EUREKA COMMUNITIES NAMES SEVEN SAN DIEGO NON-PROFIT EXECUTIVES TO MENTORING FELLOWSHIP DESIGNED TO IMPROVE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY

The Waitt Family Foundation Joins with Eureka; Co-Sponsors three Fellows as part of efforts to bridge digital divide

San Diego, CA- July 24, 2001 - Eureka Communities of San Diego has selected seven local non-profit executives as part of a two-year fellowship designed to improve their leadership skills and delivery of their services to the community through training, mentoring and networking with other non-profit executives.

"Since 1991, the Eureka Fellowship has brought together leaders who were already changing lives and has given them instruction and mentoring to make them even better in terms of services they deliver into the community, and as they work to move people from dependence to independence," said Phyllis Quan, acting director of Eureka Communities of San Diego. "Today, we are pleased to announce the generous support of the Waitt Family Foundation which has allowed us to significantly expand our program and to support a greater number of non-profit leaders in our community and nationwide," she added.

Three of the seven 2001 Eureka Fellows from San Diego: James Sison, Samuel Ingersoll-Weng, and Meredith Dowling with Ellen Furnari, The Waitt Family Foundation's former Director of Contempoary Issues.

For the spring 2001 San Diego class, the Waitt Family Foundation has elected to co-sponsor three of this year's fellows, all of whom are dedicated to bridging the divide between technological haves and have-nots in greater San Diego. Thanks to a $1.5 million dollar grant to Eureka Communities, the Waitt Family Foundation will make it possible for 31 additional fellows nationwide to participate in this worthwhile endeavor. Founded by Ted Waitt and his wife Joan, the Waitt Family Foundation is committed to strengthening families by fortifying communities through an emphasis on the creative use of technology, information and community-building tools.

"The Waitt Family Foundation is pleased to join with Eureka on a national and local basis to expand and enhance the reach of their fellowship effort," said John Heubusch, president of the Waitt Family Foundation. "Like Eureka, and like the fellows we are sponsoring, the Foundation believes that the goal of using technology to change the way people live, learn, work and play is best done at the grass-roots level by people who are already dedicated to making positive change."

The Eureka Fellowship is a two-year program in which the participants attend monthly seminars in order to receive training or mentoring, and to network with other non-profit executives and share best practices.

The 2001 Eureka Fellows from San Diego are J.R. Chantengco, Tonja McCoy, Curt Lutz, Walter Philips, Meredith Dowling, Samuel Ingersoll-Weng and James Sison. Dowling, Director of Community Development, San Diego Regional Technology Alliance; Ingersoll-Weng, Development Director, Harmonium; and Sison, Assistant Program Officer, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, also have the special distinction of being Eureka/Waitt Fellows. In addition to all benefits of the Eureka Fellowship program, Eureka/Waitt fellows also will receive training opportunities in Information Technology, will meet annually with Foundation executives to share best practices with future Eureka/Waitt Fellows, and will be asked to share their successes on the Waitt Family Foundation website (www.WaittFoundation.org) so the information will be available to all.

In addition to the fellowship grants, Eureka Communities of San Diego has also received a significant grant from the Waitt Family Foundation in the amount of $14,000 to fund technology and equipment for its local office. "We believe that the support of the Waitt Family Foundation is not only significant to our organization, but to the community of San Diego as well," Quan added.

About Eureka Communities
Eureka Communities is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization that works to improve the effectiveness of other non-profit organizations in cities around the United States through the Eureka Fellowship program. Since 1991, more than 431 nonprofit executive directors have been Eureka Fellows in 6 cities around the country.