The Keith and Judy Swayne Family Foundation is pleased to announce its 2010 Grant recipients.  This year the foundation made ten awards in two of its four strategic focus areas –Environment and Youth Development and Education – in the two geographic areas it serves – Orange County, California and Hawaii.  The grantees selected for funding were as follows:

HAWAII

• Hawaii Habitat for Humanity – a program to teach local residents how to produce their own food requirements
• MA’O Farms – teaching leadership roles to youth through co-management of productive and sustainable social enterprise focused on agriculture production
• Hawaii Meth Project – a large scale prevention program aimed at reducing first time  meth use
• Hawaii Arts Alliance/The ARTS at Marks Garage – a program to reach marginalized youth in Honolulu’s Chinatown

ORANGE COUNTY, CA

• Bolsa Chica Conservancy – a community education program for the Bolsa Chica wetlands
• The Ecology  Center – a hands on environmental/eco learning center
• Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana – in support of their Passport to Manhood program for young men
• El Viento Foundation – in support of academic programs for underserved children in the Oak View Community
• Hart Community Center – in support of programs to assist youth moving out from foster care to the  general community
• Taller San Jose – supporting programs to train unskilled, undereducated, and unemployed youth to move from poverty to self reliance

Several of the organizations received their second round of funding from the foundation.  These included Ma’O Farms, Taller San Jose, Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana, and the Hawaii Art Alliance .  The board of the foundation was very impressed with the caliber of the grant applications it received from both invited applicants and those who entered the process through the foundations website which was activated early in 2010.  Roughly one in four of the Letters of Inquiry received by the foundation ultimately led to a grant.

Keith Swayne in summarizing this year’s grant cycle said, “The directors wish to thank all the organizations who submitted letters of inquiry and applications.  The work they are doing in the communities they serve is vital.  Their dedicated staff and volunteers deserve our recognition and commendation.  Speaking on behalf of all of the Directors of the Keith and Judy Swayne Family Foundation I can say that we are proud to be a part of your efforts to “Strengthen Communities for Better Tomorrows”.

To find out more about the organizations listed above, please click through to our Recent Grantees page for links to their websites.