Pacific gives life to nonprofits

The Pacific Life Foundation distributed $3.3 million in annual grants

to Orange County nonprofits this week in Newport Beach. The

international insurance company has committed a total of $4.3 million

to assist a variety of nonprofits during 2005.

A reception was held at Pacific Life’s main office in Newport

Beach on Monday evening, welcoming representatives from some 200

agencies.

The mood was upbeat, as several hundred guests sampled hors de

oeuvres and exchanged congratulations prior to the annual award

ceremony, in which agency representatives accepted financial grants

ranging from $2,500 to $100,000.

Bob Haskell, president of the Pacific Life Foundation, was on hand

to welcome the crowd, and company chairman Tom Sutton also greeted

the many recipients.

“The festive atmosphere is very conducive to sharing common goals

and practices,” Haskell said. “We look forward to hosting this event

at our home office in Newport Beach. It provides a unique networking

opportunity for people associated with nonprofit agencies to learn

what their peers are doing in the community.”

Tennyson Oyler, a media representative for the foundation, said

the majority of awards ranged from $5,000 to $10,000. Thirty-four

agencies received grants greater than $10,000. Among the gifts was a

$100,000 donation toward fulfilling Pacific Life’s pledge of $366,000

to Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, a pediatric dental

health center, serving uninsured children from low-income families.

The largest gift this year was a grant of $1 million to UNICEF to

assist in the South Asia tsunami relief effort, bringing the

foundation’s total grants to $4.3 million.

Some of the deserving agencies accepting awards included AIDS

Services Foundation Orange County, the Assistance League of Newport

Mesa Capital Campaign, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange

County and the Orange County United Way. Also awarded grants were

Rebuilding Together Orange County, Southern California Public Radio,

KPCC-FM, the 3T’s of Education program, the KOCE-TV Public Television

Capital Campaign, the Orange County Department of Education/AVID

Focus grant, the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, the Orange County

Performing Arts Center, South Coast Repertory, the Bolsa Chica

Conservancy Capital Campaign, Cascadia Research’s SPLASH project, the

Institute for Local Self Government, the Ocean Alliance and the

Pacific Marine Mammal Center Capital Campaign, to name only a few.

The Pacific Life Foundation was established more than 20 years ago

and has given nearly $29 million to many community agencies and

projects. For more information, visit Pacific Life’s website at

www.PacificLife.com.

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