An unprecedented $1 million research fund from the California Community Foundation will benefit the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy.

The USC center conducts research on philanthropy, volunteerism and the nonprofit sector and communicates its findings and their implications to key decision makers. Annual proceeds from the endowment will support these efforts.

“The center has had a remarkable impact in its first three years,” said CCF President Jack Shakely, citing as examples the center’s seminal studies on new health-care foundations, community foundations and the philanthropic split between Northern and Southern California.

“This fund is a statement of our belief in the important work that the center has done and will do in the future,” Shakely said.

Directed by Jim Ferris, the center was founded in 2000 and is based at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. It is the only academic research center on the West Coast to focus on the impact of philanthropy on public policy.

“By endowing our research efforts, the California Community Foundation is taking a bold step that will greatly help us to build our research capacity,” Ferris said.

“At a time when many philanthropic institutions have been forced by the downturn in the economy to reduce giving, this unique grant represents an important investment in the future of philanthropy, especially for the state of California and the Southern California region,” Ferris said.

Daniel Mazmanian, dean of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, said that by supporting the center, the grant supports the mission of the school.

“The center enables us to focus on the philanthropic and nonprofit sector's growing importance in addressing social and community problems,” Mazmanian said. “Its work is central to our focus on the need for effective, collaborative problem solving among the public, private and nonprofit leaders of our community.”

To learn more about the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, go to http://www.usc.edu/philanthropy.

Contact Inga Kiderra at (213) 740-5156.