NBCU Foundation Awards $800,000 In Grants

The NBCUniversal Foundation has awarded $800,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country. The grants are part of NBCUniversal’s ongoing commitment to improving public secondary education in underserved communities.

This is the sixth year of the NBCUniversal initiative, which targets nonprofits in cities with large NBCUniversal employee populations and significant education needs. Since the foundation’s inception, close to $7 million has been directed to nonprofits that have demonstrated a commitment to improving educational opportunities for public school students in grades 6 through 12.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders in business and public service, so we all have a stake in supporting a strong educational foundation for our young people,” said Adam Miller, EVP of corporate affairs at NBCUniversal. “We are pleased to support these organizations, which are all focused on increasing the odds of success for underprivileged kids.”

As the new academic year approaches, the funding will support 29 nonprofit organizations, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami and Washington. These organizations inspire students to succeed through a wide range of programs including college test preparation, career counseling and employment skill development.

NBCUniversal employees from across the company have been actively involved with this effort and will continue to support the organizations by volunteering as mentors, tutors and career speakers.

Grant recipients from 2010 have made significant strides in preparing their students for a lifetime of success. In New York, 100% of students in Sponsors for Educational Opportunity’s Class of 2011 were accepted to four-year colleges. In Los Angeles, 9 out of Los Angeles Education Partnership’s 12 Career Academies reported no dropouts, in comparison to the 29.6% dropout rate for LAUSD schools in 2008. Dallas’s Score A Goal in the Classroom also witnessed tremendous success, reporting that 92% of students attending their Success Rallies improved their attendance at school.

NBCUniversal Foundation grant recipients include:

New York
• ASPIRA of New York (www.nyaspira.org)
• The Committee for Hispanic Children & Families (www.chcfinc.org)
• The Educational Alliance (www.edalliance.org)
• Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (www.seo-usa.org)
• Urban Arts Partnership (www.urbanarts.org)

Los Angeles
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (www.bbbslaie.org)
• City Year Los Angeles (www.cityyear.org/losangeles)
• Communities in Schools Los Angeles (www.cislawest.org)
• Los Angeles Education Partnership (www.laep.org)
• Project GRAD Los Angeles (www.projectgradla.org)
• Urban Media Foundation (www.urbanmediafoundation.org)

Chicago
• Aspire of Illinois (www.aspireofillinois.org)
• buildOn (www.buildOn.org)
• Lawrence Hall (www.lawrencehall.org)
• Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (www.praachicago.org)

Dallas
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas (www.bgcdallas.org)
• Camp Fire USA (www.campfireusa.org)
• Hispanic College Fund (www.hispanicfund.org)
• Score a Goal in the Classroom (www.scoreagoal.org)
• YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas (www.ymcadallas.org)

Miami
• Belafonte TACOLCY Center, Inc. (www.tacolcy.org)
• Cuban American National Council (www.cnc.org)
• Hispanic Unity of Florida (www.hispanicunity.org)
• Women of Tomorrow (www.womenoftomorrow.org)

Washington
• Florence Crittenton Services of Greater Washington (www.crittentonservices.org)
• Latin American Youth Center (www.layc-dc.org)
• Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care (www.maryscenter.org)
• Mentoring to Manhood (www.mentoringtomanhood.org)
• Strive DC (www.strivedc.org)