Aegon Transamerica Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Aegon Transamerica Foundation supports the geographic areas in the U.S. where it maintains a corporate presence. Its funding initiatives include arts and culture, civic and community development, education and financial literacy, health and wellness, as well as human services.
IP TAKE: While Aegon’s grants tend to be modest in size, the foundation supports a broad variety of national and locally-operated organizations. This fund runs an open application system with materials available on its website.
This is a good funder to know, but it will fund your work only if it serves one of the areas where its corporate sister has an office. In addition to its online application process, which makes this corporate funder more transparent and accessible than others, you can also network with one of its employees for grants.
PROFILE: Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Aegon Transamerica Foundation was founded in 1994. It is the philanthropic arm of Aegon Transamerica, often simply referred to as Transamerica, which works mainly in consumer insurance and investment products. The foundation aims to improve the general wellness of communities in and around the nine U.S. cities in which it maintains a corporate presence. Its stated funding initiatives address arts and culture, civic and community development, education and financial literacy, inclusion and diversity and health and human services. The foundation’s largest areas of giving center on education, health and human services.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Aegon’s arts and culture program invests in grants for music and grants for performing arts, arts programs for youth and underprivileged populations and “venues that promote artistic expression.” In a recent year, the foundation awarded over $600,000 in arts and culture grants. Past grantees include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Los Angeles’s David Geffen Theater; the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards and Center Stage, which used funding to run arts curricula workshops for K-12 teachers in Florida.
Grants for Civic Engagement and Community Development
In the area of civic and community development, Aegon aims to promote civic engagement, leadership and quality of life in its communities. Its funding in these areas supports public universities and libraries for their instrumental role in promoting civic engagement and leadership. Other past grantees include Pennsylvania’s Coatesville Youth Initiative, which engages youth with a range of community partners to improve quality of life for all residents, and the Illinois-based Izaak Walton League of America, which works to protect natural resources and promote outdoor recreation.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education, and Economic Development
Education is Aegon’s largest funding area; in a recent year its education giving was close to $2 million. The program works in both K-12 and higher education to create educational opportunities and promote financial literacy, which supports work development. Tax filings reveal that a large portion of Aegon’s education grants have been directed toward teacher education programs at colleges and universities, including the University of Northern Iowa, Mount Mercy University and Loyola University of Maryland. Nonprofits in the field of teacher development have also received support. These include New York City’s Reading Partners, Playworks Education and the Living Classrooms Foundation. Aegon supports a broad range of organizations offering out-of-school and after-school programs and enrichments including YMCA, scouting, Outward Bound and Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs. The foundation’s financial literacy work is carried out mainly through Junior Achievement USA’s Finance Park initiative.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
Aegon’s health and wellness program works in the areas of health education and awareness, nutrition, medical services and disease prevention. While some of Aegon’s health grantees are large, nationally recognized organizations—it has supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the American Heart Association and the National Kidney Foundation–the foundation also supports many locally-operated nonprofits. These include Baltimore’s Healthcare for the Homeless and Community Volunteers in Medicine, Inc. of West Chester, Pennsylvania. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Aegon has funded the Olivet Neighborhood Mission, which, among other services, provides free health screenings, flu shots, consultations and referrals.
Grants for Housing, Economic Development, and Refugees
Aegon makes grants for housing, grants for refugees, grants for domestic violence, and grants for food through its more general human service program, which broadly “provide(s) or promote(s) access to essential human needs and services.”
The foundation names housing, food, clothing and job skills training as priorities. Aegon has provided ongoing support for chapters of the United Way in its areas of geographic priority. Another grantee, Careers Support Solutions, helps disabled adults train for and secure meaningful employment in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties in New York. And in Cedar Rapids, Aegon has supported the Catherine McAuley Center, which provides transitional housing for individuals and families in crisis, including victims of domestic violence and refugees.
Grants for Racial Justice and Equity
Aegon’s newest funding initiative supports “programs that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our communities, with well-defined goals and measurable outcomes.” Target populations include “people who are differently abled, belong to communities of color, identify as LGBT+, have served our country in the military, are 60 years or older, or are female.”
Important Grant Details
The Aegon Transamerica Foundation made about $8.5 million in grants in a recent year. Aegon’s grants have been awarded in amounts up to $500,000, but most of its grants are much more modest in size, remaining under the $10,000 mark. Grantmaking prioritizes communities in and around Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Denver, Colorado; Plano, Texas; Atlanta, Georigia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Harrison, New York; St. Paul, Minnesota; and St. Petersburg, Florida.
This funder runs an ongoing, open application system, with materials provided on its website.
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