John E. & Aliese Price Foundation Announces Restructuring; $460,000 in Grants Awarded

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Aug. 18, 2017 - PRLog -- The John E. and Aliese Price Foundation has announced a major restructuring that has resulted in awarding $460,000 in grants to area not-for-profit organizations.

Price Foundation President and CEO Dr. Kenneth P. Walker said the foundation trustees have approved changes in administrative procedures, office location and philosophy since he was appointed to lead the organization in February, 2016.

Walker was elected following the death of long-time Price Foundation President & CEO T. Wainwright Miller, Jr., and he has created a new philosophy of philanthropy for the foundation and reinvented it to make a greater impact on meeting charitable needs in the community.

"This is our report to the community.  In the 18 months since the reorganization, we have sold all Price Foundation properties, reduced expenses and relocated the office into rented space at World Plaza in South Fort Myers.  These changes plus market gains have enabled us to award $460,000 in grants to local not-for-profit organizations," he said.

Grants ranging from $500 to $100,000 have been awarded to 27 organizations with some of them payable over four years.  The largest grants of $100,000 were awarded to two organizations -- the Southwest Florida Community Foundation for its new innovation hub and the Lee Health Foundation for the Regional Cancer Center to provide medical care for uninsured or under-insured women with breast cancer.  Lee Health chose to name the fund in honor of retiring Lee Health executive Sharon MacDonald.

Funds received from the sale of the properties were invested to allow the foundation to make more grants, he said.  Foundation investments now total $8.6 million, up from $6.6 million in February, 2016, due to the property sales and market gains.

Price Foundation Chairman Dennis Small said the trustees are very pleased with the progress made in the past year by Walker, who agreed to serve the first year as president and CEO without compensation.

"Being the president and CEO of The Price Foundation takes a great deal of time and we are very thankful to Dr. Walker for donating his time and expertise to restructuring the foundation.  We asked him if he would consider continuing in the president's role at a modest salary and I'm pleased to announce that he has agreed," Small said.

The trustees voted to pay Walker $30,000 per year for his work in administering the foundation, which Small said is far less than the salaries paid to the chief administrative officers of similarly-sized foundations.  According to the Southeast Council of Foundations, the average annual salary for CEOs of foundations of comparable size in the southeast is $115,616.

"I am proud of the fact that our expenses are now about 2 percent of assets.  Very few foundations can claim such a low administrative expense," he said.

Perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of the past year has been defining the philanthropic philosophy of the foundation and its goals for charitable giving.

"Going forward, we want to be proactive in the community and explore what our needs are and investigate partnering with other foundations so that together we can make larger grants that will have a greater impact," Walker said.

As an example of that philosophy, The Price Foundation recently awarded a $75,000 matching grant to the Lee County Alliance of the Arts to support their campus enhancement plan that includes an artist incubator space, enhanced classrooms, remodeled and expanded amphitheater, campus sculpture gardens and beautified walkways.  The grant enabled the Lee County Alliance of the Arts to win approval of a challenge grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Christian Television (CTN10) also was awarded a $15,000 matching grant to complete their campaign to purchase a remote production van that will be used to provide hands-on training of students of the Southwest Florida Film and TV Academy as well as conducting remote broadcasts, including the Community Prayer Breakfast.

The Price Foundation also has partnered with Florida Arts, Inc., to provide $30,000 in matching funds for capital improvements to the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers.

The foundation now has a website with grant guidelines and a copy of the foundation's IRS Form 990PF at www.ThePriceFoundation.com

"We want to be as transparent as possible, so that not-for-profits and other foundations can see our philosophy, vision, mission and purpose," Walker said.  "For example, we are now registered with Charity Navigator and GuideStar."

Grant requests will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.  To be eligible for a grant, organizations must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization.  Grant requests should be submitted on the official letterhead of the organization and include a copy of the valid IRS tax exemption certificate, a list of the board of directors and the organization's budget.

There are no forms to complete, but applicants are asked to submit a letter outlining the purpose of the grant request and explain how it is compatible with the mission of the foundation.

For additional information, visit www.ThePriceFoundation.com or call 239-939-0052.

About The John E. & Aliese Foundation

The John E. & Aliese Foundation was founded by the late John E.  and Aliese Price in 1961 to make contributions or gifts to public not-for-profit organizations operated exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes.  The Price Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees who are responsible for using the foundation's resources to support organizations, programs and projects that bring hope to people and improvement to our community.