Grants and Gifts

The Bayer USA Foundation is an endowed 501(c)(3) entity and is the primary source of Bayer Corporation’s philanthropy in the United States. With a programmatic focus on the environment and sustainability; education and workforce development; arts and culture; and health and human services, the Foundation creates and supports partnerships that improve communities in which Bayer employees live and work, as well as society at large.

ASSET — Employees at our Pittsburgh campus were instrumental in founding the Allegheny Schools Science Education and Technology (ASSET) Consortium in 1994. ASSET Inc. is an independent non-profit educational reform initiative dedicated to continuously improving the abilities of teachers and the performance of students. In 2006, ASSET was selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to design and coordinate Science: It’s Elementary, an initiative to enhance K-6 science education through hands-on science teaching and learning. ASSET Inc. and Science: It’s Elementary collectively provide professional development for a total of 4,400 teachers in approximately 148 school districts, charter and private schools across 47 counties, which impacts more than 180,000 students throughout Pennsylvania.

Making Science Make Sense® — Bayer Corporation has long been committed to improving science education. In 1995, it formalized this commitment with the Bayer Making Science Make Sense® (MSMS) program — an award-winning initiative that advances science literacy through hands-on, inquiry-based science learning, employee volunteerism and public education.

MSMS has received numerous awards in its 13-year history, including the 2000 President’s Service Award, the most prestigious national recognition given for community service aimed at solving the country’s most critical social problem. MSMS also earned the 2006 Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership for Bayer, the first chemicals company ever to be so honored. The Ron Brown Award is given annually to companies that demonstrate exemplary quality in their relationships with employees and communities. The National Science Board recently honored Bayer with its 2008 Public Service Award, which recognizes significant contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering.

BASIC — Bayer Association for Science in Communities is Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense® employee volunteer program in Pittsburgh. Among BASIC’s committed members are some 200 employees who volunteer their time and expertise and work with local teachers and students to improve science education and bolster science literacy. Each year, Bayer volunteers visit more than 175 classrooms and participate in community events, reaching some 15,000 students in the region.

• 2008: Bayer Corporation the Bayer USA Foundation, will be honored, respectively, by the National Science Board and the Council on Foundations for their long-standing support of science education and science literacy at two separate ceremonies in Washington, D.C., in May. In bestowing the award, the National Science Board is recognizing Bayer for its long-standing and exemplary commitment to science public outreach, science education and science policy. In particular, the National Science Board cites “the important work of Bayer’s Making Science Make Sense® program, through which thousands of students gain exposure to experiential science learning.”
  
  
• 2004: Bayer USA Foundation commemorates 103rd birthday of Andrew Carnegie Free Library Association with $100,000 donation.
  
  
• 2006: Local donations through Bayer USA Foundation and company scholarships total more than $1.1M
  
  
• 2007: Bayer USA Foundation awards grants to:
  
  
  • Duquesne University to establish Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Scholarship/Internship Program for women and minorities.
    
    
  • RiverQuest — To support sustainability education programs for middle and high school students.
    
    
  • Horticultural Society of Western Pennsylvania to develop Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania along Pittsburgh airport corridor.
    
    
  • Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber Enterprise Foundation to Expand “CHOICES” program to 750 at-risk teens.
    
    
  • Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania to support “Pittsburgh’s Future... Now” program.
    
    
  • World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh to fund global diversity initiative.
    
    
• 2008: Bayer USA Foundation awards a $135,000 grant to ASSET Inc. (Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching), the exemplary science education reform program Bayer helped to create in Southwest Pennsylvania and which today is considered a national model for industry-education-government partnerships. The new grant will be used by ASSET for its Southwest Pennsylvania program, including the school/curriculum support services it provides to the districts, such as inquiry-centered curriculum modules, ongoing teacher professional development and leadership training.