Message from our CEO
An incredible year, 2016 had a much different quality compared to our earlier years. In the beginning, we worked to immerse ourselves in our communities, to envision the direction of our program areas, and to build our infrastructure to serve most effectively. We laid our groundwork and defined strategies—fertilizing the soil and planting seeds—so that now we are seeing our work bear fruit.
The Kenneth Rainin Foundation is uniquely positioned to provide support to pioneering ventures that, by nature, are less proven and even high risk. But big risk can also bring big rewards. We choose partners who we believe have the best chance to succeed and engage with them early, at the time of greatest need. When our grantees are successful, they thrive— increasing their capacity to continue their work and make breakthrough accomplishments. Even when high-risk projects do not achieve anticipated results, innovative work has intrinsic value; every project, every study, every engagement, every experiment informs the field and provides important information, data, and experience from which the next endeavor benefits.
Throughout his life, my father produced countless innovations. Every time, he did it by talking with business owners and people working in the trenches—asking questions, listening to their concerns, exploring their needs, and then engaging the right partner to help answer those needs.
Jennifer Rainin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
That’s exactly how the Kenneth Rainin Foundation approaches our work. In all our program areas, we are on the ground with our grantees—listening, learning, coaching, and creating partnerships.
We continue to grow, embracing clear strategies and strong core initiatives in each of our three programs. And we are starting to see some of our earliest endeavors succeed and evolve in a way that continues to inform our future efforts. This report reflects our institutional coming of age as a growing foundation passionate about our mission—enhancing quality of life by championing the arts, promoting early childhood literacy, and supporting research to cure chronic disease.
Thank you for your interest in our work.
Jennifer Rainin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
“My dad had always been a risk taker—in a smart way—and that philosophy was baked into me from birth.”
—Jennifer Rainin, PhD, Chief Executive Officer
Thanks to our grantees and partners for another great year!