The board of directors of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation announced today that it approved 13 grants totaling $15 million during the first quarter of 2017, including $1 million for refugee-related work.
Currently, the Syrian refugee crisis, now in its sixth year, is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. In response to the overwhelming need, the Foundation has provided $5.3 million in grants over the past five years to address the situation close to the epicenter of the Syrian refugee crisis.
This quarter, the board of directors at the Hilton Foundation approved two grants for projects designed to provide relief for refugees: $500,000 to Save the Children for the education of the children of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and $500,000 to the International Rescue Committee for refugee resettlement assistance in the U.S.
“We continue to be guided by our founder, Conrad Hilton’s enthusiasm, global view, and sense of compassion,” said Peter Laugharn, president and CEO of the Hilton Foundation. “These values compelled us to support those people affected by the tragic conflict in Syria. We are proud to collaborate and partner with Save the Children and International Rescue Committee, both of which are splendid organizations working at the epicenter of the crisis.”
Grants in the first quarter of 2017 were awarded to a total of 13 organizations spanning across the Foundation’s priority areas, including organizations serving the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people both in the U.S. and internationally.
Following is an overview of all grants awarded in the first quarter of 2017:
Homelessness – Corporation for Supportive Housing will receive $6 million to support the Los Angeles initiative to prevent and end chronic homelessness through continued strengthening of the permanent supportive housing (PSH) industry and engaging mainstream systems to expand, align and coordinate PSH interventions to those they serve. The National Alliance to End Homelessness was granted $1 million to further national policy and advocacy efforts to end chronic homelessness, while Funders Together To End Homelessness received $300,000 to strengthen a national movement among private philanthropy to end homelessness. In addition, Union Station Homeless Services also received $300,000 to bolster organizational capacity as the Coordinated Entry System lead to end homelessness in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Finally, L.A. Family Housing was awarded $700,000 to support and evaluate innovative strategies aimed at ensuring formerly chronically homeless individuals in permanent supportive housing successfully retain and stabilize in their homes.
Disaster Relief and Recovery – Save the Children Federation, Inc. was awarded $500,000 to support education for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. International Rescue Committee received a $500,000 grant to support refugee resettlement assistance within the United States.
Avoidable Blindness – Aravind Eye Foundation received more than $1.9 million to strengthen and consolidate a social enterprise model aimed at improving access to high-quality cataract surgery at five eye health clinics in sub-Saharan Africa.
Substance Use Prevention – The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America was granted $1 million to utilize the community coalition model to promote adoption of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to prevent and reduce adolescent substance use. Community Catalyst will receive $2.2 million to expand and strengthen state-level advocacy campaigns to support adoption of youth SBIRT and reduce barriers to implementation. The Iowa State University Partnership in Prevention Science Institute was awarded $800,000 to promote adolescent health and well-being in rural communities through prevention of substance use and related problem behaviors.
Hospitality – A capacity building grant of $305,000 was awarded to Café Hope, an organization that provides full-service culinary training paired with life skills to youth in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
Catholic Sisters – The Africa Faith & Justice Network received $360,000 to build the capacity of Catholic sisters to mobilize African women to work for social justice and advance the sustainable development goals in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.
For more detailed information on our grantmaking, please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org/grants.