The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation is pleased to report on its year ended December 31, 2009. The Foundation serves residents of Bandera, Bexar, Comal, and Kendall counties in Texas by awarding grants across the wide range of charitable purposes summarized in the Foundation's Program Guidelines. During 2009, 119 grants totaling $9.6 million were approved for 107 non-profit organizations covering all four counties in the service area of the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation.  These grants are made possible by the remarkable generosity of the Kronkoskys. Our communities are fortunate to benefit from the dedicated work done by thousands of caring staff and volunteers who carry out the missions of the many non-profit agencies that serve our communities in so many areas of need. The organizations we fund are valued partners in the work of the Foundation.

The year 2009 marked a change in the Foundation’s emphasis resulting from the unprecedented financial crisis in 2008 that affected world economies and the resulted in a significant decline in the Foundation’s investment portfolio. The Foundation has suspended the awarding of capital grants, except in very rare circumstances, until our portfolio has regained its value. Our emphasis will instead be on program operations grants in light of expected funding shortfalls that will affect many of our regularly funded grantees. Based on the current outlook, we expect this policy to be in effect for all of 2010.

The Precious Minds, New Connections Initiative

continues to be a major thrust of the Foundation and is the largest privately funded initiative that focuses on parents and young children in Bexar and surrounding counties. The objective of the Precious Minds, New Connections Initiative is to help parents understand the importance of the first three years of life when their child’s brain is developing so rapidly.  Parents are exposed to information and skills that help maximize their child’s potential during this critical time.  Ultimately, we hope to have a positive effect on every family with a young child in our service area.

The Foundation funded 24 parenting education programs during 2009 with funding of about $3.7 million. Partner agencies are equipped with everything from parent educators, meals, childcare, incentives and data management services.  See the Precious Minds, New Connections section of this Website for more information on this important initiative of the Foundation.

A unique aspect of this Initiative is the ongoing training and networking that the Foundation supports.  We have found that there is energy and power that is both created and harnessed by bringing program managers together on at least a bi-monthly basis and having all parent educators meet on a quarterly basis.  In 2009, our Parent Educator Forums covered topics such as postpartum depression, identifying autism, and the effect of trauma on emotional and psychological development.  The program manager meetings are a forum for sharing information, discussing issues and brainstorming solutions.  Each agency brings a different strength to the Initiative and solutions to problems are more quickly found when working as a team. 

The Foundation maintains a PMNC web-based database software system which all PMNC grantees are required to use.  By having a consolidated database, Foundation staff run the reports that are due each quarter and eliminate the need for agencies to spend time on reporting.  In addition, the Foundation completes the numeric portions of the continuation funding applications and asks the grantee to comment and explain the meaning of the numbers.  This is a unique method for a Foundation to employ in its ongoing grant making activity. 

The Precious Minds, New Connections Initiative includes grant making in the area of parenting education as well as funding other programs within the community that promote early brain development of infants and toddlers. We suggest that non-profit agencies active in every program area of the Foundation consider how their work affects early childhood development. We anticipate funding early childhood programs in museums, parks, libraries and other areas. We hope this initiative will help put our service area on the leading edge of developing child-centered communities.