Alabama

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has announced grants totaling more than $1.5 million in support of sixty-three organizations serving Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker counties. The first grants awarded under the foundation's new strategic plan are centered on five priorities: thriving communities, regional cooperation, overcoming persistent poverty, equity and inclusion, and economic opportunity for all. Grant recipients include Redemptive Cycles, Brilliant Kids Academy, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and Red Mountain Theater Company.

Arizona

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in Tucson has announced unrestricted operating grants totaling $20,00 from its Endowment for the Arts Fund to two local arts organizations, the Bi-National Arts Institute and Border Arts Corridor.

The Arizona Foundation, in partnership with Republic Media and the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, has announced the East Valley Senior Home Sharing (SHS) Program as the winner of its Housing Security Challenge, the fourth philanthropic prize competition offered under the foundation's New Arizona Prize banner. SHS will receive $250,000 to develop its proposal to use home sharing and wraparound services to stem the elderly homelessness crisis in Maricopa County. Led by Tempe Community Action Agency, the program brings together resources from AZCEND, Aster Aging, ASU's Watts College of Public Service/Action Nexus on Homelessness, and Valley of the Sun United Way to advance housing permanency and independent living and save the lives of older adults at risk of homelessness by matching them with roommates willing to share housing costs, companionship, and responsibilities.

California

The Sacramento Region Community Foundation and Valley Vision, a civic leadership organization, have announced that they will conduct a research study on the local food economy and prevailing gaps in the region's food system. The research will inform recommendations for investment strategies aimed at strengthening the capacity and resilience of the region's food system. Valley Vision conducts public opinion polls in partnership with the Institute for Social Research at Sacramento State and will field a new poll in June to collect data on residents’ experiences, perceptions, and needs related to healthy food access as part of an effort to provide the foundation with information that can be used to update its 2015 Food System Action Plan.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation has announced an investment of $2 million in the new Advancement Initiative, a fund that invests in pre-IPO startups and donates 50 percent of its carried interest directly to historically Black colleges and universities in support of student scholarships and university endowments. The initiative was created by venture firm Base10 Partners with the aim of aligning the success and wealth creation of technology companies in the region with the needs of underrepresented communities. The investment is being made from the foundation's endowment and will augment its racial equity work, including efforts to advance diversity and inclusion like the California Black Freedom Fund, a five-year, $100 million initiative to provide capacity-building support to Black-led organizations in the state.

Connecticut

The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut in New London has announced grants totaling more than $2.3 million in support of four strategic priorities: youth empowerment, basic needs and rights, environmental conservation and education, and animal welfare. Recipients include the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate, Connecticut Fair Housing, Stand Up for Animals, and the Groton Animal Foundation.

Minnesota

The Minneapolis Foundation has announced the appointment of Paurvi Bhatt, Maurice Blanks, Emily Lamberty, Marcia Page, Stephanie Pierce, and Meg Rodriguez to its board of trustees. Bhatt is the vice president of Medtronic philanthropy and president of the Medtronic Foundation. Blanks is co-founder and chief operating officer of Blu Dot, a Minneapolis-based home furnishings company. Lamberty, who has served on the foundation's advisory board since 2019, is a fundraising professional. Page currently serves as the executive chair of Värde Partners, a $14 billion global alternative investment management firm she co-founded. Pierce established her own consultancy after a twenty-four-year career in engineering and human resources. And Rodriguez co-founded Edina Give and Go, a nonprofit that works to provide learning opportunities to economically disadvantaged students.

Nebraska

The Omaha Community Foundation has announced a first round of grants totaling more than $100,000 from its Community Resilience Fund in support of five local nonprofits serving those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Launched last month, the fund provides grants in the areas of arts and culture, housing, learning recovery, mental health, and workforce development. Grant recipients include Banister's Learning Academy, the AIM Institute, GROW Nebraska the Women's Business Center, the International Council on Refugees and Immigrants, and MOMentum.

Ohio

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation has announced grants totaling nearly $620,000 in support of twenty-three organizations working to provide in- and out-of-school educational programs that address racial and socioeconomic disparities in educational and career attainment or programs that support social emotional learning and health for students of color and those of low socioeconomic status. Grant recipients include Bonds of Union, Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati Union Bethel, and the D.A.D. Initiative.

The Community Foundation for Perry County, an affiliate of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, has matched the $50,000 challenge set by former county resident Ben Shaver, a retired educator and school superintendent, to establish the Perry County Single Parent Fund, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The foundation will use the endowment to provide assistance to single parents, who often are ineligible for aid.

Oklahoma

The Hospice Foundation of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City Community Foundation have announced five nursing students and one medical student as the recipients of the 2021 Khader K. Hussein Awards in Palliative Care. Established in 1999 by the Hospice Foundation, an affiliated fund of OCCF, the awards recognize students who have demonstrated an interest in palliative and hospice care. Each of the recipients will receive a $2,000 award.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Foundation has announced the launch of a $150,000 initiative designed to enhance the growth of and support for minority-owned businesses. The effort will work to create a database of Black-, Latinx-, Asian-, Indigenous-, and multi-racial-owned businesses in the state; assess the resources currently supporting those businesses and entrepreneurs; review best minority business and entrepreneurship practices across the country; and engage with and compile feedback from existing Rhode Island-based minority businesses and business-supporting organizations.