Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Awards More Than $20 Million In Grants In The First Quarter Of 2016

LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The board of directors of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation announced today that it approved $20.56 million in grants during the first quarter of 2016, including a $5.44 million grant to the UCLA WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) for the creation of an initiative that will train the next generation of world leaders and thinkers, and a $2.5 million grant to City of Hope to launch a cancer prevention initiative that will target poor diet and obesity as key risk factors for disease.

Grantmaking in the first quarter of 2016 spans across the Hilton Foundation's priority areas, awarding funds to organizations serving the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people both in the U.S. and internationally.

"We are pleased and privileged to be providing more than $20 million in funds in just three months to organizations serving some of the most vulnerable populations in the world," said Peter Laugharn, president and CEO of the Hilton Foundation. "At our current funding pace, we expect to surpass our 2015 grantmaking of $107.8 million in 2016."

Additional grants awarded in the first quarter of 2016 include:

Substance Use Prevention –The National Council for Behavioral Health was granted $2 million over for the implementation of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for youth in federally qualified health centers. Facing Addiction, Inc. will receive $600,000 for the development of communications, advocacy, and grassroots organizing strategies and provide general operating support to advance public health responses to addiction; while the California Community Foundation will receive $300,000 meant to support a partnership with Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the L.A. Trust for Children's Health to implement SBIRT at four school-based wellness centers in Los Angeles County.

Foster Youth – The Foundation approved a grant in the amount of $1.2 million to the Aspen Institute to coordinate the launch of the 100,000 Opportunities Demonstration Cities and to improve career pathways for foster and opportunity youth in Los Angeles. Other grants include $500,000 to International Documentary to support the creation of a feature-length documentary film about foster care in America that seeks to build public support for reform and improvement, and $400,000 to LeadersUp for the Future at Work Project that will provide comprehensive employer engagement strategies and targeted workforce training to partner foster youth with career pathways in Los Angeles.

Hospitality – In conjunction with Foster Youth, the Foundation granted an additional $1.3 million the Aspen Institute for the launch of the 100,000 Opportunities Demonstration Cities in New Orleans. The board also approved a $1.35 million grant to Reconcile New Orleans, toward enhancing the Life Skills and Workforce Development Program by creating a specialized hotel track and a more robust alumni leadership development program.

Homelessness – The Foundation will grant $550,000 over one year to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to support organizational capacity building as well as community-wide program implementation and technical assistance efforts to ensure smooth transitions and continued collaboration in regional efforts to end homelessness.

Multiple Sclerosis – The Academy of Neurology Institute was awarded $525,000 to address the growing shortage of neurologists by encouraging medical students to enter the field of neurology.

Catholic Sisters – The Foundation approved a $500,000 grant to Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to pilot a grassroots leadership training program for Catholic sisters to implement three of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in five countries across two continents. Oblate School of Theology received $340,000 to build capacity of Mission Project Service, which helps sisters globally to attract and steward resources required to advance their ministries.

Catholic Schools –  Step Up for Students will receive $750,000 to expand the reach of Florida's tax credit scholarship by creating a partnership with the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops to advocate for legislation to increase scholarship amounts for middle and high school students.  EdNavigator will receive a $550,000 grant to provide low-income families with access to professional education counsel ("Navigators") to help them secure the best possible private school choice education available for their children, including a seat in an excellent Catholic school.

Children Affected by HIV and AIDS – Shining Hope for Communities was awarded $400,000 to support integrated early childhood development services in two large informal settlements within Nairobi.

Avoidable Blindness – A grant in the amount of $1 million was awarded to Sightsavers, Inc. to support the expansion of eye health services awareness and utilization in the Morogoro region of Tanzania.

Grants were also awarded to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute ($300,000) to create a Reagan hologram exhibit at the Reagan Museum, and to Save the Children Federation, Inc. ($50,000) to support educational programs for Syrian refugee children in the Hatay Province of Turkey.

For more detailed information on our grantmaking, please visit hiltonfoundation.org/grants.

About the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world's disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance use, helping children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton's support for the work of Catholic Sisters. In addition, following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. In 2015, the Humanitarian Prize was awarded to Landesa, a Seattle-based land rights organization. From its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $1.4 billion in grants, distributing $107 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2015. The Foundation's current assets are approximately $2.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org.

Contact: Julia Friedman, Communications Manager, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
818.851.3754 / [email protected]

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