Women & Philanthropy awards ASU programs record amount of grant funding

ASU programs across all four campuses to benefit from group’s support

Women & Philanthropy, a group committed to supporting and investing in Arizona State University, awarded $286,541 to six promising programs this year, the highest amount of total annual funding in its 10-year history.

Women & Philanthropy announced the awards at its annual Celebration Luncheon April 18, when members capped off an anniversary year marked by milestones in funding and membership.

Since its founding in 2002 as part of the ASU Foundation, Women & Philanthropy has contributed more than $2 million to 67 programs that advance education development, community outreach, student scholarships, research and health care initiatives at ASU.

The philanthropic group continued to extend its impact across all four campuses by giving ASU at the Polytechnic campus two awards, including a $100,000 grant, the largest that it gives each year. In addition, it awarded grants to two programs operating at the Downtown campus.

While this year’s grants recognize ASU’s commitment to science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM), they also include programs that support ASU’s commitment to connect with communities through mutually beneficial partnerships. For example, directors of a program that aids victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking will work closely with area police agencies and other first-line responders. And, student journalists will study the under-reported yet important topic of female veterans returning from combat situations and share that reporting with news outlets.

Women & Philanthropy was able to award its record funding due to steady growth in membership, which now stands at 237 investors. It is a unique force for philanthropy in that group members pool their annual contributions into a collective fund, creating exponential results for the university.

Members gather each year to hear grant finalists’ presentations and then vote on which programs will receive funding. This is one of the pivotal events of Women & Philanthropy’s year, as it deepens each member’s vested interest in the university and its programs.

Additionally this year, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Women & Philanthropy members committed to establishing a $100,000 endowed scholarship through ASU’s New American University Scholarship Matching Program, which matches 4 percent of an endowment of $50,000 or more.

The 2012-13 Women & Philanthropy grant recipients:

STEAM Machines Club: An Integrative After-school Engineering Design Experience

College of Technology and Innovation, Department of Engineering – $100,000

The grant will fund an after-school program that challenges teams of middle school students to learn and apply the engineering design process to build Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction machines. The program teaches students real-world systems-design and team-collaboration skills and prepares them to understand careers in engineering, technology and math.

Promoting Awareness, Identification and Providing Interventions to Victims Impacted by Domestic Violence and Sex Trafficking

School of Social Work, College of Public Programs – $50,000

Funding will support training for 100 ASU students in the awareness and prevention of sex trafficking and domestic violence. Students then commit to train two groups within 12 months, extending the training to hundreds of others. Funding also supports 12 apprentices in the clinical treatment of minors and adults exiting trafficking and prostitution situations.

Engineers Serving Education

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering – $47,250

Funds will support a partnership between the engineering college and the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College designed to reinvigorate science, technology, engineering and math education in K-8 schools in six Arizona districts.

The WISE Career Program

ASU Polytechnic Educational Outreach and Student Services – $41,325

The WISE program advances women who are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship, math and management by means of leadership and technology conferences, career education kits, professional development and scholarships.

The Sustainability Review: Sharing Sustainability Science with the World

School of Sustainability – $30,200

Scientific research is published in academic journals that are inaccessible due to prohibitive fees and hard-to-understand language. Often it is the public that has funded this research and who will benefit from the results. The Sustainability Review will publish research in videos that will be relevant, entertaining and that will maximize understanding and use. They are the future of knowledge sharing in science.

Women & Philanthropy News21 Fellows

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication – $17,766

Funds will support two student news fellows who will work with students from around the country and under the guidance of leading journalists on a major investigative project focusing on returning veterans, particularly female veterans and issues they face with their families. 

Melissa Bordow, melissa.bordow@asu.edu
Communications Specialist | Editorial Services
ASU Foundation for A New American University
480-965-7737