Grants Update

We are pleased to announce that the following grants have recently been awarded to Kismet:

The Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation has awarded $7000 to Kismet Rock Foundation for General Support. This grant has been issued under the foundation’s special projects category. The mission of the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation is to protect and improve the quality of life through support of programs in the environment, human health, education and the arts.

The Robert and Dorothy Goldberg Charitable Foundation has awarded Kismet Rock Foundation a grant in the amount of $6,000. $2,000 from this grant will go directly towards 2 scholarships for students from the Conway, NH area.

The Doris L. Benz Trust has awarded Kismet Rock Foundation $5,000 through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. These funds will go directly towards five students scholarships in 2014.

Doris Louise Benz was born in 1907, the daughter of a leather tanner who founded the Benz Kid Company. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1931 and shortly after her father’s death in 1932, Benz began serving as a director of Benz Kid Company and stayed on in that capacity until the late 1950s when the business closed.

During her retirement, Benz was an active volunteer and philanthropist in her town of North Sandwich, N.H. A permanent charitable trust known as the Doris L. Benz Trust was established through her will when she passed away in 1984.

Half the income of her trust supports students from Sandwich and Carroll County to further their education, and the other half supports broad charitable purposes, mostly in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

In 1985, another scholarship opportunity was created for Coos and Grafton County students with funding from the Benz Trust. In 2000, additional funding from the Benz Trust doubled the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s capacity to assist northern New Hampshire students.

The Kendal C. and Anna Ham Charitable Foundation has awarded a $2,000 scholarship to one new student from Bartlett, NH to attend Kismet’s 2014 summer program. The mission of The Kendal C. and Anna Ham Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of life for people living in the Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire, Bridgton and Fryeburg, Maine communities. The Ham Foundation has been awarding grants in this region since 1994.