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- Assets: $2,787,566 (2005)
- Grants Awarded: $11,452,252 (2005)
The AT&T Foundation was established in 1983 to function as the AT&T Corporation's grant-making arm. Mirian Graddick-Weir, who is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources for AT&T Corporation, chairs the Foundation and is responsible for determining its philanthropic priorities in three principal areas: Education; Arts and Culture; and Civic and Community Service.
According to its mission statement, "The AT&T Foundation invests globally in projects that are at the intersection of community needs and AT&T's business interests. Emphasis is placed on programs that serve the needs of people in communities where AT&T has a significant business presence, initiatives that use technology in innovative ways, and programs in which AT&T employees are actively involved as contributors or volunteers."
AT&T grants are frequently earmarked to finance technology designed for use in education programs -- as the Foundation puts it, to promote "collaboration among educational institutions to share resources, increase efficiencies, and reduce costs."
The AT&T Foundation's self-descriptions and stated objectives emphasize the importance of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity as a consideration in its grant-making decisions. Reasoning from the premise that the United States is a nation rife with discrimination against nonwhite minorities, the Foundation directs fully 50 percent of its philanthropy to predominantly nonwhite organizations; Hispanic and African American beneficiaries garner the most support. The Foundation states that its commitment to promoting "educational opportunities for diverse populations is reflected in [its] support for the United Negro College Fund, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and the American Indian College Fund." "We have devoted special efforts," adds the Foundation, "to advance the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science and engineering."
In the field of arts and culture, the AT&T Foundation concentrates its philanthropy "on the work of living artists and on extending the availability of the arts to a wider audience." This is especially true for minority artists. "Diversity," the Foundation re-emphasizes, "is a core value at AT&T. For more than a decade we have actively supported the presentation of works by women and artists of diverse cultures so that these works may reach a wider audience."
In the realm of civic and community service, the AT&T Foundation supports the Children's Defense Fund and its Student Leadership Network for Children. Designed to help create the leftist activists of the future, this program features a national network of young adults (aged 18-30) who teach "a new generation of leaders eager to serve, empower, and advocate for positive social change through community service and child advocacy."
Among the AT&T Foundation's recent grantees are the following organizations: the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; the National Urban League; the National Council of La Raza; the Brookings Institution; the Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund; the Environmental Law Institute; the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium; the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund ; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Accion International; the Tides Foundation; the Tides Center; the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute; the Coalition of 100 Black Women; the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; the Martin Luther King Legacy Association; the World Resources Institute; the Progressive Policy Institute; Resources for the Future; the Center for Community Change; the Izaak Walton League of America; the Greenlining Institute; the Children's Defense Fund; the Gay Men's Health Crisis; the Feminist Press; Dialogue on Diversity; the Committee on the Shelterless; the Center for the Advancement of Women; Concerned African Women; the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence; the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services; the Aspen Institute; the National Women's Law Center; the Council on Foundations; Human Rights Campaign; the Women's Legal Defense Fund; the League of United Latin American Citizens; Hispanas Organized for Political Equality California; the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy; the National Puerto Rican Coalition; the National Hispana Leadership Institute; the National Minority Supplier Development Council; the National Congress of American Indians; the National Conference of Black Mayors; the Environmental Protection Information Center; the Black Women's Forum; National Public Radio; Public Broadcasting Service; the Earth Day Network; the Women's Research & Education Institute; the Black United Fund; the National Organization on Disabilities; the Natural Resources Defense Council; the Ms. Foundation for Women; Public Council; the National Legal Aid & Defender Association; 100 Hispanic Women; and 100 Black Men of America.
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