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McCormick Tribune Foundation Improves Civic Health through Fourth-Quarter Grants


Grants to 31 agencies benefit children, communities and country


Contact: Kristin Gallagher
KGallagher@McCormickTribune.org
312.222.4502


CHICAGO, January 16, 2007

The McCormick Tribune Foundation board of directors continues its commitment to children, communities and country by approving a total of $8.1 million to 31 agencies throughout the nation. More than $6.6 million of that amount will be awarded to Chicago-area organizations. (A complete record of grants awarded is provided).

“The McCormick Tribune Foundation is committed to investing and partnering with agencies that support the most vital components of civic health,” said David L. Grange, president and chief executive officer of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. “As a Foundation, we strive to inspire meaningful dialogue on key civic issues and deliver results to improve conditions and create opportunities for our children, communities and country.”

To provide homeless youth the opportunity to be successful in life, the Night Ministry will receive a $150,000 grant. The grant will support the agency’s new Open Door Youth Shelter in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. The shelter will increase the Night Ministry’s capacity to serve homeless youth, and bolster its efforts to prevent youth from chronic homelessness through a long-term Transitional Living program.

Aligning with the Foundation’s commitment to addressing community needs, a $300,000 grant will be awarded to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago through the Foundation’s Chicago Blackhawk Charities fund. The grant will fund the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Sports program, which offers 20 sports, fitness and recreational opportunities to more than 2,600 children and young adults with disabilities each month in 30 Chicago communities.

Additionally, the Foundation’s communities program awards $132,000 grant to Metropolitan Family Services through its Chicago Tribune Charities fund. The grant will support youth development, counseling, child abuse prevention and legal aid programs to more than 58,000 clients annually.

The Foundation also awards a $400,000 to The Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA), an organization aligned with the Foundation’s goal to engage citizenry and create opportunities for participation in our democratic society. The grant will allow CCGA to increase local citizen awareness of international affairs, expand the diversity of programming and membership, and continue to implement its strategic plan.

In addition, the journalism program awards a $75,000 grant to iFOCOS (The Institute for the Connected Society), to help support research and educational programs committed to building a better-informed society in a connected world. The group will use the grant to foster a global network of researchers and leading thinkers focused on the future of media and consumer behavior.

McCormick Tribune Foundation fourth-quarter grants approved:

Citizenship Program Grants

Facilitate Citizen Dialogue
The Chicago Council of Global Affairs $400,000
The National Strategy Forum $100,000
Engage Youth
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign $100,000
Total $600,000

Communities Program Grants

Chicago Blackhawk Charities
Amateur Hockey Association Illinois $400,000
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago $300,000
Chicago Tribune Charities
Loyola University of Chicago $270,000
Metropolitan Family Services $132,000
Ounce of Prevention Fund $135,000
WGN-TV Children’s Charities (Chicago)
Off the Street Club $143,000
CW Cares for Kids Fund (San Diego)
Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos $112,000
Girl Scouts San Diego – Imperial Council $126,000
Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego $105,000
YMCA of San Diego County – East County Family Branch $112,000
Los Angeles Times Family Fund
Friends of Washington Prep Foundation $114,400
CW33 Kids Fund (Dallas)
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth $158,000
New Beginning Center $106,000
CW39 Cares for Kids (Houston)
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston $192,000
KTXL Fox-40 Helping Hands Fund (Sacramento)
Volunteers of America, Greater Sacramento $232,500
Sun-Sentinel Children’s Fund (Ft. Lauderdale)
Governor’s Council for Community Health Partnerships $150,000

Total

$2,787,900


Journalism Program Grants

News Leadership
Media Management Center (Evanston, Ill.) $450,000
iFOCOS (Reston, Va.) $75,000

Total

$525,000


Special Initiatives Program Grants

Civic Institutions
Chicago Metropolis 2020 $250,000
Corporate Leadership Center (Burr Ridge, Ill.) $50,000
Chicago Communities in Schools $200,000
Cultural Institutions
Chicago Botanic Garden $400,000
Chicago Children’s Choir $50,000
Chicago Humanities Festival $100,000
Health Institutions
Loyola University Chicago – Stritch School of Medicine $2,000,000
Swedish Covenant Hospital $750,000
Social Service Institutions
Metropolitan Family Services $300,000
Night Ministry $150,000

Total

$4,250,000

Fourth-Quarter Grand Total

$8,162,500


McCormick Tribune Foundation

The McCormick Tribune Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to making life better for our children, communities and country. Through its charitable grantmaking programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, Cantigny First Division Foundation and the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, the Foundation is able to positively impact people’s lives and stay true to its mission of advancing the ideals of a free, democratic society. The Foundation is an independent nonprofit, separate from the Tribune Co., with substantial holdings in the Tribune Co. For more information, please visit our Web site www.mccormicktribune.org

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