invests in companies either located in Baltimore City or willing to relocate there. The foundation’s approach is to partner actively with the management teams of their portfolio companies, and often helps in hiring, raising further rounds of financing, refining corporate strategies, and even obtaining space and establishing first offices for seed-stage companies. The amount of capital invested in any one company can vary between a few hundred thousand dollars to about $3 million.

Abell’s activities are described by the Foundation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the foundation field, as being part of a small but growing movement called “entrepreneurial philanthropy.” These foundations channel financial support to for-profit businesses through “program-related investments” or PRIs. The companies are expected to make a profit and advance the foundation’s mission or interests.

PRIs have been in existence since 1969, when a change in IRS regulations allowed foundations to lend money or make equity investments to both nonprofit and profit-making businesses. According to the Foundation Center and USA Today, the use of PRIs has been encouraged by the Financial Services Act, which granted more lending powers to non-banking entities.

Foundations, particularly those willing to place PRIs, are logical but under-utilized partners for state and local science and technology programs. Issues of the digital divide and technology deployment are themes shared by many states and several foundations. Assisting businesses engaged in specific technologies that advance public goals, such as environmental protection or health care, also are shared goals among state programs and many philanthropies (see related story in this issue of the Digest).

Program-related investments in for-profit companies are not the only potential method of foundation involvement in state S&T policy development and program implementation. For example, the Lilly Foundation’s recent $60 million donation to two Indiana universities was to encourage research and technology-based economic development in the state (see the October 15, 1999 SSTI Weekly Digest for more details). AT&T’s $1 million contribution for technology capacity at historically black colleges and universities provides another example.

Additionally, philanthropies, like the Ford Foundation, have established impressive records of supporting innovative programs in government. New initiatives in state and local science and technology may be explored through these avenues. The Ford Foundation's support of the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance http://www.cdvca.org exemplifies the benefits and opportunities of partnering with foundations.

The coffers of many philanthropies continue to grow from their endowment investments in the strong stock market. The potential benefits for state and local science and technology policy are only limited by not taking advantage of opportunities presented by these non-traditional economic development partners.

For more information on PRIs, see the Foundation Center's Program-Related Investments: A Guide to Funders and Trends at: http://fdncenter.org  

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Wealth of Information Offered by The Foundation Center
The Foundation Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1956 with the mission to “foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.” Audiences include grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.

The Foundation Center's extensive online library of the country’s largest 10,000 philanthropic organizations is available by monthly subscription. A CD Rom directory of 50,000 philanthropies, as well as several other directory and guides, are also offered. The Center provides several additional publications, grant writing workshops, and research tools for prospective grant recipients.

Philanthropy News Digest, a free electronic newsletter published by the Foundation Center, includes current funding announcements, job announcements, press releases and news information. Last week's edition included several links to additional sources of information on foundations and funding opportunities. Archive editions of the Philanthropy News Digest are available on the Foundation’s website: http://fdncenter.org 

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Foundations Seeking to Make a Difference in Environment
This decade saw a significant increase in public and private investment in environmental technologies and programs. Confronting environmental issues will remain a challenge for many years to come.

Many philanthropic foundations are focusing their grants and investments toward environmental concerns. From areas of interest as diverse as sustainable agriculture to eliminating industrial hazardous waste, foundations are funding a variety of environmental programs and projects.

State-funded environmental science and technology initiatives, and in some cases, their client technology businesses, are eligible to apply for many different foundation giving programs. The following are two examples with links for obtaining more information.

The Heinz Endowments
The Heinz Endowments have been formally active in the environment since 1994. In 1997, the foundation provided more than $11 million to support various environmental programs. Four strategic themes guide the environmental program’s grantmaking, including:

As discussed in greater detail in this week’s article on program-related investments (PRIs), the Heinz Endowments also are seeking and encouraging PRIs as a key part of their overall portfolio. Many of their major efforts are funded with both grants and PRIs, and most leverage significant funding from other sources.

Additional information on the Heinz Endowments can be found at http://www.heinz.org 

The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts are one of the largest private philanthropies in the nation. In 1998, the Trusts dedicated 18% of its portfolio, or more than $38.6 million dollars, to environmental programs.

The Pew Trusts Environmental Program aims to promote policies and practices that protect the global atmosphere and preserve healthy forest and marine ecosystems. The goals of the program are to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and the destruction of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, and to halt the destruction and further degradation of forest and marine ecosystems in North America. Applied research projects are eligible for funding consideration.

Additional information on the Pew Charitable Trusts can be found at http://www.pewtrusts.org 

Other foundations that focus a portion of their grants on environmental initiatives, include: the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, the Lindbergh Foundation, the Turner Foundation, the Ittleson Foundation, the Brainerd Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Links to these and other philanthropic organizations may be found at the Foundation Center’s website: http://fdncenter.org  

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Endowment Offers Funding for Improvement of Government
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government is offering three funding opportunities that will support new approaches to improving the effectiveness of government at the federal, state, local and international levels.

Competitive research grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to individuals working in universities or nonprofit organizations for the development of research papers in one of the following five areas:

The Endowment also will support Thought Leadership Forums, 2-3 day executive conferences bringing together 25-30 participants to address one of the above areas. Forums are to be hosted by academic institutions or nonprofit organizations and may receive up to $20,000 from the Endowment to offset conference costs.

Through the Senior Executive Service Leadership Program, the Endowment supports 2-4 month research sabbaticals for officials from federal, state, local, or international government organizations. Recipients spend their sabbaticals at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment offices preparing a research paper examining one of the priority interest areas.

For more information, interested parties should visit: http://endowment.pwcglobal.com/about.asp

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Comments Requested on Government-University Research Partnership
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has invited public comments on the draft Statement of Principles for the Government-University Research Partnership.

The complete December 21, 1999 Federal Register notice, including the draft Statement of Principles, may be viewed at the following web address: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/122399t.htm  

The original draft of the principles was published last spring in the National Science and Technology Council report, Renewing the Federal Government-University Research Partnership for the 21st Century. Since then, OSTP has been working in consultation with major research universities and associations to refine the principles. Some of the correspondence and documentation of that dialogue may be found on the “Policy” webpages of the Association of American Universities: http://www.tulane.edu/~aau/AAUPolicy.html  

The intent of the statement of principles is to define the partnership by broader national goals, instead of the current, ad hoc practice of definition by detailed accounting, administrative, and financial management requirements.

The entire NSTC report may be viewed at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/html/rand/index.htm

Comments are to be postmarked no later than February 18, 2000 and may be submitted on-line (follow the “Your Comments” link at the whitehouse URL provided above).

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CDVCA Job Opportunities
The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) currently has three positions available: Investment Officer, Consulting Coordinator, and Director of Research & Training. 

CDVCA is an association of community development venture capital funds that provide equity financing to businesses in inner-cities and economically distressed rural areas throughout the United States and around the world. They promote use of the tools of venture capital to create jobs, entrepreneurial capacity, and wealth to advance the livelihoods of low-income people and the economies of distressed communities.

Descriptions of all three positions may be viewed on the CDVCA website (http://www.cdvca.org) or the SSTI Jobs Corner webpage.

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TIIAP Announces Technical Assistance Workshops
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) will hold a series of workshops in January and February to discuss the goals and priorities of Telecommunications Information and Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), a grant program that funds innovative projects aimed at extending the benefits of advanced telecommunications and information technology to underserved Americans in rural and urban areas. Congress has appropriated $15.5 million for the FY 2000 grant round. The Notice of Availability of Funds announcing the upcoming competition will be published in the Federal Register in early January.

The Technical Assistance Workshops will be held in three locations for schools, libraries, hospitals, public safety organizations, state and local governments, and other non-profit organizations eligible to apply for information technology grants. The purpose of these workshops is to provide the public with information about this federal grant program and enable interested parties to establish a partnership with the Commerce Department to enhance access to telecommunications and information technology applications.

The series of workshops are free and will focus on the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), introduce FY 2000 grant round, discuss funding priorities, application requirements and lessons learned from previous TIIAP grantees. They will present interested parties with a major opportunity to understand the program goals and processes and to meet representatives of other organizations interested in TIIAP.

The Technical Assistance Workshops will be held January 31, in New York City, New York; February 2, in Houston, Texas; and February 4, in Los Angeles, California. Additional details on the workshops, including registration information can be found at the NTIA web site or by calling the TIIAP office at (202) 482-2048. For more information, see: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/tiiap121799.htm   

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