Phelps Stokes has published studies on social issues. In the United States, it commissioned studies of black intellectual potential for college education at the
University of Virginia and the
University of Georgia. Phelps Stokes also supported the
Jeanes Teachers Program, which became a model for education in the rural South. Edward Berman writes that between 1911 and 1945, Phelps Stokes "played a role in American Negro and especially in African education disproportionate to the rather meagre financial resources it contributed directly to these endeavors between 1911, when it was incorporated, and 1945. [Phelps Stokes'] endowment of slightly less than $1 million was small when compared with other philanthropic organizations established early in the twentieth century." The original charter of Phelps Stokes (PS) included a focus on the needs of
American Indians, particularly for the educational and human development of those who were historically underrepresented and marginalized. Throughout its history, PS has built upon this foundation in a variety of ways.
1911–1941 During the first thirty years, PS made small grants totaling approximately $19,000 for
Indian schools, organizations, and scholarships. Its first grant was allocated in 1915 with $1,000 to Reverend
Henry Roe Cloud and Professor
F.A. McKenzie to conduct a preliminary survey of the state of Indian schools. In 1926, PS gave a $5,000 grant to the Institute for Government Research (now the
Brookings Institution) to conduct a research project under the leadership of Lewis Meriam.
John Rockefeller Jr. provided primary financial underwriting for that program. The report,
The Problem of Indian Administration, commonly known as the
Meriam Report, served as the basis in the 1930s for the
Roosevelt Administration's policy towards American Indians. This policy, a break from previous policies, urged the U.S. government to allow American Indians to exist as culturally unique peoples and to retain reservation land bases in their control. The policy also established most of the contemporary tribal governments through the
Indian Reorganization Act. In 1939, the
Indian Rights Association (IRA) requested assistance to study the controversy over range management on the
Navajo Reservation. Phelps Stokes provided $1,800 for the study. This inquiry was eventually published by
Thomas Jesse Jones as
The Navajo Problem: An Inquiry. One aspect of that study was Ella Deloria's
The Navajo Indian Problem. That year, PS also helped found the American Indian Institute in
Wichita, Kansas under the leadership of
Henry Roe Cloud.
1942–1969 Phelps Stokes' involvement in American Indian communities waned after
World War II until the appointment of Dr.
Wilton Dillon as Executive Secretary and Director of Research in 1957. During the initial years of Dillon's leadership, PS became involved in planning studies and conferences related to American Indian development. This assistance typically came in the form of $1,500 grants to organizations such as Arrow, Inc., An affiliate of the
National Congress of American Indians. In 1958, Phelps Stokes provided $1,500 for a group of American Indian leaders to travel to
Puerto Rico. There, the group studied a local community development program, which resulted in scholarships for Indian students to study at the
University of Puerto Rico. On a smaller scale, PS informally helped the
Museum of Primitive Art in New York to organize an art exhibit. In 1960, Dillon organized a symposium on American Indian economic development during the annual meeting of the
Society for Applied Anthropology held at the
University of Pittsburgh. Over the next several years, PS continued to provide small grants for projects, such as a1961 grant of $500 for a photographic study of
Navajo education. In 1963, Dillon represented PS at the National Congress of American Indians Leadership Conference where PS- sponsored discussions focused on juvenile delinquency, law enforcement, land tenure problems and relationships with state governments.
1970s In 1970,
Franklin Williams became president of Phelps Stokes. Williams arranged communication with organizations, such as the
American Indian Community House, to improve Phelps Stokes' presence in American Indian communities. He also secured grants from US AID to support two programs to bring Africans to US universities. The following year, PS began work on the American Indian Reference Book, modeled after its
American Negro Reference Book, using a $7,500 Ford Foundation grant. Fred Dockstader, Director of the
Museum of the American Indian in New York, was a member of the committee. The Museum was later absorbed by the
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Because the Smithsonian Institution was launching a more extensive Native American Reference Book, PS ceased its efforts and returned the remaining grant money to the Ford Foundation in 1975. In 1973,
Tom Katus joined PS as Program Coordinator. Katus assisted the development of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and initiated PS's Indian Educational Development Internship Program. Discussions began with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State to develop International Indigenous Educational Exchange Programs for American Indians and indigenous groups throughout the world. Phelps Stokes implemented an international Indian educational exchange conference by enabling a
Navajo Community College staff member to participate in an exchange with Caribbean and African educators. It also helped found the
Turtle Mountain Community College in
Belcourt, North Dakota. In 1974, PS started to develop the
American Indian College Fund, based on the model of the
United Negro College Fund whose creation Phelps Stokes supported. Barbara Bratone, Development Officer at PS, helped AIHEC launch AICF, and offices were initially located at the Phelps Stokes headquarters in New York City. PS, the Johnson Foundation, and AIHEC co-sponsored the first philanthropic conference ever held in "Indian Country." More than 40 philanthropists from throughout the United States attended a conference at the Chief Gall Inn on the
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. As a result of that meeting, PS and AIHEC published a report on Indian Higher Education and Philanthropy. Baker, Martin and Katus conducted the research and wrote
The Directory of American Indian Private Funding Sources, published by AIHEC. This directory was reviewed by The Foundation News as "the best [funding directory] ever published." In 1975, Paige Baker Jr. became the Director of American Indian Programs at PS, where he continued to develop international exchange programs with
Ghana, South Africa's
Bantustans,
Kenya, and
Latin American Indians. In 1976, Phelps Stokes secured an initial grant to launch the Native-American Philanthropic News Service (NAPNS), to be directed by journalist
Rose Robinson (
Hopi). She published
The Exchange, a quarterly publication for information exchange between Indians and the philanthropic world;
The Roundup, news briefs and opportunities for Indian groups;
Bulletins, an information piece on meetings and events; and the famed
Red Book, a pocket-sized directory updated quarterly of all key federal officials with an interest in Native American programs. In 1977, Robinson succeeded Baker as Director of Phelps Stokes' Native American programs. In 1977, Katus established the western office of Phelps Stokes, located in
Rapid City, South Dakota, and launched the Rural Ethnic Institute. One Feather and Katus co-hosted the
Red-White TV Dialogue. For seven years, this program was broadcast on over 20 commercial television stations in eight states, reaching an audience of 4.3 million viewers. In 1977, PS created an Indian Advisory Board, which toured
Mexico and
Guatemala to assess an exchange program between Central and North American Indian groups. The Phelps Stokes' American Indian Program relied primarily on grants from foundations and corporations, including
General Mills Foundation, Donner Foundation, Aetna Foundation,
Rockefeller Foundation, New Land Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, AMAX Corporation and
Union Carbide. By the end of the 1970s, the Phelps Stokes budget for American Indian programs was $114,000. From the USAID grants, PS enacted programs to bring civil servants in Departments of Agriculture from Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland to US universities, aiming to improve their understanding and knowledge of agricultural policies and economics. A second grant brought students from west Africa to US community colleges to learn the basics of becoming paramedics. PS also managed a program to help African students across the US at colleges and universities with short-term financial emergencies through the African Student Aid Fund. Students could apply for emergency money less than $500 per grant for unexpected expenses, allowing many of them to stay in school.These programs continued through the 1980s.
1980s and 1990s In the 1980s, PS continued doing international exchanges. In 1983, PS staff traveled to West Africa (
Nigeria,
Ivory Coast,
Sierra Leone, and
Morocco) to study legal and educational institutions in those countries in comparison to American Indian institutions. Rose Robinson became a Vice President of Phelps Stokes. PS worked with the Native American Science Association as on the suicide prevention work of Zelma Minthorn. Phelps Stokes' involvement with American Indian issues waned again in the 1990s. Under leadership of Ambassador Franklin Williams, the Fund acted against apartheid by hosting members of the ANC and the Africa Roundtable as well as publishing talks by Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Wole Soyinka. The Arts and Letters Series initiated public programs with writers and artists, including
Toni Morrison,
John Oliver Killens,
Catherine James Catti and John Williams. Fundraising events like the annual African Art Auction and the Gala at the United Nations took place.
21st century Badi Foster became Phelps Stokes' sixth president in 2001. In 2007, Phelps Stokes hosted a three-day conference and film festival at the
Fond du Lac Ojibwe School in
Cloquet, MN. One of the other major projects of Phelps Stokes was its involvement as a national programming organization for the State Department's
International Visitor Leadership Program. ==Work in Africa==