“If you’re an education funder, the earlier [you step in] the better,” writes Liz Simons, Heising-Simons Foundation’s Chair of the Board, in this opinion piece for the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS). “The ‘good’ news is that early childhood philanthropy is so underfunded that opportunities abound.”
Grantee partner Science News was founded as an independent nonprofit in 1921 by newspaper magnate E.W. Scripps and zoologist W.E. Ritter, who wanted to improve the quality and accuracy of science journalism. It covers news on science, medicine and technology, and you may find the latest stories here.
Evidence suggests that kindergarten-level math skills are the strongest correlate of later grade academic achievement––regardless of race, gender, or family socioeconomic status. Research also indicates that racial and socioeconomic factors relate to students’ math achievement scores, and that some of these demographically-linked differences appear even before children enter kindergarten. The long-term goal of the Family… Continue Reading
In our universe, fundamental processes involving electromagnetism, gravity, and nuclear force do not distinguish between left and right. It’s led to something called The Ozma Problem, a problem of how to convey left from right if we were ever to communicate with life on another planet.
Myra Levy is the senior accountant at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2020, Myra worked for more than 30 years in accounting for nonprofit organizations in San Francisco, including the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Friends of the River, the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, and United Religions Initiative. She… Continue Reading
The Heising-Simons Foundation is proud to regularly see its grantee partners featured in media outlets across the country, providing an expert voice on a timely issue or being highlighted for their accomplishments and hard work. Here are some news items that have featured our grantees in January 2020.
With support from the Heising-Simons Foundation, FrameWorks Institute has developed a new report, “Reframing Early Math Learning,” offers effective strategies for shifting public understanding about early math.
Two years ago, we announced the creation of The American Mosaic Journalism Prize. This unrestricted cash prize of $100,000 per recipient is awarded to freelance journalists for excellence in long-form, narrative, or deep reporting about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the American landscape. We created the prize as part of our work that supports journalism as an essential arm of U.S. democracy—recognizing journalism’s critical ability to expose audiences to new perspectives and foster greater understanding. Today, we are pleased to announce the newest recipients of this prize: Rebecca Nagle and Darcy Courteau.
Heising-Simons Foundation co-founder and board member Mark Heising was recently named Chairman-elect of the Board of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Mr. Heising, an EDF Board member since 2011, will become the Board Chair in January 2021.