Fellow grantmakers salute Wallace Foundation for funding "The Principal" on P.O.V.

Next Sunday the funder of The Principal Story, a doc that aired in September on P.O.V., will receive the first Woodward A. Wickham Award for Excellence in Media Philanthropy, bestowed by Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media. The grantmakers’ group said the award was named after the late MacArthur Foundation Vice President Woody Wickham to honor funders who demonstrate Wickham’s "creative, often courageous" grantmaking (Wickham obituary, February 2009). The Wallace Foundation, which backs initiatives to improve school leadership, stepped forward as full funder of the doc by Tod Lending and David Mrazek (Current, Sept. 8, 2009; program website). Jessica Schwartz, senior communication officer for Wallace, said the funder hadn't commissioned a film before but found it would be the most effective way to reach its target audiences. For more information on the grantmakers’ group, visit its website.