MAJOR
GRANT PROMPTS GREAT VALLEY CENTER EXPANSION
Leadership Development, Non-Profit
Capacity Building called top priority
MODESTO, California, October 17,
2001 - The announcement this
week of a sweeping initiative by the James
Irvine Foundation to reinforce the educational
and social fabric of the Central Valley
will lead to the significant expansion
of the Great Valley Center’s program
areas.
The
Great Valley Center, a non-profit organization
in Modesto and recipient of a $6 million
grant from the Foundation, will use the
investment as the core of a three-year
effort to establish a top-tier set of
leadership development programs and strengthen
the institutional capacity of non-profit
organizations from Redding to Bakersfield.
The grant is part of a $10 million commitment
to the Central Valley by the San Francisco-based
Foundation.
“The
Irvine Foundation recognizes California’s
future is tied to the well-being of the
Central Valley,” said Carol Whiteside,
President of the Great Valley Center,
“And an essential component of the
Valley’s well-being is a vital non-profit
sector and a network of leaders with the
ability to craft authentic local solutions.”
Until
today’s announcement, the Center
had limited its focus and grantmaking
to land use and economic issues affecting
the Valley. In upcoming months, the Center
will expand its grantmaking to include
youth-related organizations and introduce
a set of initiatives tailored towards
existing and upcoming local leaders in
every part of the 450-mile long Valley.
Plans
include the August 2002 establishment
of the “Great Valley Leadership
Institute”, a selective training
vehicle for Central Valley elected officials
modeled on similar efforts at Harvard
University’s John F. Kennedy School
of Government. The program, which will
be in done in cooperation with the Kenneth
L. Maddy Institute of Public Policy at
California State University, Fresno, will
consist of intense five-day leadership
retreats for two groups of 30 elected
Valley officials per year.
Also
beginning next year, the Center will for
the first time make grants targeted towards
the needs of youth and youth-serving organizations.
While some funds to youth organizations
will be made through a traditional grantmaking
process, a portion of youth-related funds
will be set aside for disbursal by a Grant
Advisory Board for Youth consisting of
Valley teenagers with decision-making
authority. The goal of the advisory board
is introduce young people to philanthropy
while developing leadership skills.
Founded
in 1997, the Center is a private, non-profit
organization whose mission is to support
organizations and activities working to
promote the economic, social and environmental
well-being of California’s Central
Valley. The Center is supported by the
James Irvine Foundation, the William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and
Lucile Packard Foundation as well as corporations
and individuals with an interest in the
Valley’s future.
###
Media Contact:
Richard Cummings
(209) 522-5103
