California

The San Diego Foundation has announced the appointments of Giesele Bonitz, senior strategic risk and controls program manager at Intel; Ken Derrett, former chief marketing officer for the San Diego Chargers; James Fitzpatrick, owner and publisher of San Diego Magazine; and Steven Sefton, president of Endeavor Bank, to its board of governors.

Connecticut

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has announced that it awarded $38 million in grants, a record, in 2018 and received gifts totaling $13.1 million. It also announced that nearly two dozen funds were established at the foundation during the year.

Florida

Housing, economic development, and poverty are three of the most pressing issues in the Palm Beach region, a survey conducted by the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties finds. Conducted last fall as part of its On the Table initiative, during which residents share a meal and discuss community concerns, the survey asked participants for their thoughts on local issues such as housing, economic security, health care, education, homelessness, and job security. Based on their responses, the Community Impact Report found that residents identified job training, skills development, good-paying jobs, and higher wages as the most important priorities for local officials. Respondents also cited quality affordable housing, access to core services, and homelessness as important issues for the community, and, collectively, ranked more and better job/vocational training for youth, better schools with quality teachers, and affordable quality child care and preschool as the most important priorities in the area of youth development and education.

Massachusetts

The Essex County Community Foundation in Danvers has launched a campaign aimed at combating income inequality in the region, the Salem News reports. Through its new Empowering Economic Opportunity initiative, the foundation will invest $1.3 million in four programs over the next two years. The programs, which will be rolled out over the next six months, include Credit for Prior Learning, a partnership with North Shore Community College focused on helping adult learners gain college credits for skills and experience they already have, thereby lowering their college costs and reducing the time it takes them to graduate; an initiative to bring the county's five Community Action agencies together to teach basic financial literacy skills to area residents; a partnership with Mill Cities Community Investments and other area nonprofits and municipalities to create a Small Business Resiliency and Venture Fund that will offer microloans of less than $100,000 along with technical training and support to local businesses; and Essex County Think Labs, an initiative aimed at catalyzing creative idea that can have an impact on quality of life in the county.

The Cape Cod Foundation has announced the appointment of Tracy Kramer as its first director of operations. Kramer most recently served as a project manager for Emerald Physicians, a member of Cape Cod Healthcare.

Michigan

The Kalamazoo Community Foundation has announced that Martha Gonzalez-Cortes, its vice president for community investment, was among those appointed by Michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson to the newly created Election Modernization Advisory Committee. Approved by voters in November, the committee will advise Benson and the Department of State's Bureau of Elections on the implementation of Proposal 3 and other election reforms, consult on the launch of an online voter registration initiative passed by the state legislature, and assist with poll worker recruitment training and other election-related issues.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has announced the creation of a fund in support of career programs for Bethlehem residents. The Fresh Tracks Medallion Fund is the newest of twenty-six Medallion scholarship funds open to learners of any age who are training in a trade or pursuing certification in an emerging technical sector or other high-growth high-demand occupation in the state. Scholarships awarded through the funds help cover the cost of certificates, licensing, apprenticeships, and two-year college degrees. Since 1996, the Medallion scholarship funds have helped nearly twelve hundred students acquire the education and training needed to enter high-demand fields in New Hampshire. In 2018, a hundred and thirty-six students across the state received Medallion scholarships totaling $254,000, boosting the total awarded through the funds since 1996 to more than $1.7 million.

Ohio

The Columbus Foundation has announced the first major grant from its Isabelle Ridgway Foundation, a support organization focused on promoting the health, well-being, independence, and dignity of aging and elderly African Americans in central Ohio. Central Community House will receive $79,000 to create a village coordinator position that will connect seniors to resources available to help them.

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma City Community Foundation has announced that its Opportunities for Children iFund program awarded a grant to Prairie Dance Theatre, which offers free, introductory-level dance classes at a number public elementary schools in the city. With the grant, the theater will expand its program so as to provide more students with more time to dance. In addition to in-school and afterschool classes, the group also will offer "dance camps" for students during lunch breaks.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Foundation has announced that three local writers have received grants from its Robert and Margaret MacColl Johnson Fellowship Fund. Grants of $25,000 were awarded to Mary-Kim Arnold, Luisa C. Murillo, and Chrysanthemum Tran, who will use the funds to devote more time to the creative process, focus on their professional development, grow their body of work, and/or explore new directions. Established in 2003, the MacColl Johnson fellowships rotate among composers, writers, and visual artists in the state on a three-year cycle.