PMP: Sponsors

			A Ten-Year Initiative in State/Local Collaboration that Brings Together Education and Human Services

SPONSORS

The Policymaker's Program is sponsored by:

THE DANFORTH FOUNDATION
In partnership with
Education Commission of the States
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Governors' Association

Directed by:
Debbie Miller
Policymakers' Program Director
The Child and Family Center
Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies
and
Bill Purcell
Advisory Board Chair

Purcell makes the following statement about the Policymakers' Program:

Every policymaker in every branch of government wants better results for every child. That the promises of life have not been fulfilled for all of our children is not for lack of interest or lack of trying. It is this basic understanding that has made the commitment of the Danforth Foundation to the Policymakers' Program so very important.
This is a program that has pursued a simple belief that there is nothing we can not accomplish for our kids and their families if we start out together and stay together. And so year after year and state after state, the Policymakers' Program has worked to bring the right people together in a way that permits them to reach the right results - as they see them. I have led and attended many hearings, meetings, and conferences. I believe that this is the single best process yet developed to allow state and local policymakers to do all that they can do to deliver on the promises of birth in America.
It is a program and a process that has evolved throughout its life, as should we all. Much more can and must be done. Because of the Policymakers' Program, the support of the Danforth Foundation, the good work of the cosponsoring organizations, and the participation of hundreds of policymakers, I am confident it will be.

The Danforth Foundation

The Danforth Foundation is a private, charitable foundation serving the St. Louis metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Its mission is to help St. Louis become the leading region in America. The Foundation supports activities which will contribute to making the area a region of excellence and to maintaining that excellence in the 21st century. A major focus is on improvement of the region's core, downtown St. Louis.

To carry out its mission, the Foundation does the following:

helps established institutions become world class
helps organizations which show great promise of making significant contributions to St. Louis
supports creation, renovation, and enhancement of selected facilities
supports other projects which promise long-term contributions to the quality of life in the region

History

The Danforth Foundation was established in 1927 by Mr. and Mrs. William H. Danforth as a national, educational philanthropy dedicated to improving the quality of life. In its early years, the Foundation constructed university chapels on campuses throughout the nation and provided a series of scholarships to young men and women participating in leadership experiences at summer camps in Michigan and New Hampshire. Camp scholarships also were given to state agricultural college students to educate them about opportunities for social service and career choices.

In 1930 the Foundation established national higher education programs, which were administered by Foundation staff. One initiative, the Danforth Associates program, provided weekend retreats on teaching and learning, research projects, and other professional growth and development activities for college and university professors. More than 15,000 men and women in nearly 1,000 colleges and universities participated in the program over its 40 years of operation.

Another higher education initiative, the Danforth Graduate Fellows program, provided financial support to more than 3,500 persons as they earned doctoral degrees in preparation for university teaching. Other national programs supported by the Foundation focused on interdisciplinary teaching, black studies, and enhancement of the liberal arts.

In 1968 the Foundation began to allocate a share of its resources to projects within the St. Louis metropolitan area. Supported projects included those which sought to improve education for minority students, address equality issues, provide leadership development for community members, and improve neighborhoods and communities.

Since metropolitan St. Louis activities were established as a formal area of grantmaking in 1968, the Foundation has supported a variety of local projects and programs. These include the Parents as Teachers Program, the Caring Communities Program, a number of projects with the St. Louis Public Schools, and initiatives of the American Youth Foundation. Civic and community leadership activities were also carried out, notably through grants to Leadership Saint Louis and Confluence St. Louis (now FOCUS St. Louis).

In the early 1970s, following a number of preliminary grants, the Foundation began to focus on projects in secondary education. Later in the decade, it offered support to elementary education efforts, as well. Over a 25-year period, Foudation grants emphasized continued improvement of K-12 public schools.

Continuing its tradition of supporting leadership development opportunities, the Foundation offered a variety of education-related programs for leaders throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Programs were provided to state legislators, federal judges, state and local school board members, superintendents, and principals. The Policymakers' Program is one such program. Programs were also offered for teachers, in partnership with schools and universities, to create more student-centered schools and to promote improved student achievement.

In addition to its programs and grants for pre-collegiate education, the Foundation maintained one higher education program, the Dorothy Danforth Compton Fellowship Program. Begun in 1981 and continued through 1996, the Compton Program supported minority students pursing doctorates in the arts and sciences. Over the 15 years of program operation, 275 students received their Ph.D.'s and went on to teaching careers in several of the nation's most respected colleges and universities.

A New Focus

From time to time throughout its history, Foundation trustees examined the mission and priorities of the Foundation. When appropriate, they re-directed the focus of the organization. Such shifts occurred in the early 1950s, the early 1990s, and May 1997. In their most recent re-examination, trustees stated that the St. Louis area faced a number of critical problems which will greatly influence the region's future, including a declining downtown, loss of population in the region's center, racial disparities, and urban sprawl.

At the same time, they noted that considerable momentum to address these problems had been generated by the March 1997 Peirce Report, prepared by urban experts Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson. They saw that St. Louis 2004, a new community organization, had organized a series of task forces and committees to help address the region's problems. Further, the new mayor of St. Louis had expressed a strong interest in improving the city's core.

Given the renewed sense of optimism among citizens - and a willingness to address the difficult issues - trustees and staff believed the time was right for focusing the Foundation's resources on the St. Louis metropolitan area. With enthusiasm the Foundation has joined with others to help make St. Louis a leading region in the new millennium.

Website by Jujapa Press

Last updated:
January 31, 2003

SPONSORS

The Danforth Foundation

History

A New Focus

Sponsor Information