Nathan Cummings Foundation
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The Nathan Cummings Foundation was endowed by Nathan Cummings (1896-1985), founder of Consolidated Foods, now called Sara Lee Corporation. Cummings was also a prominent art collector and supporter of Jewish causes.
In his lifetime, Cummings made contributions to hospitals, universities, and the arts. His endowment created the Nathan Cummings Arts Center at Stanford University and the Joanne and Nathan Cummings Art Center at Connecticut College in New London. He made major contributions to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and to the Art Institute of Chicago. He established the Nathan Cummings Foundation in 1949. The foundation received most of his estate (then estimated at $200 million) upon his death in 1985.
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[edit] Areas of funding
The Foundation seeks to build a socially and economically just society that values nature and protects the ecological balance for future generations; promotes humane health care; and fosters arts and culture that enriches communities. It gives solely to organizations in the United States of America and supports some programmatic work in Israel.
The Nathan Cummings Foundation funds the following areas:
- Human rights
- Economic, social and culture in general
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Expression, opinion and info
- Immigrants
- Justice
- Labor
- Land
- Living standard and food
[edit] Mission statement
According to the foundation's mission statement[1], it is "rooted in the Jewish tradition and committed to democratic values and social justice, including fairness, diversity, and community." The foundation "seeks to build a socially and economically just society that values nature and protects the ecological balance for future generations; promotes humane health care; and fosters arts and culture that enriches communities."
The Foundation's approach to grantmaking embodies some basic themes in all of its programs:
- concern for the poor, disadvantaged, and underserved;
- respect for diversity;
- promotion of understanding across cultures;
- and empowerment of communities in need.
[edit] Funded programs
Some of the projects funded by the Cummings Fund have been:
- Government Accountability Project(inc): $100,000, to support corporate whistleblowers.[2]
- the Focus Project(inc): $76,000, to develop an estate tax model.[3]
- Strategic concepts in organizing and policy education, Los Angeles, CA: $300:000,addressing California's healthcare crisis[4]
- Applied Research Center, Oakland, CA: $250,000 to support research on healthcare for immigrants.
