News & Events

Jun 28 2012 12:00AM

THE MILAGRO FOUNDATION EXCEEDS $5-MILLION IN GRANT-GIVING

The Milagro Foundation, established in 1998 by musician Carlos Santana and his family, passed the $5-million mark in grant-giving earlier this spring. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Milagro is a publicly supported foundation benefiting underserved and vulnerable children through grants to community-based, non-profit organizations in the areas of education, health, and the arts. Milagro means “miracle,” and the Foundation’s name was inspired by the image of children as divine miracles of light and hope—as gifts to our lives. Its work is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children.

“We are immensely grateful to the philanthropic organizations and individuals that support the work of The Milagro Foundation, and have allowed us to achieve this incredible milestone even in our current environment of economic recovery,” says Shelley N. Brown, Executive Director since 2000. Since she began at Milagro, Brown has guided the Foundation in granting funds to agencies in more than 35 countries, in the U.S. and as far away as Africa and India.

Current Milagro focuses include global health initiatives, and agencies helping students realize college aspirations. Recent grants include funding for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) American Indian Research & Education Center, facilitating access for college-bound children, grades 7-12; and the Carlos Santana Arts Academy (CSAA)—part of Los Angeles Unified School District—a newly-built, arts-infused elementary school where 95% of the students are English-language learners.

Funds that make these and other Milagro Foundation grants possible are generated by concert ticket donations, Santana-licensed products, generous individual donors, and philanthropic partners. Milagro supports children and youth in the San Francisco Bay area, across the United States, and in countries around the world touched by the music of Santana.

Two major fundraisers are on the calendar for fall 2012. On September 8 at AT&T Park, the San Francisco Giants will host a benefit for Milagro during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On October 10, Milagro partners with The OneXOneFoundation for a benefit gala at the Cipriani Wall Street Ballroom in New York City, co-chaired by Matt Damon and Carlos Santana. The event also honors Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health for ground-breaking work in Haiti, and will feature a performance by Carlos Santana and The Roots, along with Santana vocalist and percussionist Andy Vargas and Karl Perazzo.

Most recently, on May 15, 2012, Santana released Shape Shifter, the group’s latest album—and first for Carlos Santana’s new label Starfaith Records. Dedicated to Native American Indians, the album is an instrumental tour de force long awaited by fans (one song features vocals by Santana’s lead vocalists Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay). Santana will tour this summer. Carlos and the Santana Band have just begun a two-year residency at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, and they will be touring on the east coast of the U.S. in July.

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