The F. M. Kirby Foundation Board of Directors announced 255 grants totaling $15,431,175 were approved in 2023 to nonprofit organizations working to increase the strength and vitality of our communities. Of this total, over 130 grants included general operating support and over 140 grants were made to organizations that have been partners of the Foundation for over 25 years, representing…
The F. M. Kirby Foundation is pleased to welcome a new team member and to announce two staff promotions. Helen Benson has joined the organization as Director of Finance, effective November 13th. Helen joins the Foundation with both small business and corporate experience and 17 years of managing financial operations, strategic planning, and analysis. After beginning her career as an…
Dr. Qi Cui spent many nights in the earliest years of her life sleeping in a medical school office. Born and raised in China until the age of ten, Dr. Cui was the daughter of a physician educator at Peking Union Medical College in Beijing and spent weeknights sleeping at the College with her mother because it was too far…
As the child of two scientists in Palermo, Sicily, Dr. Alessandro Migliara’s favorite childhood toys were his parents’ microscopes and pipettes. Though his interest in science started at a young age, Dr. Migliara was inspired to pursue a career as a biomedical researcher after the cancer diagnosis of a close family friend. This vocation has taken him all over the…
For Dr. James Hudspeth, a life devoted to science was a vocational calling. When he was as young as five years old, Dr. Hudspeth began amassing an impressive collection of items from the natural world that surrounded him in Texas. This collection, carefully curated in tandem with his brother, included over 200 pets of all sorts: cats, dogs, turtles, snakes,…
The F. M. Kirby Foundation is pleased to announce that two new staff members have joined the organization. Wanda Miroslava Peguero has joined the F. M. Kirby Foundation as a Grants Administrator, effective August 7th. Wanda has extensive grants administration experience, having worked in the philanthropic sector for over 20 years. She has worked formerly for the Ms. Foundation for…
The Morris County Funders Group, a coalition of 10 funding organizations, has announced $325,000 in collaborative funding to provide Mental Health First Aid training to Morris County organizations. Mental Health Association in New Jersey will provide the facilitation of this training. This first initiative of the Funders Group, united by the Community Foundation of New Jersey, aims to address the…
After 27 years with the F. M. Kirby Foundation, JoAnn Tiefau, Program Officer, will be retiring later this year. JoAnn started at the Foundation in 1996 as a Grants Administrator, Bookkeeper, and Administrative Assistant. She went on to serve as Grants Manager, Program Associate, and Program Officer. JoAnn was responsible for the implementation of the Foundation’s first grants management system…
The F.M. Kirby Foundation is pleased to celebrate 5 years of continuous partnership with Habitat for Humanity Durham. Part of a global, nonprofit housing organization founded with Christian values, Habitat for Humanity Durham seeks to put God’s love into action and bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope. Since being founded in 1985 by Durham Congregations in Action,…
The F.M. Kirby Foundation is pleased to celebrate 40 years of continuous partnership with Paper Mill Playhouse. Opening its doors in 1938, Paper Mill Playhouse’s mission is to foster a creative environment to advance the musical theater art form, educate students, and develop future theater lovers. A home for cherished revivals and an incubator for new works, Paper Mill has…