CENTER’S ASCENT CONTINUES WITH GRANT FROM THE DANFORTH FOUNDATION
In January 2011, the Danforth Foundation, an 84-year-old non-profit located in St. Louis, announced its final major grant— $70 million to the Danforth Center so that it can address new opportunities and challenges. The Center’s new President, Dr. James C. Carrington, will lead the exciting new era.
(Left to right) Dr. Jim Carrington with Senator John and Dr. William Danforth
“The Danforth Foundation was built on stock of the Ralston Purina Company, which defined its business as feeding people,” said John C. Danforth, the Foundation’s chairman and a former U.S. Senator from Missouri. “It could not be more fitting that our final grant is being offered to an institution whose mission is in part to improve nutrition and help feed the hungry.”
The Danforth Foundation, which has worked to better humankind since its founding in 1927, saw this final grant to the Danforth Center as a fitting and effective way to contribute to a bright future for St. Louis. “There is no doubt that transferring assets to the Danforth Center is the best way for the Danforth Foundation to help advance the region, and to contribute significantly toward the goals of feeding a hungry world, improving the environment and producing an alternative to fossil fuels,” said John Danforth.
The Danforth Foundation’s grant will be added to the Center’s endowment, the income from which will help fund the initial developments planned by new President Jim Carrington. Five new principal investigators (and their supporting teams) will join the Center; a bioinformatics and biocomputing core facility will be created; and programs to educate graduate students will be developed – thus helping to attract, train and retain the best and brightest in St. Louis.
“This grant will enable us to add critical expertise and new technologies to the Danforth Center, and then to train scientists how to solve some of the longstanding problems that limit agricultural productivity,” said Carrington. “The grant will also accelerate the translation of basic discoveries into practical applications, including commercial development, both of which the St. Louis region is particularly well- suited to accomplish.”
This grant does not complete the work of the Danforth Center, but it does raise its expectations. Just as the Danforth Foundation has shown their commitment to the goals of the Center, others in the community will have to join in to make the most of the new prospects.
“The opportunities before the Danforth Center and St. Louis are many, but so are the challenges,” said Dr. William H. Danforth, chairman of the Danforth Center and vice chair of the Danforth Foundation. “The Danforth Foundation has demonstrated its belief both in the Danforth Center’s mission and its ability to accelerate progress toward important goals. It has confidence that visionary people in the community will embrace this opportunity, just as in the past they have embraced promising visions such as the Lewis and Clark exploration and the Lindbergh flight. The Danforth Foundation challenges us to embrace a shared vision of how our region can grow in strength and serve the world.”
6 2010 Annual Report
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