Coachella Valley Spotlight Gifts Reach $1 Million

PALM DESERT, Calif., May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After more than three years of awarding nonprofit organizations $25,000 each month, the May Coachella Valley Spotlight grant represented $1 million in gifts to organizations in that area. The awards are presented by the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation through a partnership with CBS Local 2, a Palm Springs affiliate station.

The milestone was marked with an on-stage celebration at the McCallum Theatre on May 22 as the 40th Coachella Valley Spotlight grant was presented to Children's Playtime Productions. Representatives from nearly all the organizations that have been honored with the Coachella Valley Spotlight joined the presentation, which was also broadcast live on CBS Local 2.

"The Coachella Valley Spotlight has been an exciting way to fund many worthy organizations in our community," said Ronald Auen, President of the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. "It has been very rewarding to see first-hand how selected organizations are using the gifts through on-site visits and the CBS Local 2 coverage."

In addition to the $25,000 grant from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, beneficiaries of the Coachella Valley Spotlight are featured throughout a chosen month on CBS Local 2's community program Eye on the Desert, in public service announcements, and on www.cbslocal2.com.

Since its inception, the Coachella Valley Spotlight has been awarded to a diverse portfolio of 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The grants have benefitted children, seniors, military troops, the homeless, animals, people in drug and alcohol recovery, people living with HIV and AIDS and many other social service needs of the area. Approximately 100 applications are submitted each year. Recipients are determined by the CBS Local 2 Advisory Board, which includes community members and one member of the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation board.

"There is no shortage of deserving organizations to choose from," said Mike Stutz, General Manager of Gulf California Broadcast Company, which owns and operates CBS Local 2. "The Berger Foundation has been an exceptional partner. Our community is fortunate to have the unwavering support of this private family foundation."

Since 1988, the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation has contributed more than $350 million to charities throughout Southern California and the United States.

SOURCE H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation