Special Interest Grants (2007)

• CARE USA

  To improve the economic and social positions of 170 villages, comprising 17,000 households and approximately 76,500 individuals in Hambantota and the Moneragala district in Sri Lanka, that were affected by the 2004 Tsunami. The aim is to empower communities through participatory planning, and improving the coordination between administrative and governmental units and service providers. Special attention will be given to the most vulnerable and the focus will be on helping women, youth and the very poor. (Over five years)

• Chatham Habitat for Humanity

  To implement sustainable housing practices by creating 96 homes, as well as skills training for Habitat families in North Carolina. The project is based on the belief that physical construction of homes is only a partial contributor to successful home ownership, and that long-term success requires investment in energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable construction, and in home owner skill-building that creates resident-driven community development. (Over two years)

• Downside Up Limited

  To provide teachers in Russia with the skills and expertise to coach children with Down's Syndrome to adjust to pre-school and primary school requirements. The aim is to integrate those children into society and enable them to benefit from their constitutional right to an education. The acquired methods and techniques developed by the programme will lead to a solid strategy on how to influence the state’s educational system to account for the needs of children with Down's Syndrome. (Over five years)

• Duke University

  • To support the Global Fellows in Marine Conservation programme’s expansion into a full, global network of active practitioners of marine conservation. Secondly, to enhance the educational quality of the Marine Laboratory by funding the Graduate Student Support Program.

  • To make an endowment grant to the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University’s Program in Environmental and Energy Policy and thereby help make Duke University an international leader in translating hard environmental science and sustainable energy technologies into effective policy solutions on matters that affect the environment. To hire outstanding scholars, introduce new courses and involve more students in research and internships. In addition, to be able to guide foundations towards more effective giving.

• Frederiksberg Hospital, H:S – The Parker Institute

  To fund research over the next five years and the acquisition of a 3T MR scanner for the Parker Institute at Frederiksberg Hospital in Denmark. The main focus of the research is on the diagnosis of abnormalities in the three common rheumatologic diseases: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic widespread pain (fibromyalgia), as well as injuries in joints and muscles from torture. The Institute is committed to improving the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. (Over five years)

• Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art, History and Science

  To extend the reach of the Reeves ASK Science Centre to more children in Fresno County, California. The programme is specially designed to reach children from poor communities and to encourage a different attitude towards art and science by furthering critical thinking. The aim is to establish a programme which will remain a benchmark for informal education and to extend it to families and communities. (Over three years)

• Harlem Children's Zone

  To conduct a long-term longitudinal study which will help evaluate the core goals of the Harlem Children’s Zone’s (HCZ) mission in New York, helping to guide all the programme strategies. The study will allow HCZ to move beyond short-term indicators of success and to investigate the power of connections between the programmes that constitute the HCZ project. (Over three years)

• The Institute for Philanthropy

  To create a new community of donors who have both the knowledge and the network to make philanthropy more strategic and effective. The project is based on the idea that wealthy individuals should be educated in donating money to viable projects. Based in London, the institute's workshops will provide donors with the skills to give money effectively and will allow them to be part of a developing network of supportive peers who share their goals. (Over three years)

• IPAS

  To improve the ability of women worldwide to exercise their reproductive and sexual rights and to reduce deaths and injuries caused by unsafe abortions. Strategic objectives are: increasing women’s access to sustainable, high-quality abortion and reproductive health services; improving the policy environment in support of women’s reproductive rights; supporting local partners in advancing reform of abortion-related technologies; and expanding women’s and youth’s awareness of their options for preventing and managing unwanted pregnancy.

• Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health

  To advance the understanding of paediatric cardiology cardiac surgery at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Stanford, California. Four physicians/scientists will be trained to develop a better understanding of the events which cause congenital heart disease; to develop advanced imaging capabilities; to further the understanding of surgical and catheter interventions, including the use of cardiopulmonary bypass on the foetus; and lastly, to understand the process by which stem cells can be induced to develop into heart tissue.

• Phoenix Fund for Zimbabwe

  To provide a source of financial assistance for Zimbabwean exiles in the UK who wish to pursue professional development courses or vocational training that will equip them to participate in rebuilding the economy and institutions of Zimbabwe when circumstances allow them to return home.

• Plant et Trae - eller 2

  To set up fruit-tree gardens in 28 day-care centres throughout Denmark. The planting sessions will be carried out as a joint venture between grandparents/senior citizens and children. The main purpose of this project is to give the younger and older generations the opportunity to live a mutual experience, sharing privileged moments through the planting of fruit trees and bushes.

• Robin Hood Foundation

  To fight poverty in New York by partnering with more than 240 of the best poverty-fighting non-profit organisations in the city. The aims are to provide quality education to children; prepare people facing barriers to employment for the workplace; present an alternative to the streets for teenagers; assist with critical early childhood development issues; and help people simply survive. (Over three years)

• Ron Brown Scholar Program

  To award scholarships to academically talented and highly motivated African American students in the United States who demonstrate a commitment to service and leadership. The goal is to accelerate these young like-minded people into the mainstream of leadership, enabling access to business, education, government, and a wide spectrum of professions. The Scholar Program is named in honour of the late Ron Brown, Secretary of Commerce during the Clinton Administration. (Over five years)

• The Wellspring Trust Inc

  To support grassroot projects on an international scale. The United States-based Wellspring Trust provides sub-grants to a number of organisations in Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Haiti, Guatemala and the United States. Their projects have different focus points, which include providing aid to children, the poor, the homeless, and the mentally ill. They are all small organisations that work with the local people to create sustainable structures for the needy within the environment in which they are operating.