News & Press

Kresge Foundation Grants $750,000 to Chartwell School

The Board of Trustees of Chartwell School is pleased to announce a challenge grant of $750,000 from The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Michigan.  The grant challenges the school’s board, staff, and volunteers to raise the remaining funds needed to build Phase I of the new Chartwell campus, now under construction at the former Ft. Ord.  An earlier Kresge Green Design grant helped Chartwell with technical aspects of design that will make this campus especially beneficial for students and the environment.  The school is designed to meet the highest standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED Platinum.  If it achieves LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the Kresge Foundation Trustees will consider approving an additional $250,000 as a bonus grant. 

Chartwell Executive Director Douglas Atkins said, “We are grateful for the Kresge Foundation’s strong belief in the new campus and in the importance of using good design as we build for the future.  We are especially honored to have such an important and respected funder provide this level of recognition for our project and the educational work we do.” 

“The conditions of this very generous grant require that we raise an additional $1.7 million for Phase I of our new campus.  Thanks to recent donations, the remaining challenge amount now stands at about $1.1 million,” said Thomas S. deRegt, President of Chartwell’s Board of Trustees.  As an independent, nonprofit school, Chartwell must raise funds from individuals, corporations, and other private, nongovernmental sources.  “We thank the many people in our community whose generosity has inspired The Kresge Foundation to offer this challenge, and we invite others to join this exciting endeavor, ” added deRegt. 

The Kresge Foundation, an independent, private foundation, was created in 1924 by Sebastian S. Kresge "to promote the well-being of mankind." Through its grantmaking programs, it seeks to strengthen the capacity of charitable organizations to provide effective programs of quality.   At the time of its December 2005 grant announcements, The Kresge Foundation had awarded a total of 217 grants in 2005 for a total of $131,770,027.  John E. Marshall, III, President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, indicated  “In this cycle of grantmaking, our Trustees were pleased to support a range of organizations reflecting almost the entire breadth of the nonprofit sector.  This diverse group is responding to the new challenges presented by their communities or sustaining activities that have demonstrated their effectiveness.” 

Grant recipients in 2005 were located in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa and Mexico.  Grants are made to institutions operating in the areas of higher education, health and long-term care, arts and humanities, human services, science and the environment, and public affairs.  Grants are made toward projects involving construction or renovation of facilities and the purchase of major capital equipment or real estate.  Grant recipients have raised initial funds toward their respective projects before requesting Foundation assistance.  Grants are then made on a challenge basis, requiring the raising of the remaining funds, thereby insuring completion of projects. 

Since 1983, Chartwell School has educated students with dyslexia and related  language disabilities in a way that provides them with the learning skills and self-esteem necessary to return successfully to mainstream education.  Chartwell is the only school of its kind in the region, serving students from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.  Instruction at Chartwell emphasizes best practices in student-centered diagnostic teaching, building on student strengths while acquiring the skills to address gaps.   Chartwell currently enrolls 103 students, ages 6-14.  As an independent school, Chartwell does not receive government support.  More than 100 volunteers help support the school’s mission and raise needed funds.    The School will award more than $300,000 in financial aid this year.   Chartwell also conducts community outreach programs to share its knowledge and experience, so that other schools and youth organizations can better meet the needs of people who can learn well, but who learn differently. 

The new campus is located on 29 acres of land overlooking Monterey Bay at the former Ft. Ord.  EHDD Architecture of San Francisco, Ausonio, Inc. of Castroville, and Community Bank of Central California are key partners in the project. Chartwell broke ground in September 2005 and looks forward to welcoming students to its new facilities in time for the 2006-07 academic year. The School is on track to be the first in the nation designed and built from the ground up to meet the highest standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  It also meets standards for the Collaborative for High Performance Schools.