Foundations made more than 1,000 grants of $10,000 or more to support addiction programs in 1997 and 1998, including funding for treatment and prevention, smoking cessation, DUI interventions, halfway houses, research, media projects and other programs.According to the Foundation Center's 1999/2000 "Grants for Alcohol and Drug Abuse" guide, 371 foundations made large individual grants to support addiction-related programs during 1997 and 1998, totaling $104.8 million. While this figure is a relative drop in the bucket compared to public-sector funding of treatment and prevention programs (the federal substance abuse block grant alone, for instance, currently stands at more than $1.6 billion), foundation funding nonetheless represents a significant source of support for many organizations in the addiction field.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which provides primary funding for Join Together, continues to be the nation's leading supporter of alcohol and other drug programs. According to the Foundation Center report, RWJF made 155 grants for a total of $60.7 million in the period studied. That's about 15 times more than the next-largest funder in the category, George Soros' Open Society Institute, which made 19 grants totaling about $4.2 million. RWJF also made nine of the ten largest individual grants in the field, topped by a $13.1 million award to the Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
Other leading funders included:
These figures can be deceiving to inexperienced grantseekers, however: While some large foundation do fund programs that have an essentially local focus, most community-based programs will have better luck seeking grants from small and midsized foundations located in their area, which usually direct grantmaking toward addressing local problems.
If the public has traditionally viewed drug use as a criminal-justice issue, foundations tend to make their grants in this area under the rubric of health care. A whopping 79 percent of foundation funding for alcohol and other drug programs fell under the general heading of mental health, while 5 percent of grants were made under foundations' general and rehabilitative health categories, and 4 percent were awarded as human services grants. Just 4.4 percent of foundation grants for alcohol and other drug services were made as part of foundations' crime, justice and public protection programs, the Foundation Center reported.
Given that colleges and universities were the leading recipients of alcohol and other drug grants from foundations, it makes sense that the most common type of grant awarded would be for research. During the period examined by the Foundation Center, foundations awarded $50 million via 135 research grants. Awards for program development totaled $43 million, but for a far larger number of grants (355). Grants for continuing support, seed money, general support, technical assistance, program evaluation and building and renovation also were popular with grantmakers.
Population data gathered by the Foundation Center also provided some interesting insights into funders' preferences. While many grants fell under the general category of benefitting "alcohol and drug abusers" (770 awards, for a total of $73.5 million), a significant number of awards were made for specific populations. Programs serving children and youth, for example, received 304 grants totaling $29.9 million, while 109 awards for a total of $24 million were earmarked for economically disadvantaged populations. Other popular grantmaking subcategories included women and girls (126 awards; $19.6 million) and the homeless (92 awards; $3.8 million). About $19.6 million was awarded for programs focusing on single parents, but only seven grants were made in this category.
Grants for programs that zeroed in on particular ethnic groups were far less common. While 29 awards were made for programs that aid minorities generally, just 17 grants were made for programs serving blacks, 16 awards for those serving Hispanics, and 14 grants for Native American programs.
Geographically, grantmaking tended to fall in line with state populations. But there were some exceptions. Programs in Minnesota, which has a reputation as being a progressive leader in addiction treatment and prevention, received a disproportionate share of grants. And despite its tiny population, the District of Columbia ranked fourth nationally in the number of grants awarded to area programs.
The "Grants for Alcohol and Drug Abuse" guide includes detailed listings of foundation giving, broken down by state and including information on individual awards made by each grantmaker. The guide is $75 and available from the Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003-3076; 1-800-478-4661.
