Foundations
Here's a look at documents from U.S. foundations
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George W. Bush Institute: President and Mrs. George W. Bush Meet With Ukrainian First Lady Mrs. Olena Zelenska
DALLAS, Texas, March 28 -- The George W. Bush Institute issued the following news release on March 26, 2026:
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President and Mrs. George W. Bush Meet with Ukrainian First Lady Mrs. Olena Zelenska
Today, President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush welcomed Ukrainian First Lady Mrs. Olena Zelenska to the Bush Institute.
"We admire your country's bravery and ingenuity," said President George W. Bush. "We want the people of Ukraine to know that we continue to stand with America's ally, Ukraine. You are fighting for freedom, and I believe you will prevail."
In February, the Bush Institute
... Show Full Article
DALLAS, Texas, March 28 -- The George W. Bush Institute issued the following news release on March 26, 2026:
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President and Mrs. George W. Bush Meet with Ukrainian First Lady Mrs. Olena Zelenska
Today, President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush welcomed Ukrainian First Lady Mrs. Olena Zelenska to the Bush Institute.
"We admire your country's bravery and ingenuity," said President George W. Bush. "We want the people of Ukraine to know that we continue to stand with America's ally, Ukraine. You are fighting for freedom, and I believe you will prevail."
In February, the Bush Institutepublished policy recommendations on how the West can help Ukraine win following the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's unjustified war. Putin is responsible for the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II. The Bush Institute believes that now is the time to stop him - and to do so, the U.S. must continue its support of Ukraine.
For more information about the Bush Institute's efforts to support Ukraine and freedom around the world, visit: https://www.bushcenter.org/topics/regions/ukraine
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About the George W. Bush Institute:
The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. We utilize our unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day. Learn more at bushcenter.org.
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Original text here: https://www.bushcenter.org/newsroom/president-and-mrs-george-w-bush-meet-with-ukrainian-first-lady-mrs-olena-zelenska
Marisa Calderon at EGRPRA: Strengthening How the CRA System Works in Practice
WASHINGTON, March 27 [Category: Economics] -- Prosperity Now (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development) posted the following news release:
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Marisa Calderon at EGRPRA: Strengthening How the CRA System Works in Practice
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Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, delivered remarks at the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA) meeting on March 26, 2026. In her remarks, she draws on nearly five decades of Prosperity Now's work with financial institutions and community partners to highlight how fragmentation across data, reporting, and processes
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 27 [Category: Economics] -- Prosperity Now (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development) posted the following news release:
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Marisa Calderon at EGRPRA: Strengthening How the CRA System Works in Practice
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Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, delivered remarks at the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA) meeting on March 26, 2026. In her remarks, she draws on nearly five decades of Prosperity Now's work with financial institutions and community partners to highlight how fragmentation across data, reporting, and processescreates unnecessary burden and limits the effective flow of capital. Below are her full remarks.
Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak.
My name is Marisa Calderon. I am President and CEO of Prosperity Now. For nearly five decades, we have worked with financial institutions and community-based partners to understand how housing finance systems operate in practice. That perspective allows us to see how reporting requirements, application processes, and examination expectations function across institutions and geographies.
Many of the challenges that are often described as reporting burden or process inefficiency are, in our experience, a result of how fragmented the underlying system has become. Data is not consistently defined or shared across institutions ; partnership models vary widely, and there is limited standardization in how activities are structured and documented.
For example, mortgage lenders today report more than one hundred data fields per loan under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, while CRA reporting requires separate and differently structured data collection across small business, small farm, and community development activities. These systems are not interoperable, and even federal analysis of CRA performance requires combining multiple datasets to assess outcomes.
As a result, institutions and their partners absorb significant operational costs simply to align and report on activity that is otherwise aligned in intent, with banks experiencing this as a reporting burden, while community partners experience it as friction. More importantly, this fragmentation makes it harder to move capital efficiently and at scale through the very systems CRA relies on.
In turn, this contributes unintended variability into how CRA is applied and evaluated, limiting the ability to clearly measure and compare outcomes across institutions and markets. It also makes it more difficult for capital to reach communities in a consistent and scalable manner.
We believe there is an opportunity to reduce unnecessary burden while improving clarity and consistency by focusing on greater alignment in data, measurement, and process. This includes how activities are defined, how they are documented, and how information flows between institutions and their community partners.
Greater alignment and stronger supporting infrastructure would increase efficiency, strengthening the system's ability to deliver on its intended purpose.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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Original text here: https://www.prosperitynow.org/news-and-insights/marisa-calderon-at-egrpra-strengthening-how-the-cra-system-works-in-practice
OMRF scientist receives American Heart Association grant
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 27 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
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OMRF scientist receives American Heart Association grant
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A three-year grant from the American Heart Association will fund an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist's study of an autoimmune disease that sometimes results in organ failure.
Charmain Johnson, Ph.D., received the American Heart Association's Career Development Award, which comes with a $240,000 research grant.
Johnson will study the role of a protein called RIPK3 in systemic sclerosis, a disease that affects
... Show Full Article
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 27 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
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OMRF scientist receives American Heart Association grant
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A three-year grant from the American Heart Association will fund an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist's study of an autoimmune disease that sometimes results in organ failure.
Charmain Johnson, Ph.D., received the American Heart Association's Career Development Award, which comes with a $240,000 research grant.
Johnson will study the role of a protein called RIPK3 in systemic sclerosis, a disease that affectsabout 300,000 Americans.
In systemic sclerosis, white blood cells mistakenly attack the body, causing chronic inflammation, vascular damage and progressive tissue scarring in skin and other organs.
Johnson will investigate whether excessive production of RIPK3 causes blood vessels to become leaky, creating a pathway for white blood cells to escape and contribute to tissue scarring. She hopes to show that the protein's absence leads to fewer white blood cells traveling to the lungs.
"My study focuses on the lung, as it is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis and currently lacks effective treatment," Johnson said. "I expect to find that without RIPK3 in the blood vessels, we can slow disease progression."
The findings ultimately could lead to a treatment aimed at preventing interstitial lung disease, a primary cause of death associated with systemic sclerosis.
Johnson is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of OMRF's vice president of research, Courtney Griffin, Ph.D., who called Johnson's research "extremely promising."
Separately, the American Heart Association recently awarded a two-year, $70,000 grant to Irma Gryniuk, a graduate student at OMRF who will investigate two eye diseases marked by the abnormal growth of retinal blood vessels.
Griffin, who received grants from the American Heart Association as a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher, understands the role they can play in launching a researcher's career.
"An AHA award keeps young scientists invested and committed to cardiovascular biology because it makes them feel like they're part of the research community," Griffin said. "The awards I received as a trainee helped keep me in the field for 30 years."
***
Original text here: https://omrf.org/omrf-scientist-receives-american-heart-association-grant-2/
The Sanders-AOC Data Center Moratorium Doesn't Add Up, Says Center for Data Innovation
WASHINGTON, March 26 [Category: Computer Technology]-- The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation posted the following news release:
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The Sanders-AOC Data Center Moratorium Doesn't Add Up, Says Center for Data Innovation
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In response to the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14), the Center for Data Innovation issued the following statement from Senior Policy Manager Hodan Omaar :
This bill justifies a moratorium based on several well-worn anxieties-that AI is an
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 26 [Category: Computer Technology]-- The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation posted the following news release:
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The Sanders-AOC Data Center Moratorium Doesn't Add Up, Says Center for Data Innovation
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In response to the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14), the Center for Data Innovation issued the following statement from Senior Policy Manager Hodan Omaar :
This bill justifies a moratorium based on several well-worn anxieties-that AI is anexistential threat, that data centers burden the pocketbooks of American families, and that they undermine jobs-but none of these, pursued in good faith, lead to halting data center construction. It is clear that the authors started with the moratorium and then cast a net of disparate fears wide enough to build support for it.
The AI safety reasoning illustrates this most clearly. In one breath, Senator Sanders describes tech billionaires as self-interested and inherently untrustworthy; in the next, his bill relies on their words of warning about civilizational collapse to justify shutting down data centers. It is unclear why the public should discount everything tech billionaires say except when their words can be recruited to fill gaps in a precarious argument.
If AI safety were a real animating concern, the policy would focus on model evaluations, red teaming, and transparency requirements. If rising utility bills were the true target, the bill would address the market design flaws and cost-allocation models that actually drive rates. And if jobs were the priority, Congress would be doing what it takes to ensure the tens of billions in investment these facilities bring in become high-capital anchors of local industrial bases, rather than legislating them out of existence.
Congress should not mistake a grab bag of loosely related fears for a legitimate case for a moratorium. If these challenges are real, they deserve solutions that actually address them-not a construction freeze that only undermines the American digital economy.
Contact: Nicole Hinojosa, press@datainnovation.org
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Original text here: https://itif.org/publications/publications/2026/03/26/the-sanders-aoc-data-center-moratorium-doesnt-add-up-says-center-for-data-innovation/
Students forced to remove 'Let's Go Brandon' sweatshirts seek Supreme Court review
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, March 26 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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Students forced to remove 'Let's Go Brandon' sweatshirts seek Supreme Court review
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At issue: Can schools ban sanitized political expression just because someone considers it profane?
SAND LAKE, Mich., March 26, 2026 - A pair of students who were forced to remove sweatshirts emblazoned with the anti-Biden slogan "Let's Go Brandon" are appealing their case to the Supreme Court in a test of free speech rights in public schools.
The Michigan students, who are
... Show Full Article
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, March 26 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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Students forced to remove 'Let's Go Brandon' sweatshirts seek Supreme Court review
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At issue: Can schools ban sanitized political expression just because someone considers it profane?
SAND LAKE, Mich., March 26, 2026 - A pair of students who were forced to remove sweatshirts emblazoned with the anti-Biden slogan "Let's Go Brandon" are appealing their case to the Supreme Court in a test of free speech rights in public schools.
The Michigan students, who arerepresented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, are claiming that their school district violated their First Amendment rights.
"Our argument is simple: Students have the right to express their political views in school," said FIRE Supervising Senior Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick. "School administrators should encourage students to share their beliefs as engaged citizens, not censor them the moment someone finds their message offensive."
In February 2022, two Tri County Middle School students wore sweatshirts to school with the phrase "Let's Go Brandon," a political slogan critical of then-President Joe Biden with origins in a profane chant. Even though the political slogan is widely used -multiple members of Congress used it during floor speeches -an assistant principal and a teacher ordered the boys to remove the sweatshirts.
The school district relied on a policy that prohibits "profane" clothing -but the sweatshirts intentionally avoided using profane language, and asking the students to remove them was a violation of their First Amendment rights.
The Supreme Court has already made it clear that high school students have First Amendment rights. The students' challenge evokes the 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines, in which the Court affirmed public school students' First Amendment right to wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War. The Court stressed that students disagreeing with each other is not only "an inevitable part of the process of attending school; it is also an important part of the educational process."
After FIRE's lawsuit, the district court and a divided (2-1) federal appeals court held that the phrase "Let's Go Brandon" was close enough to profanity that the school could ban it. But, as FIRE's petition to the Court explains, saying "Let's Go Brandon" is no different than using words "heck" or "shoot" in place of swear words. The lower courts' rulings leave the Supreme Court as the students' only recourse.
FIRE's petition explains that allowing individual teachers and administrators to decide what is "vulgar" is unworkable: "A political shirt could have First Amendment protection in second-period algebra but not third-period biology." And permitting each teacher to create and enforce their own test for "vulgarity" is a recipe for viewpoint discrimination.
"The school district's censorship assumes that students cannot handle seeing even sanitized expressions," said Fitzpatrick. "But America's next generation is not so fragile, and the First Amendment is not so brittle."
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought -the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.
CONTACT
Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org
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Original text here: https://www.thefire.org/news/students-forced-remove-lets-go-brandon-sweatshirts-seek-supreme-court-review
Prosperity Now Receives $1 million Wells Fargo Foundation Grant to Support VITA Organizations Nationwide
WASHINGTON, March 26 [Category: Economics] -- Prosperity Now (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development) posted the following news release:
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Prosperity Now Receives $1 million Wells Fargo Foundation Grant to Support VITA Organizations Nationwide
As millions of families and workers continue to face financial pressure and rising costs, Prosperity Now announced that it has received a $1 million dollar Wells Fargo Foundation grant to support IRS-certified Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) organizations nationwide. This grant expands access to trusted, no-cost tax return preparation
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 26 [Category: Economics] -- Prosperity Now (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development) posted the following news release:
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Prosperity Now Receives $1 million Wells Fargo Foundation Grant to Support VITA Organizations Nationwide
As millions of families and workers continue to face financial pressure and rising costs, Prosperity Now announced that it has received a $1 million dollar Wells Fargo Foundation grant to support IRS-certified Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) organizations nationwide. This grant expands access to trusted, no-cost tax return preparationservices and helps more workers and families claim the refunds and credits they have earned.
The philanthropic investment will strengthen community-based VITA organizations and expand Prosperity Now's efforts to provide grants, training, and technical assistance to providers across the country. These programs ensure eligible individuals can prepare accurate tax returns and claim refundable credits for which they qualify, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC).
Each year, millions of eligible individuals do not claim valuable tax credits. In 2025, approximately 24 million workers and families benefited from the EITC, receiving nearly $70 billion in total credits, with an average refund of $2,894. For many households, a tax refund represents one of the largest single payments they receive all year, helping cover essential expenses such as housing, groceries, childcare, utilities, and education.
"At a time when families continue to navigate rising costs, access to trusted, no-cost tax return preparation is more important than ever," said Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now. "We are deeply grateful to the Wells Fargo Foundation for this philanthropic investment, which will allow us to expand support for VITA organizations and help more families access the full refunds and credits they've earned."
Professional tax preparation services can be costly, with average fees for a basic return often exceeding $200. For households managing tight budgets, those fees can create additional strain. VITA programs help remove that barrier by offering trusted, no-cost tax return preparation services in community settings.
"At Wells Fargo, we believe that financial health is the foundation for opportunity," said Bonnie Wallace, Head of Financial Opportunity Philanthropy for Wells Fargo. "That belief is what connects us so strongly to Prosperity Now's vision: ensuring every individual and family has access to the tools they need to build stability and long-term prosperity. Our commitment to help strengthen VITA sites nationwide will expand access for families and connect tax time with broader financial opportunities.
Prosperity Now works with hundreds of VITA organizations across the country through its Tax Opportunity Network, the nation's leading professional network for practitioners and organizations providing tax preparation services. Through this investment, Prosperity Now will provide grants as well as year-round training, technical assistance, and peer learning opportunities to help VITA providers strengthen service delivery and expand access to tax assistance in their communities.
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Original text here: https://www.prosperitynow.org/news-and-insights/prosperity-now-receives-1-million-wells-fargo-foundation-grant-to-support-vita-organizations-nationwide
OMRF scientist receives American Heart Association grant
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 26 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
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OMRF scientist receives American Heart Association grant
*
A three-year grant from the American Heart Association will fund an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist's study of an autoimmune disease that sometimes results in organ failure.
Charmain Johnson, Ph.D., received the American Heart Association's Career Development Award, which comes with a $240,000 research grant.
Johnson will study the role of a protein called RIPK3 in systemic sclerosis, a disease that affects
... Show Full Article
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 26 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:
* * *
OMRF scientist receives American Heart Association grant
*
A three-year grant from the American Heart Association will fund an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist's study of an autoimmune disease that sometimes results in organ failure.
Charmain Johnson, Ph.D., received the American Heart Association's Career Development Award, which comes with a $240,000 research grant.
Johnson will study the role of a protein called RIPK3 in systemic sclerosis, a disease that affectsabout 300,000 Americans.
In systemic sclerosis, white blood cells mistakenly attack the body, causing chronic inflammation, vascular damage and progressive tissue scarring in skin and other organs.
Johnson will investigate whether excessive production of RIPK3 causes blood vessels to become leaky, creating a pathway for white blood cells to escape and contribute to tissue scarring. She hopes to show that the protein's absence leads to fewer white blood cells traveling to the lungs.
"My study focuses on the lung, as it is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis and currently lacks effective treatment," Johnson said. "I expect to find that without RIPK3 in the blood vessels, we can slow disease progression."
The findings ultimately could lead to a treatment aimed at preventing interstitial lung disease, a primary cause of death associated with systemic sclerosis.
Johnson is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of OMRF's vice president of research, Courtney Griffin, Ph.D., who called Johnson's research "extremely promising."
Separately, the American Heart Association recently awarded a two-year, $70,000 grant to Irma Gryniuk, a graduate student at OMRF who will investigate two eye diseases marked by the abnormal growth of retinal blood vessels.
Griffin, who received grants from the American Heart Association as a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher, understands the role they can play in launching a researcher's career.
"An AHA award keeps young scientists invested and committed to cardiovascular biology because it makes them feel like they're part of the research community," Griffin said. "The awards I received as a trainee helped keep me in the field for 30 years."
***
Original text here: https://omrf.org/omrf-scientist-receives-american-heart-association-grant-2/
