Described in the following paragraphs are four
areas of funding selected to illustrate some of the different approaches the Foundation takes to grant making. We recognize these grantees as examples of the good work being done in many nonprofit agencies serving our communities. See the "Awarded Grants" section of this Website for a complete listing of Foundation Grants.
Grants in Honor of Albert Kronkosky, Jr. and Bessie Mae Kronkosky
Since its inception, the Foundation has made grants totaling $129 million. The impact of the generosity of the Kronkoskys on the area nonprofit community has been simply tremendous. The Foundation honors each of its founders annually by making an unsolicited, unrestricted grant in his or her honor to a nonprofit previously supported by the Foundation. In May 2007, Child Advocates of San Antonio received a $50,000 grant in honor of Mr. Albert Kronkosky, Jr. CASA trains and supervises volunteers who support and advise children who are in process of placement outside their homes because of abusive living environments. In December 2007 the Boerne Community Theater received $50,000 in honor of Mrs. Bessie Mae Kronkosky. The Boerne Community Theatre is a thriving community theatre that purchased and renovated a new facility in 2005 and now plays to full houses for most of its productions. Both of these agencies provide superb service in their respective fields.
Grants Funding Services for the Elderly
Services for the elderly were a major funding area again in 2007. A total of $3.3 million of grants were awarded to 13 organizations. Leading the way was a $2.5 million challenge grant to the Rainbow Senior Center located in Boerne, Texas to help launch a $6 million capital campaign for a new state of the art senior center facility. Sales proceeds of its present facility will provide additional funding. While this is an aggressive goal for the small senior center, the campaign is off to a good start. An ideal site has been purchased and architectural plans and bids have been received. This project was a Foundation initiative based on a needs review and conversations with Center management and board members. The new senior center is to be named Kronkosky Place.
Other services funded for seniors include continuation operating funding for meals on wheels programs of Christian Senior Services ($300,000) and of senior centers in Boerne, Helotes, the Randolph Area Services program and Bandera. Funding was also renewed for home repair and modification programs of Merced Housing ($80,000) and for the first time of Avenida Guadalupe Association ($45,000). These two programs and the RAMP program of San Antonio Alternative Housing provide home modifications to elderly and disabled persons so they can remain independent in their own homes.
BEFORE AFTER
Two other grants are reflective of Foundation leadership in funding elderly services. The Foundation initiated money management program was provided a fifth year of funding ($104,000) so volunteers will continue to be supported in their work to help with budgeting, bill paying and other financial services to elderly persons who need assistance, but not full guardianship. Also, for the tenth consecutive year, the Foundation has been the lead supporter of Project Cool, a program to provide fans for elderly and disabled persons who do not have or cannot afford air conditioning in their homes and apartments.
Parks and Natural Areas Funding
Parks and natural areas were also interests of the Kronkoskys and are among the charitable purposes they designated for the Foundation. Over $1.2 million was awarded in these areas in 2007. The largest grant was awarded to the San Antonio Parks Foundation to fund playscapes at six neighborhood parks in east, south and central locations within San Antonio. These playscapes will be ADA compliant projects with climbing apparatus, swings, slides and other amenities children love to play on. This $600,000 program compliments the Foundation’s Precious Minds, New Connections program by providing more close to home places where parents can take their young children to broaden their experiences and contribute to healthy brain development.
The Foundation continued its leadership funding of the Bexar Land Trust garden parks program with an additional $111,483 of restricted funding and $75,000 of general operating funding. Garden parks at the Basilica of the Little Flower Church and Denver Heights park were completed in 2007 and several more garden park sites are in planning stages for 2008.
Other 2007 grants in these areas were awarded to Audubon Texas for an outdoor classroom pavilion at its Mitchell Lake Bird Sanctuary ($100,000), to the Friends of Cibolo Wilderness ($100,000) to fund expansion of staffing for the Cibolo Nature Center and to The Nature Conservancy ($250,000) to fund office equipment and furnishing for its new office location in San Antonio. All of these organizations and Bexar Land Trust are active in preserving, protecting and providing public access and enjoyment of natural areas in the four counties served by the Foundation.
Diabetes Seed Money Research Grants
On the initiative of the Foundation, research grants may be awarded related to illnesses or behaviors more prevalent in the four county service area as compared to the United States in general. Again in 2007, the Foundation issued requests for proposals for diabetes seed money research grants. Similar initiatives were launched by the Foundation in 2000 and 2003. Seed money grants are designed to test novel hypotheses and develop data that will hopefully provide the initial evidence needed to support a grant application to NIH or other major research funder. It is not uncommon for a seed money project of $10,000 to $100,000 to lead to a research grant in the millions of dollars. San Antonio is blessed with leading researcher expertise in the areas of diabetes. In addition, lengthy local studies of Mexican American families in diabetes and heart studies have unique databases upon which to apply new techniques and theories. Eight research projects were funded in late 2007 with three underway at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, three at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and two at the University of Texas at San Antonio. A total of $623,383 was awarded.
Accountability and Evaluation
Each of the grants made by the Foundation has accountability requirements. Financial reports, including budget to actual comparisons on project budgets and annual financial statements are required on all grants and are timely submitted by our grantees. In addition, all but the smallest grants require an evaluation report, a self-assessment of the effectiveness of the grantees work funded by the Foundation. The sophistication of the evaluations vary with the size and experience of the organization. Summaries of the evaluation reports are shared on our website in the Evaluation Section.
At the end of 2007 the Foundation's investments totaled $306 million, up $7 million from last year after grant payments and operating expenses. At December 31, 2007, the Foundation had 74% of its investments in equity securities and 26% in fixed income securities. The Foundation experienced a 7.05% overall total return on investment after fees. Bank of America manages the investment portfolio.
At the end of 2007, the Foundation had $4.2 million of committed and contingent grants all scheduled for payment in 2008. New grants to be awarded for 2008 are expected to be about $12 million, including the Foundation’s Precious Minds, New Connections initiative. Audited financial statements are included on this website shortly after the audit is completed each year.
We work hard to make the Foundation a friendly place where every potential grantee feels welcome. At the same time, we carefully evaluate each grant to ensure that Foundation funds are well spent and used in ways that are consistent with the wishes of the Kronkoskys. I thank our Distribution Committee and staff for their excellent efforts on behalf of all of us who live in the four-county area.
We are excited about the programs that were funded in 2007 and look forward to seeing their results. We continue to learn and refine our procedures and processes to improve our responsiveness and effectiveness.
While we are actively assessing grant requests received almost daily, we are also analyzing areas within the Foundation's charitable purposes where proactive efforts may be desirable and consistent with our Mission … to produce profound good that is tangible and measurable … by funding programs that support the Kronkoskys' charitable purposes.
Palmer Moe
Managing Director
January 2008
