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News From The McConnell Foundation |
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| Helping Build Better Communities
Through Philanthropy | Summer 2010 |
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Greetings!
The McConnell Foundation is pleased to send out this first electronic newsletter. Because of our commitment to sustainability, we're publishing fewer print publications. In the electronic age, the greatest number of people can be reached quickly and efficiently using e-mail.
We hope you'll find the information here informative, current and compelling. We're interested in your feedback.
With Warm Summer Wishes,
The McConnell Foundation
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Redding School of the Arts: A Design That Teaches Others
Entrance to RSA | Redding School of the Arts, a K-8 public charter school with 480 students, will inhabit a new state-of-the-art, eco-friendly school by August, 2011. RSA, which places an emphasis on visual and performing arts, will also integrate sustainability concepts offered by the new building into the curriculum.
The McConnell Foundation is building the new facility off of Shasta View Drive on Inspiration Place. It will be a program-related investment, with The Foundation leasing it back to RSA. The Foundation's board and staff spent more than a year researching opportunities for sustainable developments, seeking to build a demonstration project on Foundation-owned property. RSA's need for a new campus and the Foundation's interest in a sustainably built project came together at just the right time.
Groundbreaking took place in August, 2008 and construction is well underway, with a permit of occupancy expected to be issued in May, 2011. This permit will allow staff and faculty to settle into the new space during the summer before school starts. During the few months before students arrive, LEED certification commissioning and documentation will take place. The Foundation is still hoping to reach the highest level of LEED certification, Platinum.
The building and campus will offer rich material for learning. The goal is to create an environment that addresses the needs of the whole child. Careful consideration has been given at the site to increase the availability of natural light, optimize acoustics, address individual learning styles, and encourage physical fitness. School gardens will provide hands-on lessons in gardening, fostering not only a deeper appreciation of the natural world, but making a visible and very real connection between the garden and the kitchen.
The campus, with its water efficiency features, storm water retention capabilities, solar features, and landscaping, will help foster learning and raise awareness of environmental issues.
And: just for fun, the students are getting a corkscrew slide that offers an exhilarating way to get from the top floor to the main floor.
To learn more about Redding School of the Arts, click here.
For more on the design, click here.
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New Yosemite Campus | Nature's Classroom Expands with Help from The McConnell Foundation
Many readers may know that The Foundation has sent area high-schoolers to a week-long outdoor education program in Yosemite National Park each spring for more than 20 years. What you may not know is that The Foundation has recently demonstrated its commitment to outdoor environmental education in Yosemite in a brand new way.
Getting kids away from their cell phones and computers and out into meadows with views of roaring waterfalls has proven to be a transformative and valuable experience. To enhance that experience for generations to come, in 2008 our board decided to make a lead gift of $5 million to help build a sustainable, LEED-certified Environmental Education Center at Henness Ridge in Yosemite National Park. After the long process of fundraising, environmental impact studies, seeking approval from the National Park Service Development Advisory Board, and a Record of Decision from the federal government, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in May of this year.
The new campus replaces aging 1930s buildings and will include classrooms, cabins, a dining hall, a large outdoor amphitheatre, and its own wastewater system and fire station. The campus will integrate indoor and outdoor spaces to immerse students in the environment with minimal ecological impact. It's being built as a scientific learning laboratory for the whole park, providing youth and other visitors with life-changing experiences found nowhere else. Siegel & Strain, a Bay Area architecture firm with extensive experience in integrating sustainable practices into the design process, has been engaged.
NatureBridge, the umbrella organization over the Yosemite Institute and recipient of the grant, intends to preserve, protect, and rehabilitate the site's natural character. With this project, NatureBridge aims to ensure that every aspect of the campus demonstrates sustainability, while teaching students and visitors how to live each day as stewards of valuable and limited resources.
This grant is in keeping with The Foundation's increasing emphasis on innovative education and sustainability. By investing in this campus, we're helping build a future that creates and nurtures environmentally conscious community leaders.
Click here to learn more about the Yosemite Institute.
Click here to learn more about LEED certification standards.
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Dave Tanner | Scholarship Program Adapts to Meet Needs
Scholarship Program Officer Dave Tanner is thrilled as he talks about the latest change to the scholarship programs. "This is really exciting. It's a very big deal."
His enthusiasm stems from The Foundation's board approving his recommendation to allow Vista scholarship recipients (those who attend Shasta College or College of the Siskiyous) who complete 2-year AA transfer degrees, to receive additional funding and be reclassified as McConnell Scholars.
In order to be eligible to convert to the Scholars scholarship, the Vista students must have shown success by completing their original AA degree, and have been admitted to an eligible four-year college or university. With this eligibility comes the increase in funding necessary to complete their four-year degree, plus invaluable support and mentoring.
This expansion of funding came about because of a clearly identified need to further support Vista students. Vista scholarships are awarded to students who are considered "at risk" of not attending college - those who have faced significant challenges in their lives and might not otherwise have the opportunity for higher education.
The first entering class of Vista students in 2007 had a very low completion and persistence rate: about 20%. After attending conferences and exploring other scholarship providers' best practices, it became clearer to Dave that an increase in the flat rate of $2,200 annually for Vista students to a variable rate (in line with the funding model of our Scholars scholarships) would improve the persistence rate and success of the students. Indeed, the subsequent classes of Vista students have been considerably more successful.
Six Vista students graduated in 2010; four will now convert to Scholars and continue their education beginning this fall. The other two will take a year off, then continue. Those who will be attending 4-year universities this fall will be going to CSU Chico, CSU Sacramento, Southern Oregon University, and the University of Oregon at Portland.
To learn more about The McConnell Foundation's scholarship programs, click here.
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The McConnell Foundation is Committed to Sustainability
With increasing awareness of the problems associated with climate change, The Foundation decided it was important and timely to address how we could develop a plan of action to make more sustainable choices. The objective was twofold: to make the changes internally, and to provide a model and inspiration for other organizations, including grantees.
First, what is sustainability? Simply put, it means making choices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
In 2008, Foundation board and staff took part in trainings designed to educate us about sustainability issues. We developed a plan that included forming a sustainability committee, made up of staff representing each department, to begin to address changes the organization could make.
Since then, we've implemented changes in nearly every area. The Facilities staff has altered lighting, heating, and air conditioning schedules to save energy. They researched and began using non-chemical cleaning products, and purchased a steam cleaner that eliminated the need for many of the formerly used chemical cleaners.
And while we already had recycling in place, we're now more aggressive about it. We've eliminated use of bottled water and of styrofoam for our outside groups, cutting down on needless waste.
Changes have also been made in our technology purchases and usage. Our Information Technology Administrator installed power-saving software on all PCs, allowing monitors to "go to sleep" after an hour of inactivity during business hours, and in 15 minutes after hours. This translated to $46 in power costs per PC annually as compared to $120 before the change.
Computers organization-wide have been replaced for 2010. Computers and monitors were extensively researched to ensure lowest possible power usage while still meeting needs for each user. Keyboards and mice, which had largely been cordless and using batteries, are now plugged back in for most employees, eliminating most battery waste. Even packaging was considered. Dell offered a green monitor with far lower power consumption and much better packaging.
Computers were selected for much lower wattage, and are smaller with less power. Awareness and careful research has led to smarter purchasing decisions and lower use of resources overall.
Look for more details on organizational greening in our next newsletter.
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| Fireworks Continue to Delight
 If you were in Redding over the 4th of July last weekend, you were probably among the thousands watching with awe as the annual Freedom Festival fireworks show lit up the night sky.
Here's what one viewer had to say: "Dear Board Members; I have lived in the Redding area for 5 years now. I work in the Bay Area as a firefighter and this was the first 4th of July I had off in a long time. This was also my first experience to take in the evening display of fireworks. I am at a loss for words to say how incredible it was. When it was all said and done, everybody around me was applauding the show. So, on behalf of all of us, thank you for sharing your fireworks." Many readers may already know that Leah McConnell was a big fan of fireworks. In memory of her, The Foundation continues to fund this showy and popular event to mark Independence Day each year.
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