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Cisco Systems Foundation Awards New Round of Grants to Nonprofits
[August 10, 2005]

Cisco Systems Foundation Awards New Round of Grants to Nonprofits


By DAVID R. BUTCHER, Assistant Editor, Customer Interaction Solutions

The Cisco Systems Foundation today announced a new round of San Jose Impact Grants that will support 66 nonprofits within a 50-mile radius of Cisco's headquarters. A total of $765,000 will be awarded to nonprofit organizations that provide services such as teacher training, technology and art education for youth and adults; health services for low income families; and food and shelter for the area's homeless.



The Cisco Systems Foundation was established in 1997 by a gift from Cisco Systems, Inc. The foundation provides grants to select organizations with long-lasting, local or global impact.

Including this latest round of grants, Cisco has awarded more than $1.5 million to area nonprofits during the past fiscal year. Since the inception of the grant awards in 1993, the program has awarded more than 1,040 community grants amounting to approximately $14.5 million to Bay Area nonprofit organizations.


One of this year's grant recipients is the Bay Area office of Teach for America, a national nonprofit organization that recruits perspective teachers from top colleges, trains them and places them in the nation's highest-need public schools in urban and rural areas. Currently, there are 145 Teach for America teachers working in 59 public schools in Bay Area communities, which include Oakland, San Jose, East Palo Alto, San Francisco and Contra Costa County.

Cisco awarded grants to two other nonprofits that provide training for area teachers. The Bay Area School Reform Collaborative hosts professional development workshops for principals and teachers to expand and enhance their skills for leading and sustaining improvement in student achievement.

Community Resources for Science (CRS) recruits and trains professional scientists to serve as volunteer classroom assistants in Alameda County elementary schools. These volunteers help to improve science curriculum, demonstrate real-world science applications and serve as role models for students who otherwise may not be interested in science.

More information on the Cisco Systems Foundation is available at www.cisco.com/go/foundation.

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David R. Butcher is Assistant Editor of Customer Interaction Solutions. To see more articles by David Butcher, please visit:

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