CHICAGO, IL - The McCormick Tribune Foundation, one of the nation's largest charitable foundations, today announced that its board of directors has approved grants of almost $5.7 million to 47 charitable agencies, programs and organizations nationwide. Of that figure, $1.5 million was designated for programs in the city of Chicago. The decision was made at the foundation's quarterly board meeting earlier today.

"The McCormick Tribune Foundation's communities program allows the foundation to play a role in improving the lives and futures of people in Chicago and many other communities nationwide," said Richard A. Behrenhausen, the foundation's president and chief executive officer. "Through the relationships we have with our charitable partners, who include some of the nation's leading newspapers, television stations and sports teams, we can continue to assist communities in their efforts toward building for their future."

Based on today's approved grants, the following non-Chicago-based agencies that were awarded grants include:
- Volunteers of America in Denver, Co. $385,000);
- Seeds of Hope Charitable Trust in Denver, Co. ($208,000);
- San Diego Center for Children ($122,000);
- Salvation Army, Southern California Division in Los Angeles ($160,000);
- St. Edward High School in Cleveland, Ohio ($175,000);
- Greater Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens ($100,000);
- United Cerebral Palsy Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity ($157,000);
- Police Athletic League in New York, N.Y. ($245,000);
- Junior Achievement in Houston, Texas ($350,000).

Some of the Chicago-based grant recipients include:
- Greater Chicago Food Depository ($250,000);
- Metropolitan Family Services ($270,000);
- Northern Illinois Food Bank ($200,000);
- Open Hand Chicago Inc. ($175,000);
- Chicago Park District ($110,000);
- Union League Boys and Girls Club ($100,000).

The communities program is one of the foundation's four major areas of support. Its other programs are journalism, education and citizenship, as well as a fifth known as special initiatives. The only program of its kind in the country, the communities program is designed to encourage charitable giving from the public and to improve social and economic conditions in 29 communities throughout the United States.

To encourage giving, the communities program provides matching dollars from the foundation's assets to monies raised from the general public by its 44 program partners, who include broadcast and print media outlets and professional sports teams. Some of those partners are the Denver Broncos Charities Fund, Chicago Tribune Charities and the Fox 61 Family Fund, the charitable organization of WTIC-TV in Hartford, CT.

The money raised from the public, plus the foundation's matching funds, are then redistributed to nonprofit organizations in the communities in which the funds were raised. In this way, the foundation supports these communities in meeting the social and economic challenges they face.

Outside of the communities program grants, the foundation board also approved a $175,000 grant to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations through its citizenship program. The grant is in addition to the $320,000 the foundation has awarded to the organization over the past five years.

In 2002, The McCormick Tribune Foundation awarded $95 million nationwide. More than $33 million of the total went to 477 Chicago-area charitable agencies and institutions. By year-end 2003, the foundation expects to award a similar level funding this year also.

The McCormick Tribune Foundation is one of the nation's largest charitable organizations, with combined assets of almost $2 billion and annual giving of more than $95 million in 2002. The foundation's mission is to improve the social and economic environment; encourage a free and responsible discussion of issues affecting the nation; enhance the effectiveness of American education; and stimulate responsible citizenship. It provides grants in four program areas: communities, education, journalism and citizenship -- as well as a special initiatives program. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955 upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. For more information, visit http://www.rrmtf.org/.

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