Joyce Foundation Announces $15 Million in Summer 2010 Grants

CHICAGO, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Joyce Foundation announced it is awarding 68 organizations more than $15 million in its summer 2010 grant making cycle. Invested in program areas including Education, Employment, Environment, Gun Violence, Money and Politics, Culture, and Special Opportunities, these funds will support new and continuing initiatives that will have an impact on states within the Great Lakes region.

"We are excited to continue our strong commitment to the excellent organizations working so hard to improve the quality of life throughout the Great Lakes region," said Ellen S. Alberding, president of the Joyce Foundation. "During a time when many Midwesterners face fiscal uncertainty, we remain dedicated to our core values of helping the least advantaged have access to jobs, good schools, a clean environment, and safe neighborhoods."

Examples of Joyce's summer 2010 grants include:

Education: $225,000 to Illinois Action for Children to help parents and child care providers improve the quality of teaching at the early childhood level, and to push for better alignment of early childhood education with kindergarten.

Employment: $200,000 to Council for Adult and Experiential Learning to support the launch of a national Virtual Prior Learning Assessment (VPLA) Center. The VPLA Center will conduct assessments of prior learning to determine college-level equivalency in liberal arts and professional areas, and will also assess learning accomplished through on-the-job experiences.

Environment: $500,000 to the Great Lakes Commission in collaboration with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative to conduct, get buy-in for, and disseminate a rigorous set of studies regarding the economic, transportation, hydrologic, and ecological costs and benefits of permanently separating the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins via the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Gun Violence: $400,000 to Media Matters for America to support a gun and public safety issue initiative.

Money and Politics: $415,000 to the Justice at Stake Campaign to further its work to keep Midwest courts fair and independent by insulating them from political pressure through public education and reform.

Culture: $100,000 to the Silk Road Theatre Project for continued support of capacity-building initiatives including staff salaries, program expansion, and implementing its strategic campaign.

Special Opportunities: $328,036 to Chicago Public Media (formerly WBEZ Alliance Inc.) to create a series of in-depth coverage of regional news and issues affecting the six-state region surrounding the Great Lakes.

For a complete list of grants, visit www.joycefdn.org.

SOURCE The Joyce Foundation