3.12.2008 - 02:59pm ET

(CSRwire) New York, NY, March 12, 2008 – The Reader's Digest Foundation announced today that it will donate $100,000 to UNCF – the United Negro College Fund – extending a relationship that began in 1945 with a gift of $2,500. This new, unrestricted grant, which will be made in March, is the first in a series of ten $100,000 grants that the Foundation plans to make to a variety of nonprofit organizations throughout the year as part of its new Make it Matter initiative. Ultimately, the Foundation will donate $1 million through Make it Matter.

Make it Matter is a program of the Foundation dedicated to creating opportunities and promoting efforts that encourage individuals to make a positive difference in their communities. For ten months, beginning with this grant, the Foundation will consider the public's stories of giving back and choose one that embodies the Foundation's mission and serves as an inspiration to others. For each Make it Matter story, the Foundation will donate $100,000 to a nonprofit organization that furthers the cause. Submissions from the public can be directed to www.rd.com/foundation.

The grant to UNCF is given in honor of Ella Avery-Smothers, a graduate of UNCF member institution St. Paul's College and a highly successful business owner, who credits the scholarship she received from UNCF with enabling her to attend college and changing her life. Today, Ms. Avery-Smothers gives scholarships to employees of the Burger King franchises she owns, bringing full circle the legacy of UNCF's original scholarship to her. Her story is told in the inaugural "Make it Matter" column in the April issue of Reader's Digest magazine.

"We are delighted to build on our longstanding relationship with UNCF in making this grant," said Susan Fraysse Russ, executive director, Reader’s Digest Foundation. "For more than 60 years, our two organizations have shared similar goals of inspiring the best in people and helping them in reaching their full potential. Given our history, it is very fitting that UNCF should receive the first grant of our new Make it Matter program, which seeks to recognize individuals who are making significant contributions in their communities and encourage the same in others."

"UNCF appreciates the long-term support Reader's Digest Foundation has given to help minority students get the education they need and deserve," said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF's president and CEO. "Reader's Digest Foundation’s wise investment in minority education will help the next generation of leaders launch careers that will make great contributions to our global economy."

Reader's Digest magazine is lending its support to the Foundation's program by highlighting the stories of the selected individuals in its monthly "Make it Matter" column. Many of the submissions, including those that do not lead to a grant, will be featured on www.rd.com.

Over the years, the Reader's Digest Foundation has supported UNCF in a variety of ways. The Reader's Digest Foundation and UNCF launched a Creative Writing Contest in 1960, the same year that DeWitt Wallace, founder of Reader's Digest magazine, served on UNCF’s National Council. The National Council was a group of prominent individuals that helped UNCF raise money in their various regions and communities. The 1960 National Council was chaired by John D. Rockefeller III.

More recently, Reader's Digest designated UNCF as a benefactor of proceeds from the sale of "Alex Haley: The Man Who Traced America’s Roots" – a book and DVD collection of articles written by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author, who was a long-time contributor to Reader's Digest magazine. For more than two decades, moreover, the Reader's Digest Foundation Scholarship has been awarded each year to five students attending UNCF member colleges and universities majoring in English, journalism, communications or other related fields.

Submissions for Make it Matter will be accepted by the Foundation on a rolling basis throughout 2008.

About The Reader's Digest Foundation:

The Reader's Digest Foundation, started in 1938, is dedicated to creating opportunities and promoting efforts that encourage individuals to make a positive difference in their communities, and to supporting programs designed to help young people learn, grow and enrich their lives. RDF makes grants to nonprofit organizations to support the good works of individuals in their communities and to nonprofit partners focused on youth development and education. The Foundation also partners with nonprofits to create workplace opportunities for Reader's Digest Association employees to volunteer their time and share their expertise. To learn how you can support the Make it Matter program, please visit www.rd.com/foundation.

About UNCF:

UNCF—the United Negro College Fund—is the nation's oldest and most successful minority education assistance organization. Its mission is to increase minority degree attainment by providing financial support to its 39 member institutions, reducing financial barriers to college and serving as a national advocate for minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. UNCF's recently redesigned logo and brand identity feature UNCF's torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."(R) Learn more at www.UNCF.org.

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