Early Childhood Development

Dear Community Partner:

The Raymond John Wean Foundation has for some months now been undertaking a review of its grantmaking, policies and procedures in an effort to increase its impact in our community.  I write today to update you on some of our next steps as they relate to our work in early childhood.

You are well aware of the severe challenges the Valley continues to face, and how those challenges play out in the disturbing data and demographic trends throughout the community.  In exploring how our Foundation can leverage the highest degree of change around these trends, we will increasingly focus on large, ongoing investments in the form of Foundation-generated initiatives.

We have identified Early Childhood as our next major investment area.  Beginning in January, we will initiate a research and development planning phase, and anticipate being able to offer more information about this exciting new direction by Spring, 2012.

The Foundation will, of course, honor its existing grant commitments in our Early Childhood program area; and, we will work with organizations which have proposals in the review pipeline during this transition period.  We are also reconfiguring our internal structure to reflect the design and launch of this new initiative.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions about our next steps. We look forward to engaging you and the larger community in 2012 as we develop our new early childhood initiative. 

Sincerely,

Jeffrey M. Glebocki
President