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Type: News

Jennifer Shipp Joins the Foundation as General Counsel

We are delighted to announce that Jennifer Shipp has joined the Heising-Simons Foundation as general counsel. Jennifer will oversee the Foundation’s legal affairs and provide expertise and guidance for its strategy development, grant making, contracting, governance, and other areas.

Hope on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day

Mark Heising, vice president of the Board of the Heising-Simons Foundation, is optimistic about tackling climate change. In a blog post authored for the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), he describes why: “We have the technologies needed to cut pollution and continue powering modern society — like electric cars, solar panels, batteries, and LED lighting — we just need to deploy them faster. And in many cases, the clean technology is now the cheapest option available. That means it is incumbent industries, outdated policies, and obsolete infrastructure standing in our way, not economics or technology. These are surmountable challenges.”

COVID-19 Response: $700,000 Grant to the Center for American Progress

As the COVID-19 pandemic deepens the health and financial crisis, the Foundation has made a $700,000 grant to the Center for American Progress (CAP) — an independent nonpartisan policy institute dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans — to continue its ongoing work so that any federal economic stimulus and recovery efforts support the most vulnerable communities, and advance clean energy. 

Creating “Math Time” for Kids at Home During COVID-19: Kimberly Brenneman Op-Ed for The 74

Kimberly Brenneman, Education program officer at the Heising-Simons Foundation, has co-authored an opinion piece for early childhood educators and organizations on how to best support children’s families in fostering math learning opportunities amid COVID-19-related school closures. The piece is published in The 74, a non-profit, non-partisan news site covering education in America.

COVID-19 Response: Heising-Simons Foundation Supports Home-Based Child Care Emergency Fund

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Education program has made a $500,000 grant to support Home Grown’s Home-Based Child Care Emergency Fund, a relief program to address the needs of home-based child care caregivers and providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Response: $1.1 Million Grant to Keep Families Virtually Connected to Parenting Services

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Education program is pleased to support the Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC) with a $1.13 million grant to lead the Rapid Response Virtual Home Visiting (HV-RRC) collaborative, an effort to create and disseminate free online resources for home visitors on virtual family interactions, amid the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Heising-Simons Foundation Supports Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center COVID-19 Response With $2 Million Grant

Amid the unprecedented public health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the Heising-Simons Foundation has made a $2 million grant to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Foundation to establish a COVID-19 Response Initiative at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG).

Timely Financial Assistance Opportunities from the CARES Act

These are difficult times, and we are thinking of our grantee partners. As you know, the President recently signed the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, known as the CARES Act. With it, come two opportunities which may be helpful to you.

Eight Early-Career Scientists Awarded 51 Pegasi b Fellowship

Eight early-career scientists from around the globe have been selected to receive the 2020 51 Pegasi b Fellowship for their competitive research focused on planetary astronomy.