BURBANK : Head of Foundation Cites Health Needs

The new year has started with many nonprofit health groups hungrier than they were 12 months ago, the administrator of a grant foundation in Burbank said Tuesday.

“My impression is that over this past year that a lot of the nonprofit organizations are having some funding difficulties,” said Robert N. Jensen Jr., administrator for the Burbank Community Hospital Foundation.

The foundation runs an annual grant program that distributed $150,000 to Burbank-based health-related organizations in 1993. Most of that money--$125,000--was used to open an immunization clinic for Burbank public school children at Thompson Memorial Medical Center in August.

In 1993, grants were also given to TRIPOD, a program to help deaf students in schools, the Burbank Center for the Retarded, the Burbank Family YMCA and Woodbury University.

The foundation opened up the 1994 grant application process a month ago, and as of Monday had received about 10 applications, Jensen said. The deadline to submit a grant application is Feb. 1.

In 1993, the foundation received 20 applications from Burbank nonprofit health groups, but only six received money.

This year, the foundation expects to receive more applications than last year, from both small and large organizations, Jensen said.

The total amount of money available for the grant program has not been determined yet, Jensen said.

“We’re somewhat limited because we do cater to health-care groups, either in the city of Burbank or associated with the city of Burbank,” said Jensen, who is a local certified public accountant.