Mission:
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation makes grants in six core program areas: higher education, museums and art conservation, performing arts, population, conservation and the environment, and public affairs.

Purpose of Site:
The Mellon Foundation Web site, which has recently been redesigned, is straightforward and to the point. In addition to describing its programs, the site includes staff member bios, annual reports, and summaries of publications sponsored by the foundation. It also features a thorough history of the organization and offers suggestions to potential grant recipients.

Background:
The foundation was formed in 1969 through the merger of Old Dominion Foundation into Avalon Foundation. Ailsa Mellon Bruce, the daughter of Andrew W. Mellon, had established Avalon in 1940, and her brother, Paul Mellon, had created Dominion a year later. The siblings named the newly consolidated foundation after their father. A talented entrepreneur, Andrew W. Mellon built his fortune in banking and by starting several successful companies, including ALCOA and Gulf Oil. In addition to his business pursuits, he was active in politics and served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in the early 1920s. He was also an avid art collector and a dedicated philanthropist who gave away nearly $10 million in his lifetime. His children created their respective foundations soon after his death in 1937.

Home Page:
The home page of the site introduces the foundation by displaying its grantmaking program areas, contact information for the main office, and the address of its research office in Princeton, New Jersey. On the left side of the page, under a picture of Andrew W. Mellon, is a toolbar with links to the main sections of the site: General Information, Announcements, Trustees, Staff and Advisors, Programs, Applying for Grants, IP Policy, Annual Reports, Recent Grants, Publications, and Search.

Outstanding Feature:
The Mellon Foundation site offers extensive information on the organization's program areas, particularly in the area of higher education and scholarship. From the Programs page, users can click on any of the program areas — Museums and Art Conservation, Performing Arts, Conservation and the Environment, Population, Public Affairs, and eight higher education categories — to access a profile about the program that includes its staff and contact information, an overview and history, and current program objectives and related information. In the area of Higher Education and Scholarship, the site features profiles on program efforts for Research Universities and Humanistic Scholarship, Liberal Arts Colleges, Libraries and Scholarly Communication, Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Teaching and Technology, Research in Information Technology, and Special International Emphases: South Africa.

Honorable Mention:
Under Annual Reports, users can access a variety of foundation reports with a series of pull-down menus. The annual president's report is available in HTML format for each year dating back to 1979, and the annual program essays from 1988 to 2001 are also available in HTML format. The annual reports from 1997 to 2001 and grants lists for each year from 1987 to 2001 are available on the site in PDF format.