Mars Impact Fund, the charitable arm of the global confectioner Mars, Inc., has announced a $1 million grant to World Central Kitchen to support earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela. The grant will fund more than 200,000 fresh meals for families impacted by the disaster, complementing additional Mars relief efforts, including food donations and support for search-and-rescue operations. The investment expands Mars and WCK’s ongoing crisis-response partnership, helping deliver immediate food assistance through local partners to displaced families, first responders and affected communities.

The Lilly Endowment has announced a pair of $400 million grants to Indiana Community Development Projects and Indiana Lifelong Learning Projects to launch statewide initiatives across Indiana. The grants will fund major community development and education efforts, including a statewide parks and greenspaces project through ICDP and a K-12 schools initiative through ILLP addressing nonacademic barriers to student success. ICDP will provide planning and implementation grants to eligible cities and towns to strengthen public spaces, while ILLP will support public schools and charter schools with programs addressing challenges such as food insecurity, mental health needs and housing instability.

The City of Springfield, Massachusetts, has announced $2.62 million in funding to stabilize and repair the exterior of Old First Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. The project combines a $2.32 million federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation with $300,000 in Community Preservation funding to restore the historic building’s exterior, including siding, masonry, roofing and moisture protection, while addressing limited interior safety needs. The investment is intended to preserve one of Springfield’s oldest landmarks, improve its long-term structural integrity and position the church for future rehabilitation and expanded community use. Construction is expected to be completed using ARPA funds before the year-end deadline.

The State of Minnesota has awarded $20 million from its 3M settlement to support 26 habitat restoration and outdoor recreation projects across the Twin Cities east metro and downstream Mississippi and St. Croix River areas. The funding is part of the state’s $850 million settlement with 3M over PFAS contamination, with the majority of settlement dollars dedicated to providing safe drinking water for affected east metro communities. The $20 million set-aside focuses on restoring water resources, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation through park improvements, stream restoration, fishing programs and river access projects. The initiative aims to address environmental damage and expand public benefits.

Saint Michael’s College has announced a $2 million commitment from an anonymous donor to expand current-use scholarship support at the private, Catholic liberal arts school in Colchester, Vermont. The gift will strengthen the 122-year-old college’s efforts to boost affordability, providing immediate financial aid for students with demonstrated need. The award follows a recent $1 million from alumnus Donald Dion, Jr. (’76) establishing a scholarship program, supporting incoming students from Catholic high schools. Both investments are tied to a broader $7M campaign to increase access to SMC’s values-based education, reduce financial barriers for families, and support long-term student success.

Josh Kesselman, founder of RAW Rolling Papers and most recently, the publisher of High Times Magazine, has announced the launch of the Foundation for Making the World a Better Place to support humanitarian, community and global impact initiatives. The foundation–with an initial endowment of $2.2 million–has already awarded $40,000 to Freedom Grow to support people impacted by cannabis-related incarceration and nearly $80,000 to Senai Global to bolster clean water rehabilitation projects in Ethiopia. The foundation expands Kesselman’s earlier philanthropic efforts that include an estimated $3.5 million to fund clean water access, orphan programs. and community assistance initiatives.

Meta has announced a $5 million donation to Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe, Louisiana, to create scholarships that prepare local residents for data center careers tied to the company’s expanding Richland Parish campus. Beginning with the Class of 2026, every Richland Parish public high school graduate will be eligible for full scholarships covering data center-related trade certificates and courses. The commitment is designed to strengthen the local workforce, expand access to high-demand technical careers and support the long-term economic impact of Meta’s AI infrastructure investment in northeast Louisiana.