A recent survey of opinion leaders in five U.S. cities ranks K-12 education as a top priority for corporate social-responsibility programs.
Respondents in all five cities named the environment as the number-one issue that corporate philanthropy should address. Precollegiate education ranked second in two of the cities, and third in the remaining three.
Other issues cited as priorities were job training, higher education, adult education, and helping the disabled.
The respondents, who included business and civic leaders, were from cities chosen to be geographically representative: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and San Francisco.
The International Business Machines Corporation commissioned the poll, which was conducted by the Center for Corporate Community Relations at Boston College.
The DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund will award $5.5 million in grants for staff-training programs at four youth-serving organizations.
Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America will receive $1.78 million for leadership training for executive directors and board presidents of local chapters.
The Child Welfare League of America will use its $1.3 million grant to train the staffs of member organizations that assist 16- to 18-year-olds who live in foster homes, residential care, or shelters.
Girls Inc., formerly Girls Clubs of America, received $1.14 million to train affiliates’ program directors and provide advice to other youth-serving groups on girls’ programming.
A $1.3 million grant to the National Network of Runaway and Youth Services will support professional development for staff members who help youths with problems related to poverty, drugs, and unstable families.
“Addressing the needs of women and girls in the 1990’s’’ is the theme of the San Francisco Foundation’s annual report for 1993.
The report highlights the accomplishments of several women donors to the foundation, as well as grants the foundation awarded to programs for women and girls.
Among those featured are a program to prevent pregnancy among teenagers and the Women’s Philharmonic, an all-female orchestra.
Free copies are available by writing to the San Francisco Foundation, Suite 910, 685 Market St., San Francisco, Calif. 94105-9716; or call (314) 495-3100 or (510) 436-3100.
