What's New September 2009: The foundation made two small grants to organizations during the September 2009 Board meeting. The first grant was made to the Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY, to purchase land to support its sustainable hand papermaking program, called ArtFarm. The second grant was to the H2H Ride for Vietnamese Children. This charity is committed to helping stop the cycle of poverty in the lives of Vietnamese children. It is sponsoring a 1,000 mile bike ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, where the funds raised will be donated to local Vietnamese children's charities. Our Board member, Hilary Watts, will be participating in the bike ride in November 2009. Ongoing: ELPF Bach Organ Project: One of the venture philanthropy projects included in the Catalogue a few years ago is the Constellation Performing Arts and Film Center to be constructed in the Kendall Square area in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the large room will be placed a pipe organ based on an 18th century instrument that J. S. Bach himself admired in the central part of Germany where the master spent most of his working life. It is this instrument that the foundation has committed itself to funding. The contract has been signed by the organ builder, Taylor & Boody and the Constellation Center. An initial grant has been awarded to the Constellation Center constituting the deposit. This means that a slot has been reserved in the organ builder schedule and production will begin in 2011. December 2007: Check out the organ project at the Taylor and Boody website link below. http://www.taylorandboody.com/opuses/opus_50_pages/opus_50_announce.html Caption: Larry Phillips, President of the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation, and Glenn KnicKrehm, President of the Constellation Center, shake hands after signing the organ contract.