• October 7, 2010

The Chase Community Giving Advisory Board today announced that 17 additional small and local charities will share a portion of more than $500,000 in grants, receiving $30,000 each.

The announcement is part of Chase Community Giving's $5 million donation in grants from Chase to small and local charities through the Chase Community Giving program on Facebook. More than 200 winners from 34 states and Washington, D.C. were selected in July.

The number of Chase Community Giving participants grew by more than 730,000 in the summer program, with more than 2.5 million Facebook fans.

The Chase Community Giving Advisory Board includes actress Eva Longoria; NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson; Ben Keesey, executive director and CEO of Invisible Children, Inc.; Elliot Schrage, vice president of global communications and public policy at Facebook; and JPMorgan Chase Foundation President Kimberly Davis.

The board met in September to determine additional recipients and selected charities serving a range of public needs, such as building wells in rural Africa, mentoring fatherless boys, providing health care to impoverished communities and many other causes. The board also focused on providing funding to several organizations that promote and facilitate volunteerism and public service, which they believe will make an even broader impact.

This summer's Chase Community Giving program provided an opportunity for small and local organizations to build awareness for their causes on the Facebook platform, which has more than 500 million users globally. It allows individuals to help direct where the Chase donations should go through the power of crowdsourcing. 

The 17 charities, which will receive $30,000 each, are:

• A Spring Of Hope Inc. of Coconut Creek, Fla. builds wells in rural African schools to improve community health conditions and promote education;

• Ashraya Initiative For Children of Ithaca, N.Y. provides education opportunities to impoverished children in Pune, India;

• Barrel Of Monkeys Production of Chicago, Ill. teaches creative writing workshops in Chicago Public Schools that are then turned into performances for students;

• Develop Africa Inc. of Johnson City, Tenn. facilitates sustainable development in Africa through education, resource development, investment training and strategic empowerment;

• Foundation For Amigos De Las Americas of Houston, Texas supports the youth leadership and sustainable development work of Amigos de las Americas (AMIGOS) in Latin American communities;

• Friendship Circle Sb Inc. of Redondo Beach, Calif. addresses the challenges for families of children with special needs by pairing up teenagers with the children for a full range of programs;

• Gracehaven Home Inc. of Dublin, Ohio provides shelter and rehabilitation nationally to victims of commercial sexual exploitation and raises awareness among young women about the issue of domestic sex trafficking;

• Mommies Network of Monroe, N.C. organizes support groups for mothers nationally;

• Lespwa Worldwide Inc of Ponte Vedra, Fla. builds and operates orphanages in Haiti;

• Little Helping Hands of Austin, Texas fosters community service in early childhood through volunteer programs to build stronger communities for future generations;

• Mentoring Project of Portland, Ore. inspires and equips faith communities nationally to mentor fatherless boys in America;

• Move For Hunger Inc of Neptune, N.J. asks those who are selling their homes and relocating to donate unopened food and then distribute to national food banks;

• Taking Back Lives Inc. of Bradenton, Fla. empowers youth to positively impact the world through educational opportunities in Malawi, Africa;

• Talk About Curing Autism of Costa Mesa, Calif. provides information, resources, and support nationally to families affected by autism and connects families and the professionals who can help them;

• The Water Project, Inc. of Charlotte, N.C. provides access to clean drinking water in under-developed communities in Africa and India;

• Women's World Health Initiative of Salt Lake City, Utah provides women in Senegal, Africa and other vulnerable populations access to basic healthcare and means to contribute to their own well being; and

• Worlds Apart One Heart Inc. of Greensboro, N.C. provides access to healthcare and education to impoverished people in Manila, Philippines.
  
  --Tanya Irwin