Current Grants & Contributions
Earth Protection
- Alaska Conservation Alliance - Anchorage, AK
- General support for the new organization being formed by Alaska Conservation Alliance (ACA), Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE), and Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA).
- Alaska Conservation Alliance protects Alaska's air, land and water by coordinating the conservation community and empowering Alaskans to participate effectively in the civic arena. Alaska Center for the Environment supports Alaskans' quality of life by protecting wild places, fostering sustainable communities, and promoting recreational opportunities. Alaska Youth for Environmental Action provides training for diverse youth leaders to impact environmental issues through community action projects and campaigns; skills training in leadership, environmental education, civic engagement, and community organizing; and green jobs that sustain our communities and future.
- Audubon Alaska - Anchorage, AK
- Fellowships
- Audubon Alaska conserves Alaska's natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations.
- Center for Science in Public Participation - Bozeman, MT
- Alaska Technical and Regulatory Support Program
- The Center for Science in Public Participation provides objective research, education, and technical advice to grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, regulatory agencies, businesses, and indigenous communities on natural resources, especially those related to mining.
- Cook Inletkeeper - Homer, AK
- Promoting Positive Alternatives to Coal in a Changing Climate
- Cook Inletkeeper uses advocacy, monitoring and education to protect Alaska's Cook Inlet watershed and to guarantee clean water for abundant fish and wildlife, healthy communities and strong economies for current and future generations.
- Environmental Law and Policy Center - Chicago, IL
- Iowa Office Energy Initiatives
- ELPC is the Midwest's leading public interest environmental legal advocacy organization working to achieve sustainable energy strategies, promote sound transportation programs that produce cleaner air and more jobs, and protect natural resources to improve the quality of life in our communities.
- Iowa Environmental Council - Des Moines, IA
- Energy Program and Global Warming Solutions
- Iowa Environmental Council actively works in public policy to provide a safe, healthy environment for all Iowans.
- Iowa Renewable Energy Association - Iowa City, IA
- Solar Traveler supplies and educational program
- I-Renew is a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to promoting more implementation of renewable energy and energy conservation by educating Iowans to achieve long-term social, environmental, and economic sustainability.
- Nature Conservancy Alaska Chapter - Anchorage, AK
- Salmon and Coastal Forests, Southeast Alaska Program
- The Nature Conservancy preserves plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
- Renewable Energy Alaska Project - Anchorage, AK
- General Support
- Renewable Energy Alaska Project facilitates the increased development of renewable energy in Alaska through Collaboration, education, training, and advocacy.
Promotion of Philanthropy
- Association of Small Foundations - Washington, DC
- 2012 National Conference concurrent session: Capacity Building~Stronger Nonprofits~Improved Outcomes
- Association of Small Foundations is a membership organization of nearly 3,000 foundations with few or no staff. ASF enhances the power of small foundation giving by providing donors, trustees, and staff of member foundations with peer learning opportunities, targeted tools and resources, and a collective voice in and beyond the philanthropic community.
- The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Women's Philanthropy Institute - Indianapolis, IN
- Creation of educational products, print and visual media, for WPI outreach
- Women's Philanthropy Institute furthers the understanding of women's philanthropy through research, education, and knowledge dissemination.
Health and Human Community
- Family & Children's Council of Black Hawk County - Waterloo, IA
- Parent to Parent Program
- Family & Children's Council of Black Hawk County works to prevent child abuse and to strengthen families.
- Operation Rainbow, Inc - Oakland, CA
- Volunteer Travel to mission destinations
- Operation Rainbow performs free orthopedic surgeries to correct congenital anomalies and untreated injury in children and young adults in medically underserved countries around the globe.
- The Resource Exchange - Colorado Springs, CO
- Filling the Gap Program for people with developmental disabilities
- The Resource Exchange builds independence for people with developmental disabilities.
- Waterloo Development Corporation - Waterloo, IA
- Cedar Valley SportsPlex
- Waterloo Development Corporation promotes civic, industrial, mercantile, traffic and transportation, agricultural and other interests of Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and Northeast Iowa areas. The entity works closely with the communities to enhance social, recreational, and educational opportunities in the area.
Volunteer Engagement
- Fostering Hope Foundation - Colorado Springs, CO
- Volunteer Engagement efforts
- Fostering Hope Foundation supports foster parents by recruiting, training, and supporting teams of volunteers from faith communities to assist foster parents in caring for foster children. The teams function as an 'extended family' to the foster family.
- Pikes Peak United Way - Colorado Springs, CO
- Sponsor a symposium to review Executive Director focus groups; to teach Executive Directors that volunteers sustain the mission of non profit organizations as well as training in how to lead that effort.
- Pikes Peak United Way mobilizes and grows the caring power of the community to create the best quality of life for all of the citizens.
Volunteer Impact Grants, Colorado Springs, Colorado
One of the major funding areas for The Leighty Foundation is building the capacity of our communities and local nonprofit organizations to effectively engage an increased number of volunteers. This year, $40,000 was granted in the form of Volunteer Impact Grants for the purpose of capacity building and/or innovation in volunteer engagement. This program was initiated by Jane Leighty Justis in Colorado Springs, CO.
- Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado - Colorado Springs, CO
- Create and support a cross functional volunteerism task force including board, staff, and volunteers; Update recruiting and training materials for staff and volunteers; Develop volunteer recognition process; Host volunteer engagement training sessions with regional member agencies.
- Care and Share distributes food throughout southern Colorado.
- CASA of the Pikes Peak Region, Inc - Colorado Springs, CO
- Support creation of a new program to recruit and train Generation Y adults to mentor older youth in foster care to prepare them to emancipate successfully out of the foster care system.
- CASA of the Pikes Peak Region provides a volunteer's voice in court for children who are victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic conflict and promotes community awareness of these issues to ensure safe and permanent homes.
- Cheyenne Village - Colorado Springs, CO
- Create and implement action plan to increase utilization of retired health care professionals as volunteers to conduct home care visits and provide support services for caregivers; Focus will also be on recruitment of pro bono volunteers with expertise in areas such as technology, human resources, infrastructure design and succession planning and community awareness.
- Cheyenne Village provides a comprehensive array of services for people with developmental disabilities.
- Energy Resource Center - Colorado Springs, CO
- Expand volunteer opportunities to include painting crews, electricians and information systems professionals; Train volunteers to take leadership positions on projects thus freeing staff to work more closely with clients, and act as advocates for community sustainability.
- Energy Resource Center helps income-qualified residents stay efficiently warm and safe. ERC checks homes to see how well it is insulated and how well the furnace, water heater and refrigerator perform. Weatherizing the home is the best way to lower energy costs.
- Leadership Pikes Peak - Colorado Springs, CO
- Support Board Connections Initiative which focuses on the development and facilitation of connections between young professionals and nonprofit organizations, to enable them to serve in significant volunteer positions including nonprofit boards.
- Leadership Pikes Peak is a gateway to community engagement. Leadership Pikes Peak fosters the vision and courage of citizens to lead, helps individuals make the world a better place in their own unique ways, and develops community trustees and facilitates their enduring contributions.
- Partners in Housing - Colorado Springs, CO
- Shift organizational culture to one that whole-heartedly integrates, embraces and empowers volunteers to make a critical difference in the mission; Actions will include cultivation events for those new to PIH, revised orientation for volunteers, expansion of volunteer opportunities, and strategy to increase community awareness, and training of staff to increase competency in working with volunteers.
- Partners in Housing gives homeless families with children the hope and opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency through supportive services and transitional housing.
- Pikes Peak United Way and Volunteer Center - Colorado Springs, CO
- Assess, strengthen and reshape internal infrastructure to support volunteer involvement in order to increase capacity and serve as a model and educational resource for all area nonprofits and community corporate partners.
- Pikes Peak United Way mobilizes and grows the caring power of the community to create the best quality of life for all of the citizens.
- TESSA - Colorado Springs, CO
- Support for a new Neighborhood Advocates program to increase accessibility to TESSA's services for domestic violence and sexual assault victims by strategically placing volunteer Confidential Victim Advocates at sites already utilized by other community agencies; This new group of volunteers will allow TESSA to offer confidential advocacy, systems education, court support, and community resource referrals to victims who are often the most vulnerable and in the greatest need of support.
- TESSA provides immediate safety for women and children in crisis; empowers survivors through programs and support such as advocacy and counseling; creates a safer future for all families through education and awareness outreach in schools, businesses and civic organizations.
- Tri-Lakes Cares - Colorado Springs, CO
- Support to upgrade technology to allow for formalized structure and universal documentation regarding volunteers and their services; Develop training to equip volunteers to lead specialized projects; Develop criteria for future measurement of impact of volunteer efforts.
- Tri-Lakes Cares improves people's lives by providing emergency assistance, self-sufficiency programs, and other social services.
- Urban Peak Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs, CO
- Support to act on a revitalized vision for volunteerism which includes staff training and performance evaluation, placing the Volunteer Services Coordinator on the executive management team, reviewing and expanding volunteer opportunities, updating technology regarding volunteer service.
- Urban Peak helps young people overcome homelessness and other real life challenges by providing safety, respect, essential services and a supportive community, empowering them to become self-reliant adults.
- Women's Resource Agency - Colorado Springs, CO
- Based on planning done by the team at the Leighty Foundation Symposium and an evaluation of organizational volunteer empowerment conducted by a volunteer doctoral student funding will support two identified goals: creation of leadership teams of volunteers to manage individual programs, and improvement of retention of volunteer career coaches and workshop presenters.
- Women's Resource Agency empowers girls and women to attain & maintain personal self-sufficiency & economic independence.
Direct Charitable Activities
Jane Leighty Justis, Executive Director, works with foundations and nonprofit executives to promote effective Philanthropy and Volunteer Engagement.
Bill Leighty, Director, initiates and assists with research in energy policy.
Both serve relevant organizations and present their work at conferences.
The historic Leighty family home in Macomb, IL, is owned by the Leighty Foundation. It is managed by the Western Illinois Regional Council-Community Action Agency for temporary housing for community members in need.
Contributions
Earth Protection
- 1000 Friends of Iowa
- Alaska Community Action on Toxics
- Alaska Conservation Foundation
- Alaska Marine Conservation Council
- Catamount Institute
- Climate Solutions
- Community Alliance with Family Farmers
- Earthworks
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Ground Truth Trekking
- Iowa Policy Project, Energy Saving Competition
- Jane Goodall Institute
- Juneau Watershed Partnership
- Land Institute, The
- Native American Rights Fund, Chuitna Coal Project
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Plains Justice
- PlugIn America
- Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance, Stream Monitoring
- Rocky Mountain Field Institute
- Sitka Conservation Society
- Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
- Southeast Alaska Land Trust
- Tides Center, Rivers Without Borders, Taku Watershed Campaign
- Trout Unlimited, Southeast Alaska Program
- Trustees for Alaska
- Union of Concerned Scientists, Energy Program
- Wilderness Society, AK Regional Office
- William J. Clinton Foundation, ASME Conference
- Windustry
- World Wildlife Fund
Education
- Coast Alaska, News Program
- Colorado College 1874 Society
- Discovery Southeast
- Earth Island Institute, Ultimate Civics, Rethinking Democracy
- Evergreen City Ballet, Dance Alive School Program
- Gastineau Channel Historical Society, Last Chance Basin Mining Museum
- Griffith Centers for Children, Early Childhood Education Day Treatment Program
- Grout Museum, Bluedorn Science Imaginarium
- Iowa Renewable Energy Association, Wind/Solar Challenge at Energy Expo
- Island Institute (The), Resilient Communities Roundtable
- Joyful Mission Preschool
- National Outdoor Leadership School, scholarships
- National Wildlife Federation, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action
- Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program, Book Distribution
- University of Northern Iowa Foundation, Center for Energy & Environmental Education
Health
- Choices
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Doctors Without Borders USA
- Gastineau Humane Society, Spay & Neuter Fund
- Hospice of Saint John
- Livestrong
- Mat-Su Borough Animal Care
- Shjon Podein Children's Foundation
- Yolo County SPCA, Feral Cat Program
Human Community
- Alaska Design Forum
- Alaska Public Telecommunications, KSKA Radio
- Amnesty International
- Asla Foundation
- Cascade Volunteer Fire Department
- Covenant House Alaska
- Ecumenical Social Ministries
- EngenderHealth
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Colorado
- Interfaith Hospitality Network
- International Gallery of Contemporary Art
- National Milldog Rescue
- National Public Radio, News Programming
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, Southeast Alaska Program
- Save the Children, Children's Emergency Fund
- Gazette-El Pomar Foundation Empty Stocking Fund, The
- Wounded Warrior Project
Peacemaking
- Handicap International, Landmine Action
- International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
- Project on Government Oversight, CDI Straus Military Reform Project
- World Security Institute, Global Zero
Promotion of Philanthropy
- Boys and Girls Club of Chafee County, Heart of Rural Colorado Philanthropy Days
- Pikes Peak United Way
Spirituality
- Alaska Federation for Community Self Reliance, Stewards of Creation, One People One Earth
- Fuller Theological Seminary
- Greenhouse Ministry
- Potter's Inn
Volunteer Engagement
- Metro Volunteers, Colorado State Volunteer Center Network
- Pikes Peak Community Foundation Edmondson Fund
- Pikes Peak United Way
- Points of Light Institute, Scholarships for Volunteer Engagement Summit
Women's Interests
- Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival
- Women's Foundation of Colorado, 2011 Colorado Springs Event