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EUREKA
$1.5 Million Private Grant to Help Those Who
Help Others
Waitt Family Foundation Funds Eureka Communities'
Education Program for Non-Profit Leaders; San
Diego Non-Profit CEOs Benefit
San Diego, CA- February 2, 2001 -Eureka Communities, a national
non-profit organization dedicated to empowering community-based organizations
serving children, youth and families, today announced a $1.5 million
grant from the Waitt Family Foundation, the philanthropic program of
Ted and Joan Waitt. Mr. Waitt founded Gateway Computers.
The grant establishes seven new Eureka Communities/Waitt Family
Foundation Fellowships in the San Diego area and another 23 Fellowships
nationally. The Fellowships involve training programs for leaders of
community-based non-profits in San Diego, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles,
and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Founded in 1992 by Deborah Szekely of San Diego, the Eureka Communities'
mission is to transform community service by building citywide networks
of community-based, non-profit leaders who are positioned to improve
life conditions for children, youth and families. Eureka-the name comes
from the Greek word for I found it -provides executives from
non-profit organizations with ongoing opportunities for professional
growth and leadership development.
The Fellows will be paired with Mentor organizations and
leaders around the country who will help them improve their leadership
and management skills, enhance their organizational capacity, and learn "best
practices" in everything from fundraising to government relations to
programming. Each of the seven new San Diego Fellows will receive support
for a two-year program that will begin in 2001. The Fellows will also
receive support and technical assistance to examine and address the effects
of the digital divide, and gain access to agencies around the country
that are most successfully helping inner city families gain access to
computers and computer training.
Sanford Goodkin, Chairman of the Eureka Communities' San Diego Council,
said, The Waitt Family Foundation-through this grant-clearly demonstrates
the understanding that communities can and should provide an essential
support structure to families in need. This grant will have a significant
impact on the Eureka Communities' San Diego program and thus San Diego's
children, youth and families.
In addition to the fellowships, the grant will allow Eureka Communities
to strengthen and expand their reach in San Diego, to develop a more
effective evaluation system of existing fellows and services, and to
broaden existing fund raising efforts.
"
The Waitt Family Foundation is about helping good people do great things.
Every day, Eureka Fellows are making a difference by empowering community-based
non-profit groups with information and resources. This grant is an investment
in the future of families here in San Diego and across America," said
Ted Waitt.
"
With the Waitt Family Foundation's generous grant, we take the next step
in helping communities better serve families, said Deborah Szekely,
founder and Chairman Emerita of Eureka Communities. "Community empowerment
and progress require making informed choices. By having access to a nationwide
network of Mentors, peers and best practices-Eureka Fellows become the
engines for positive change they set out to be."
For more information on the grant, Eureka Communities or the Waitt Family
Foundation contact Lacey A. at (646)-658-8056
Eureka Communities
Eureka Communities, founded in 1992 by Deborah Szekely, provides executives
from non-profit organizations with ongoing opportunities for professional
growth and leadership development. The organization has worked with over
300 Fellows, executives of community-based non-profit organizations,
and is supported by a network of over 250 Mentor organizations
around the country. Eureka Communities has sites in San Diego, Detroit,
Boston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area and is based in Washington,
DC.
Eureka Communities' Fellows, with the support of local City Directors,
set individual learning goals and design learning plans to achieve these
goals. Their programs involve two week-long study trips to designated
best practice Mentor agencies in various sites around the
country. Mentor organizations have similar missions and methods to the
Fellow's own organizations and often have encountered-and successfully
handled-issues and problems similar to those the Fellow's own agency
deals with in their own communities. Each Fellow spends a total of 200
hours participating in workshops, retreats, and special events, all designed
to enhance leadership capacity and promote collective learning and collaboration.
Additional information regarding Eureka Communities can be found at:
www.eureka-communities.org.
The Waitt Family Foundation
Ted Waitt, Founder of the Gateway Computer Company, and his wife Joan
incorporated the Waitt Family Foundation in September 1992 in order to
help good people do great things for families.
The Waitt Family Foundation is dedicated to building strong, healthy
futures for families through their communities and believes that stable
and empowered families are the building blocks of a safe, open, and prosperous
world. The Foundation takes a broad and long-term view of the family
that includes all its global and cultural diversity and examines its
challenges from the standpoint of the Past, the Present and the Future.
The Foundation envisions a world in which every child and family has
the opportunity to choose their own futures and succeed in fulfilling
their dreams.
The Core Objectives of the Foundation are to:
- Empower Communities - Enhance the capacity
of communities to promote positive social change
supportive of families
- Leverage Partnerships - Partner with projects
that show promise and are widely applicable
- Communicate Ideas - Help in the dissemination
of new ideas to communities and families that
will help them plan in the present for a better
future
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