SAN JOSE, Calif., June 14, 2006 - The Cisco Systems® Foundation today announced the winners of its San Jose Impact Grants, a program that awards funding to nonprofit organizations within 50 miles of the Cisco® headquarters in San Jose. Since 1993, Cisco Systems Foundation has provided $14.8 million in philanthropic grants to more than 1,200 nonprofits serving area communities.
This year, 89 organizations each received a $15,000 grant to support programs providing educational access and health services. All totaled, Cisco Systems' Foundation awarded $1,335,000 in local grants this calendar year through the San Jose Impact Grants Program.
"The Cisco Systems Foundation is focused on making a measurable impact by funding organizations that strengthen the local communities in which we operate and where our employees live" said Michael Yutrzenka, executive director of the Cisco Systems Foundation. "We are proud to support these local nonprofits that share similar values and are dedicated to building stronger and more sustainable communities in the Bay Area."
Improving educational opportunities is a core focus of Cisco's philanthropic giving. Of this year's 89 grant recipients, 67 are nonprofits that offer a range of educational services, such as providing teacher training, fostering classroom innovation, promoting the arts and supporting adult job re-entry training programs.
The Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in San Pablo is one example of an innovative organization supported through the grants program. This organization, which is a first-time recipient of a Cisco Systems Foundation grant, trains thousands of youth in traditional arts and promotes cross-cultural understanding. Cisco's funding will support the arts component of the Center's "Cultures of Mexico in California" program, which explores the influence of Mexican music in the United States.
Cisco is also committed to supporting organizations that produce impressive results year after year. One such organization is the San Francisco-based Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators (RISE), which received its third Cisco grant this year. RISE identifies teachers in low-income schools whose students are demonstrating significant academic gains. The program works to keep these successful teachers in the classroom by providing access to valuable support resources including financial recognition and a professional network.
"Effective teachers are instrumental in providing quality education to the area's children," said Temp Keller, RISE's founder and president. "Cisco's generous contribution will allow us to continue our work with Bay Area schools to recognize and retain those special teachers who are vital to the future of the community."
The following nonprofits also received funding:
| Organization | Location |
| A Schmahl Science Workshop | San Jose |
| AXIS Dance Company | Oakland |
| Achievekids | Palo Alto |
| After-School All-Stars of Greater San Jose | San Jose |
| Aim High | San Francisco |
| Alum Rock Counseling Center, Inc. | San Jose |
| Ambulatory Surgery Access Coalition | San Francisco |
| Bay Area Legal Aid | Oakland |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County | Santa Cruz |
| Bill Wilson Center | Santa Clara |
| Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center | San Jose |
| California Tomorrow | Oakland |
| Caminos/Pathways Learning Center | San Francisco |
| Chabot Space & Science Center Foundation | Oakland |
| Challenge Learning Center | Mountain View |
| Child Advocates of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties | Milpitas |
| City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley | San Jose |
| Community Association for Rehabilitation | Palo Alto |
| Community Breast Health Project | Palo Alto |
| Community Bridges | Aptos |
| Community Gatepath | Burlingame |
| Community Health Awareness Council | Mountain View |
| Community Housing Partnership | San Francisco |
| Community Partners for Youth, Inc. | San Jose |
| Community Services Agency | Mountain View |
| Community Solutions for Children, Families & Individuals | Morgan Hill |
| Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley | San Jose |
| Eastfield Ming Quong, Inc. | Campbell |
| El Camino Hospital Foundation | Mountain View |
| Episcopal Community Services | San Francisco |
| Exploratorium | San Francisco |
| Film Arts Foundation | San Francisco |
| Girl Scouts of San Francisco Bay Area | Oakland |
| Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County | San Jose |
| Hospice of the Valley | San Jose |
| Industry Initiatives for Science & Math Education | Santa Clara |
| InnVision the Way Home | San Jose |
| Institute on Aging | San Francisco |
| Jamestown Community Center | San Francisco |
| KQED, Inc. | San Francisco |
| Larkin Street Youth Services | San Francisco |
| Learning & Loving Education Center | Morgan Hill |
| Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center | San Pablo |
| Low-Income Families' Empowerment through Education | Oakland |
| MK Level Playing Field Institute | San Francisco |
| Maranatha Outreach Center | San Jose |
| Marine Science Institute | Redwood City |
| Montalvo Arts Center | Saratoga |
| Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence | San Jose |
| O'Neill Sea Odyssey | Santa Cruz |
| Omega Boys Club | San Francisco |
| Opera San Jose | San Jose |
| Pacific Autism Center for Education | Sunnyvale |
| Palo Alto Art Center Foundation | Palo Alto |
| Parents Helping Parents | Santa Clara |
| Partners in School Innovation | San Francisco |
| Project High Expectations Learning Program | Sunnyvale |
| Raphael House of San Francisco, Inc. | San Francisco |
| Recording For the Blind & Dyslexic | Palo Alto |
| Refugee Transitions | Oakland |
| Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center | San Francisco |
| Resource Area For Teachers | San Jose |
| Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators | San Francisco |
| San Francisco Jazz Organization | San Francisco |
| San Jose ACORN | San Jose |
| San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild | San Jose |
| San Jose Museum of Art Association | San Jose |
| Santa Clara Family Health Foundation | Campbell |
| Santa Cruz Women's Health Center | Santa Cruz |
| School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County | San Jose |
| Sensory Access Foundation | Sunnyvale |
| Street Tech | San Pablo |
| Sunset District Community Development | San Francisco |
| Teach For America - Bay Area | Emeryville |
| Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center | San Francisco |
| The Imagine Bus Project | San Francisco |
| The Morgan Center | San Jose |
| The Peninsula Bridge Program | Menlo Park |
| The Role Model Program | San Jose |
| TheatreWorks | Palo Alto |
| TransAccess | San Jose |
| Triton Museum of Art | Santa Clara |
| WERC (Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center) | Morgan Hills |
| Women's Initiative for Self Employment | San Francisco |
| YES Reading | Menlo Park |
| YMCA of San Francisco | San Francisco |
| YMCA of Silicon Valley | San Jose |
| Youth and Family Enrichment Services | San Carlos |
| Z Space Studio | San Francisco |
