Hasbro Children’s Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Hasbro Children’s Fund supports children’s education, health and opportunity in the areas where it operates in the U.S. and abroad.
IP TAKE: The Hasbro Children’s fund prioritizes organizations working with underserved and/or chronically ill children. Education, health and mental health are its largest areas of grantmaking, but the fund also gives to an array of colleges and universities in the U.S. Geographic areas of priority in the U.S. include Boulder, Miami, Los Angeles, Renton and the state of Rhode Island, where the Hasbro company is located. The fund supports large national and international organizations, as well as some smaller organizations and agencies that provide direct services to children.
This funder does not accept grant applications but encourages potential grantees to check its website periodically for updates.
PROFILE: Based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the Hasbro Children’s Fund is the philanthropic offshoot of Hasbro Inc, a global toy and entertainment company whose iconic toy and game brands include My Little Pony, Nerf, Transformers and Monopoly. The fund invests in children’s programs in the cities and towns where its parent company operates. Its priorities are stability for children in crisis, physical and mental health, security against hunger, education, out-of-school programming and the empowerment of youth through service. The fund’s parent company also runs donation and employee volunteering programs. Grantmaking is global in scope, although more than half of all grants go to U.S.-based organizations. This funder works primarily through partnerships with large, established organizations, but a few grants each year support small- to medium-sized organizations working in Hasbro’s areas of interest.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
Hasbro’s giving for education and child development focuses on quality out-of-school learning programs and programs that develop social-emotional learning in young children. The fund also supports research on early childhood learning and advocacy for affordable early childhood programs. Grantmaking in this area prioritizes, but is not strictly limited to, the state of Rhode Island. One past grantee, Rhode Island Kids Count, collects data and disseminates information pertinent to public programming for children and families, including information about early childhood programs and their effectiveness in reducing achievement gaps in elementary school.
Grants for Higher Education
The Hasbro Children’s Fund does not name higher education as an area of grantmaking interest, but tax filings indicate a commitment to supporting a broad range of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. Recent grantees include Harvard College, the Rhode Island School of Design, Virginia Wesleyan College, the University of Pennsylvania and Bentley College.
Grants for Public Health
Hasbro’s grantmaking for public health focuses on services for children suffering with chronic illnesses and conditions. Grantmaking in this area is national in scope. One of the fund’s strategic partners in this area, the SeriousFun Children’s Network, runs therapeutic camps for children with “serious illnesses and life-threatening conditions” around the world. Other public health grantees include the American Cancer Society, Operation Smile and Angel Flight of New England, which provides free transportation for children to vital medical services around the U.S.
Grants for Mental Health
The Hasbro Children’s Fund’s mental health funding prioritizes organizations working with underserved and chronically ill children. Funding in this area tends to go to smaller organizations working with target populations in the cities of Los Angeles, Miami, Renton and in the state of Rhode Island. One grantee, Wellspring Family Services of Renton, Washington, provides counseling to families and individuals in crisis with a strong focus on developing healthy parent-child relationships. Other mental health grantees include Friends Way of Rhode Island, which offers bereavement counseling to children and families, and Rhode Island’s Amos House, which provides services to homeless children and families.
Grants for Global Development
Hasbro Children’s Fund’s global grantmaking takes the form of “grants, sponsorships, product donations and/or volunteer engagement” in countries where Hasbro has a corporate presence, including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Among Hasbro’s strategic partners is SOS Children’s Villages, a network of over five hundred “children’s villages” worldwide that takes in children who have been orphaned or abandoned and integrates them into a “loving family environment.” Hasbro makes donations of food, clothing, educational materials, and medical supplies, as well as employee volunteer time.
Important Grant Details:
The Hasbro Children’s Fund has made between $3 and $5 million a year in grants over the past several years. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $500,000, but a few partner organizations have received upwards of $1 million. In the United States, areas of geographic priority include Boulder, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Renton, Washington and the state of Rhode Island. Internationally, it has funded projects and organizations in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, U.K., Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Taiwan. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s recent tax filings.
The Hasbro Children’s Fund does not currently accept applications for grants and does not provide contact information for grantseekers. The fund’s phone number is (401) 431-8151.
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