California

The California Community Foundation has announced the elections of two board members and a new chair. Alfred Fraijo Jr., partner in the Real Estate, Land Use, and Natural Resources Practice Group at Sheppard Mullin, and Darline P. Robles, professor of clinical education at the USC Rossier School of Education, were elected to serve three-year terms. Gloria Molina, a former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will serve a two-year term as chair, succeeding Jim E. Berliner, who will remain on the board as chair emeritus.

Connecticut

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has announced a first round of grants from its Action Fund for Racial Justice. Launched in June, the fund will provide approximately $60,000 to supplement the foundation's funding of grants focused on supporting communities of color including in the areas of youth employment, small business lending, college persistence, family wealth building, reduction in school discipline and expulsions, and more inclusive libraries. Inaugural recipients include Achieve Hartford!, Capital Workforce Partners, HEDCO, and Farmington Libraries.

Indiana

In its second and final round of grantmaking, the Central Indiana Racial Equity Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation has awarded $860,000 in grants to eight Black-led nonprofit organizations working to advance racial equity in Indianapolis and surrounding counties. Grants will support capacity-building and scaling strategies for career training, mentorship, and justice-focused programs. Recipients include the Bloom Project, the Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center at Crooked Creek, Stop the Violence, and Educational Destinations.

Kansas

The Wichita Community Foundation has announced a $1.1 million commitment to launch the Wichita Beacon, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to public service journalism. Awarded through the foundation's News and Information Fund, the grant is focused on developing the Beacon, a regional network of nonprofit newsrooms across Kansas and Michigan, beginning with the Kansas City Beacon and the Wichita Beacon. In June, the Wichita Beacon introduced its first three reporters; an executive editor will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Hutchinson Community Foundation has announced four grants totaling $36,630 in the latest round of its 2021 Fund for Hutchinson grant cycle. The recipients are the Children's Emergency Services Home, the Early Education Center, Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters Serving Reno County, and Stage 9.

Louisiana

The Greater New Orleans Foundation and the City of New Orleans have announced the relaunch of Blue Bikes in partnership with Blue Krewe, a local, community-based nonprofit organization that operates the program, and title sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. A fleet of five hundred pedal-assist e-bikes will be ready to ride by September 1.

Maine

Kimberly Sebold, professor of history at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, has been awarded the Donald and Linda G. Zillman Family Professorship for 2021-23, the Bangor Daily News reports. Established in 2013 by former UMPI president Don Zillman and his wife, Linda, the professorship is awarded every two years to a faculty member of the university to assist in research and faculty development. Established with proceeds from a designated fund at the Maine Community Foundation, it is the university's first rotating professorship.

Nebraska

The Omaha Community Foundation has announced a round of Community Resilience Fund grants totaling $98,352 in support of nine local nonprofits serving those disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Recipients include the Rose Theater, Project Houseworks, Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim, and Restoring Dignity. Since April, the fund has grants totaling more than $285,000 in support of organizations working in the arts, housing, learning recovery, mental health, and workforce development.

North Carolina

The Foundation for the Carolinas has announced that the Infusion Fund, a public-private partnership working to support Charlotte's cultural sector, has awarded more than $6 million in support of thirty-eight local arts and cultural organizations. The grants of general operating support were dispersed at the direction of the Charlotte City Council and informed by prior operating awards from the Arts & Science Council. FFTC led a fundraising effort that raised some $23 million, boosting the fund to $41 million. Inaugural recipients include the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Carolina Raptor Center, Goodyear Arts, and One Voice. To distribute future resources, a citizen-led grantmaking board will be created with a mix of City of Charlotte and private-sector appointees.

Pennsylvania

The Erie Community Foundation has announced the selection of Karen Bilowith as its new president and CEO, effective October 1. Currently president and CEO of the Idaho Community Foundation, Bilowith also has served as president and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region in Albany, New York, and held an executive position with United Way of the Greater Capital Region also in upstate New York.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Foundation has announced the appointment of Melissa DuBose to its board of directors. An associate justice of the Rhode Island District Court, where she presides over criminal and civil cases in Kent County, DuBose also serves on the Roger Williams University School of Law's board of directors and chairs its Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In addition, she is a member of the Committee on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in Rhode Island Courts and chairs the Public Engagement and Education subcommittee.

South Carolina

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry in Hilton Head has announced its 2021-22 academic year scholarship recipients. A total of 151 students will receive scholarships totaling nearly $770,000 in support of their studies at nearly seventy-five colleges and universities across the United States. Since 1994, the foundation has awarded more than $8.5 million in scholarships.