Lincoln Financial Group Foundation Contributes $486,825 to 20 Nonprofit Organizations to Address Education Needs

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Recognizing that education has the power to transform lives, strengthen communities, fuel the economy, and deepen our understanding of each other and our world, the Lincoln Financial Group Foundation awarded 20 third quarter grants, totaling $486,825, to organizations in support of education programs in the Greater Philadelphia region.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050830/LFLOGO ) This quarter's grant recipients include: Teach for America, Inc.

Teach for America received a $100,000 grant from the Lincoln Foundation to help the School District of Philadelphia place approximately 350 Teach for America teachers in 75 schools by 2008. Teach for America is a national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools, and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Teach for America corps members ensure that students growing up in low-income areas of the city have the educational opportunities they deserve.

White-Williams Foundation

The White-Williams Foundation received a $75,000 grant to help fund a stipends program for low-income, high-achieving ninth- through twelfth-grade students who maintain average grades of As or Bs. The stipends minimize the students' financial burdens and distractions and position them to achieve post-secondary education goals.

Philadelphia Futures for Youth

The Lincoln Foundation awarded a $60,000 grant to Philadelphia Futures for continued support of the Sponsor-A-Scholar program, an initiative that provides support to students attending public high schools to successfully complete high school, and to prepare for college and beyond. The program provides students, with one-on-one mentoring; financial incentives; and a year-round curriculum of academic skill building and enrichment, including after-school academic classes, tutoring, college preparation activities, and cultural opportunities.

"We have an unwavering commitment to supporting education in Philadelphia and the region because it is the basis of lifelong learning," says Jon A. Boscia, chairman and chief executive officer, Lincoln Financial Group. "We hope the support of education-focused efforts provides all people with a window of opportunity that opens to a brighter future."

In addition to Teach for America, Inc., White-Williams Foundation, and Philadelphia Futures for Youth, the following education-focused organizations received grants from the Lincoln Financial Group Foundation:

-- Police Athletic League of Philadelphia - $30,000 to underwrite the homework clubs, literacy programs, and positive images programs at the Cozen, Wissinoming and Olney Police Athletic League locations. -- Children's Literacy Initiative - $26,325 to support the Blueprint for Early Literacy project, an initiative to provide high-quality, pre- kindergarten curriculum to economically disadvantaged children in childcare centers that serve low-income families. -- Project Forward Leap Foundation - $25,000 to support the Summer Residential Institute, a program for fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grade students that offers summer courses in math, language arts, science, and Latin. -- Steppingstone Foundation, Inc. - $25,000 to support the Scholars Program, an initiative that identifies underserved fourth-grade students and prepares them to enter and succeed at Philadelphia's top independent schools in the sixth grade. -- Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation - $20,000 to fund its Reader Development Program, an initiative that supplies free adult basic education, English as a second language, and GED material to literacy providers and individuals throughout Philadelphia. -- New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences, Inc. - $20,000 to continue funding the Camden Aquarium Urban Science Enrichment program, a science education program for elementary and secondary students in Camden, New Jersey. -- Settlement Music School of Philadelphia - $20,000 to support its Music Education Outreach program, an initiative that offers an introduction to music through ensemble performances and workshops to students in the School District of Philadelphia, charter, suburban, independent, and alternative schools. -- Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley - $13,000 to support Money Smart Plus One, a financial literacy program designed to promote basic concepts of financial management to individuals in low- to moderate-income communities. -- After School Activities Partnerships - $10,000 to fund the expansion of chess clubs and chess tournaments that engage more than 2,000 School District of Philadelphia students on a weekly basis. -- Children's Village - $10,000 to support the School-Age program, an initiative that provides after-school activities and full-day care during school vacations and summers. -- Devereux Foundation - $10,000 to fund School-Wide Positive Behavior Support, a program that helps identify and address discipline and antisocial behavior in elementary schools in the School District of Philadelphia. -- Metropolitan Career Center - $10,000 to help fund a new computer lab at its Computer Technology Institute, improving the quality of education and training provided to students enrolled in the Associate in Specialized Technology Degree program. -- NPower Pennsylvania - $10,000 to support InterNPower, an internship program that allows technology education students with an opportunity to apply classroom learning to projects at local nonprofits. -- Philadelphia READS - $10,000 to support the Summer READS program, an effort that offers reading, writing, science, music, and arts education during the summer vacation. -- Overbrook School for the Blind - $5,000 to fund the Together Exploring All My Senses program, a home-based support and education program for the families of children ages birth to three years, who are visually impaired, and who may have additional disabilities. -- Wagner Free Institute of Science - $5,000 for outreach programs, including GeoKids, which allow students to visit the institute and participate in hands-on activities with objects from the natural world. -- Art-Reach - $2,500 to provide arts opportunities to deaf and hard-of- hearing students at Abraham Lincoln High School.

The Lincoln Financial Group Foundation, established in 1962, is the charitable giving arm of Lincoln Financial Group. Under Foundation guidelines, grants are made in the areas of education, arts/culture and human services. Lincoln sets aside up to two percent of its pretax earnings, averaged over a three-year period, for charitable causes that support philanthropic endeavors in the communities where its employees live and work.

Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and its affiliates. With headquarters in Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Group has consolidated assets of $119 billion as of June 30, 2005, and had annual consolidated revenues of $5.4 billion in 2004. Through its wealth accumulation, retirement income and wealth protection businesses, the company provides annuities, life insurance, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, savings plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, institutional investment, and comprehensive financial planning and advisory services.