Alabama

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has announced Darrien Hess as the inaugural winner of the Cromwell Trust Scholarship, for which he will receive a one-time award of $5,000 to attend the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Established by Keith and Ronald Cromwell, whose passion for the performing arts led them to create a fund to help other artists succeed, the scholarship will be awarded annually to an aspiring artist of any age, with a preference for those pursuing a career in the arts or performing arts.

California

With its partner YourCause, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation has announced a new approach to international grantmaking that is designed to make such grantmaking more accessible to companies and their employees. Employees of companies that use YourCause's CSRconnect platform now have the ability to make gifts to verified nonprofits anywhere in the world, encouraging increased philanthropy by corporations and their global workforce. SVCF will support all U.S.-based grantmaking through the CSRconnect platform, including U.S. Department of Education qualified schools.

Florida

The Cape Coral Community Foundation in Fort Myers has appointed attorney Tyra Read to its board of directors.

Indiana

The Central Indiana Community Foundation has announced that its Central Indiana Senior Fund has awarded six grants totaling $195,000 to local organizations for programs designed to secure and maintain basic needs in the region, including access to adequate nutrition, independence, education, engagement, and healthier aging. The recipients are Families First of Indiana, Joy's House, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, OASIS Indianapolis, the John H. Boner Center, and the Hawthorne Community Center.

Massachusetts

The Boston Foundation has announced that it is investing more than $600,000 in funding for summer programs in and around the city, providing much needed opportunities for youth to build skills, retain learning, and gain employment during the summer months. The investment includes more than $325,000 in grants for "My Summer in the City," a network of nearly thirty programs providing activities and summer jobs for youth in Boston. In addition, the foundation awarded $200,000 in support of the Boston Opportunity Agenda's Summer Learning Project, which will work with fifteen hundred students from fifty Boston public schools to reverse summer learning loss and improve their skills; $50,000 to the Summer Fund, a donor collaborative managed by Associated Grant Makers working to ensure that at-risk and economically disadvantaged children in Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Somerville have access to quality summer camps and programs; and $50,000 to Camp Harborview, which brings nine hundred inner-city youth to Long Island in Boston Harbor for an immersive summer camp program emphasizing sports, arts, aquatics, education, and leadership development.

North Carolina

The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina has announced that its Asheville Merchants Fund has awarded two-year grants totaling $335,000 to seven Buncombe County nonprofits. The fund supports projects that help strengthen the community through economic approaches such as community asset development and entrepreneurship, quality jobs, and workforce development. Recipients include the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, HandMade in America, and Blue Ridge Food Ventures.

Oregon

Family Tree Relief Nursery has received $20,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation through its Doris and William Scharpf and E. Henry Wemme funds, the Lebanon Express reports. The grant will support the satellite program of Family Tree Relief Nursery in Lebanon, which provides center-based services for families with toddlers and home-based services for families with children up to age five.