(Phoenix/Indianapolis) - The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust presented $5,171,404.50 in grants to 44 Indiana and Arizona charities in November at statewide check presentation ceremonies. The check presentations were held at the Church of the Beatitudes in Phoenix on Nov. 15 and the Old Centrum in Indianapolis on Nov. 19. The check presentation ceremonies were held at former Trust grantee sites with more than 75 guests at each event.

"The grant recipients share a common thread of excellence in fulfilling their commitments to their respective communities and states," said Harriet M. Ivey, president and chief executive officer of the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. "Grants range from $13,000 to $1.5 million and represent every area of the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust's program interests, which are helping people in need, protecting animals and nature and enriching community life," Ivey added.

This is the Trust's third funding round for the year 2001. The Trust has a distribution budget of $17.4 million in 2001. Since the Trust began making grants in 1998, it has committed $54,370,302.48 to 396 nonprofit organizations.

The Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars program was launched in the fall of 2001. Through the program, the Trust underwrites scholarships for nontraditional college students at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and Ivy Tech State College, Central Indiana in Indianapolis and Arizona State University and Maricopa Community Colleges in Phoenix.

Beginning in the fall of 2001, the Trust sponsored five students at IUPUI, eight students at ASU, 12 students at Ivy Tech State College and 15 students at Maricopa Community Colleges. Students are eligible for support for up to six years at IUPUI and ASU and four years at Ivy Tech and Maricopa Community Colleges. Additional Nina Scholars will be recruited on an annual basis.

The Trust had approximately $350 million in assets as of Sept. 30, 2001.
The next deadline for Preliminary Applications is Jan. 14, 2002. Applications may be obtained by visiting the Trust's web site at www.ninapulliamtrust.org; by writing the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, 135 N. Pennsylvania, Suite 1200, Indianapolis, IN 46204; or by calling 317-231-6075.