American Foundations so far have
Failed to Help this Priority Program.

About two hundred (200) of the largest foundations in the United States that help education so
far have declined to support this priority program. The nonprofit corporation Comprehension Project, Inc. has made two mailings to about the same 200 foundations, and has received
no donations.

When no dictionary company would publish this improved dictionary, Comprehension Project, Inc. was set up, having its main purpose to get this improved dictionary to the public. With education being within the top two concerns of the public, and with many foundations financing improvements
in education, foundations should recognize this as a priority need.

After all, about the most important requirement in education is to know what the words mean.
This major requirement is being broadly ignored, broadly harming education. We have a way
to improve education in every subject, for every student in every school in the nation, and at
low cost. This provably is a priority solution.

Our goal was to get enough funds to pay for a first edition of this improved dictionary,
about 20,000 copies, plus the related costs to get this known and distributed. We would pay
a dictionary company to print up their own dictionary, but with this index added.

As executive director of Comprehension Project. Inc, I first wrote to about 200 foundations
on different mailing dates around November, 2000. The basic reply that I got back was
for foundations in effect writing “We receive many requests for funding, and we do not have
the funds to support them all. Declined.”

The second time I wrote to about the same 200 foundations about June, 2001, I wrote back
saying in effect “Truly, you can not fund everyone, but is your concern at least to fund the
higher priority programs? I enclose a proof that our program is high priority.” I got basically
the same replies from that second letter. So far these American foundations have failed
to recognize a priority program.

Is the problem no personal “in” with foundations?

Many manuals and seminars on how to get funds from foundations say it is very
important personally to know someone at a foundation, otherwise the foundation will not really
pay attention to the submission. Is this the problem? Their submission procedures do not
say anything about joining clubs, talking over dinner, etc., and seem to talk only about the merits
of programs. Still, is this part of their not recognizing this as priority?

With the objective proofs on this Website that this program is priority, the question for a public
person first learning about this program may no longer be “Is this program that important?” At
some point when it is recognized that this program is high priority, the issue may become “Are
the people who have accepted responsibility to help education adequately paying attention to
what will help education? Are they adequately doing their jobs?”

My first mailing was basically a one 8-1/2 x 14 page, in many cases with an added cover letter. Usually a foundation’s procedure is they do not want to read 20 or 30 pages for every submission, and want just a short one or two page “Letter of Inquiry/Intent” that summarizes what the program
is about. From that short submission a foundation usually decides if it is interested in learning more or not. Towards the end of this Website article, I enclose a sample of that one-
page first mailing to about 200 foundations.

My second mailing to about these same foundations was twelve (12) pages long and included proofs that this program was priority. The first page of that second mailing included these words:

“...Different from the vast majority of other programs you are presented, our program is objectively provable to be priority, yet I have received only “no” responses from many foundations.

“This letter proves WHY this is a priority for education.

“My earlier one-page letter of inquiry did not provide enough information for you to know that this is a priority program. We have a breakthrough, patented, easily made, and inexpensive reform that will significantly improve education in all subjects and all grade levels. We have a substantial solution to a major problem in education. The Proof in this letter includes quoting just two references. If you read this letter through, I believe you will see this is a priority program much needed by education.”

But we still got no donation from any foundation. That second mailing had several pages
showing how important it is to know what words mean, and how this improved dictionary
would increase dictionary use. That page 2 included this information:

“Over a period of 25 years the federal government has put $125 billion in funds into Title One
to improve education – – with the result that a recent Department of Education study shows
that 60% of poor fourth grade students can barely read. During this period of time many
students graduated from high school who could not read. Much of their time in class was
obviously wasted, not being able to learn from their reading materials. Do you agree that
the ability to read is a priority and necessity for education?”

Sample first mailing

You might think that just my first mailing of our Letter of Inquiry/Intent should have brought on large interest in our program. You can judge for yourself. While there were some variations in these first letters, in the following you can see the basic Letter of Inquiry/Intent, which I reduced to small enough type size to get onto one 8-1/2 x 14 page.

____________________________________________________________

Letter of Inquiry/Intent

Comprehension Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, Federal EIN 94-3201480, California #1881204. We have a partial SOLUTION to improve comprehension in education in every subject, at every grade level in every school in the nation, and at very low cost per person. Our solution uses United States Patent Number 4,813,710.

We will achieve this not through some speculative or unlikely approach, but by applying
about the most fundamental of learning requirements. A basic requirement
for comprehension in many cases is being sadly neglected.

If a student is reading words to understand a lesson, would it help the student to know what those words mean? The answer is obvious. But many students do not know the meaning of many words, have a poor vocabulary, and are vague and confused as they supposedly “read” through their lessons.

We have an inexpensive way for students to come to know the meaning of words in the lessons. We have an improved book dictionary that is far easier to use and that students will more willingly use. Instead of the usual 6 – 7 page turns to find a word, here they usually find the word in 2 or 3 page turns. Our U.S. Patent No. 4,813,710 is definitively the only practical dictionary index.

This dictionary index is objectively a qualitative breakthrough over all previous indexes. Here a person finds words with fewer page turns, with less complexity, and lower cost. This index has only one simple chart, just the 26 letters from A to Z – – whereas every previous index across the planet had nearly 26 separate charts. We have a 3-minute video to show how this index works.

By survey 90% of the public would prefer this improved dictionary. After we get the seed
money, we will be self-sustaining. Sadly, every dictionary company I contacted declined to
publish and distribute this on their own – declined to have a gargantuan best seller that
would broadly help education.

I personally invented this improved dictionary, and gave free use of the patent to our nonprofit corporation. State and federal governments decided there was no conflict of interest, and approved our nonprofit corporation as apparently the only way to get this improved dictionary to the public. A dictionary company has agreed that if we pay for one complete small edition, that they will publish and sell us their dictionary with our index included, about $15.00 each.

We need matching grants of as little as $20,000 or more totaling $469,700 – to make a
major impact on education. Once the public learns about this, we will have to work hard to keep
up with demand. We will help students accurately understand the lessons in the first
place. We will improve literacy, help avoid wasted years where students comprehend little,
and help avoid expensive tutorials and remedial programs if students
later try to catch up.

Here you can be part of a nationwide solution. Please do not write back that this is
not already your focus within education, because this can not already be anyone’s focus.
This practical solution never existed before we offered it, so of course no one could already
be considering it. That would be a “Catch-22.” No one else has our program. Our
extreme uniqueness should not make us “fall through the cracks.” The country needs your help
on this.

Comprehension Project, Inc. Alexander Weilgart, Executive Director.

2337 Harrison Street, Oakland, CA 94612-3760. Tel: (510) 835-1230

____________________________________________________________

(End of Letter of Inquiry/Intent)

Another reason some foundations gave for their rejections.

After the first mailing, some foundations wrote back to the effect that their guidelines do
not specify to support an easier-to-use dictionary. I also included an answer to that in the
second mailing, where I wrote:

"One basic barrier in getting aid from foundations.

“Your guidelines or focus will not specify “We need to support an easier-to-use dictionary that people will more willingly use” because no one there beforehand thought this breakthrough invention was possible. Of course your guidelines are not looking specifically for this. As an analogy, no one is looking to buy a decent new car for only $500.00, because no one thinks such a car is possible.

“So please do not write back as one foundation did “Dictionary with chart, that is not within our guidelines.” It is impossible for the writers of your guidelines to have the foresight to want to support something that they do not think is possible. Should this priority program therefore never reach the country? Should we be fatalistic and say that this falls through the cracks, and bemoan that education will have to continue to do poorly without satisfactory vocabularies? Of course not.

“The question is not “Do your guidelines specify an improved dictionary?” Of course your guidelines don’t. The question IS – – “Do your guidelines allow you to support better understanding of lessons and better success in education?” Also, “Do you care about reform and improved comprehension and literacy?” If YES, we have the best practical means to achieve that. On this basis you are allowed to support this essential for improved education.”

Is there hope in the future from foundations?

If you personally know anyone at a foundation that helps education, you could recommend that
person look at this Website. Perhaps that person will decide that an oversight has been made,
and that this priority program should be supported after all.

Our program is one-of-a-kind, no one else helping here.

No one else in the world has a program like this. This is the only practical way to make a
book dictionary easier to use, so that students will become more willing to use book
dictionaries.

Other nonprofit programs to help education might each be operating in 50 or 100 cities.
This program has never operated anywhere, has never been started. This improved dictionary
has never yet been published. Doesn’t this program deserve even a chance, to see if it
will significantly help education?

More adequately knowing what the words mean is provably a priority in education. Here is
finally a breakthrough patented way to words better known.

Even if someone thinks there is only a ten percent chance that knowing the meaning of words is
very important to education, that is enough to support this. There is no necessity to wait until
100% of the population is convinced 100% that this is of major importance.

With the emergency of our failing education system, solutions need to be found.
Resources need to be paid out to investigate solutions. This program has a much
better chance of success than many other programs out there.

This program is based on a long-known requirement in education to know what the words
mean. This program is not based on some dubious, unlikely new theory of the month.
Would it be so surprising if foundations supported this, to discover that this program
would largely help education?

No playing politics, no trying to be an insider good old boy.

I am not interested in playing politics or cozying up to any foundation and saying “Support
this program just because you like me.” I would like to find some foundations that do not
first require that I become an insider good old boy, and who will support this just because it is
an objective fact that the country needs this.

I do not want to make my focus dancing around and playing on a foundation’s emotions.
My focus is the rationality of the actual need of this program. Which foundations merely
want to help education, without these other frills?

Can a foundation partially consider this Website an application?

Note to any foundation: I believe you will find just about all the information you would
require in an application already on this Website.

Please consider that an application has been made to you.

If Comprehension Project, Inc. is really lucky, it will find a check from you in the mail for
anywhere between $2,500 and $250,000 or more. Of course, if you want any more
specific papers in application, I am sure those can be provided.

If any foundation wants to start off with a one or two page Letter of Inquiry, before looking
at the other information on this Website, perhaps you can look at the Letter of Inquiry
within this Website article. That could save both you and me some time – instead of
my mailing in that Letter of Inquiry and then waiting maybe two to eight months if you have
any interest to learn more about this.

I am trying to find some way to avoid maybe a year or two before grants are made.
The country really does need this program, the sooner the better.

If anyone in the public contacts a foundation about this and tells this Website address, I
hope that public person will get a reply other than “If anyone wants to apply, that person
can mail in a Letter of Inquiry.” As already explained in this Website, my mailing in Letters
of Inquiry has not worked. It might not be worth it for me to spend much more time on that,
if there is no reason to expect any different outcome from before.

It would be really nice if a foundation wrote to our nonprofit corporation any approximate
variation of “Public people have contacted us. We have looked at and read your
Website. Please do some minor additional procedural actions, so that we can further
consider and see about getting Comprehension Project, Inc. a grant.”

If any public person does not know anyone at a foundation, but feels so inclined, maybe that
public person could kindly write to a foundation anyway to take a look at this Website.

Applying to federal, state, and local governments.

The problem in applying to government agencies is that each one usually has a
personalized application procedure where each detail of information must be provided in its
own very specific order. It can take forty hours to prepare one such application – – and then get
no more results than if applying to one foundation.

The federal government has over thirty programs to help education that could be applied
to. If anyone out there is familiar with government procedures and is willing to volunteer to
help prepare any government application, I would very much appreciate that.

However, the same as above for foundations, maybe government agencies just seeing this
Website could significantly start the ball rolling to get our nonprofit corporation a grant.
Maybe a government agency itself could prepare an application, taking information from
this Website to put into each particular slot of an application. Dear Public People: Once
again I am requesting your assistance, if you are willing to write to government agencies
and tell them this Website address.

However, the more immediate way to get this improved dictionary to the public
would be if a dictionary company would publish and distribute this on its own.
Dear Public: It would be higher priority for you to write to dictionary companies.

There are only seven (7) dictionary companies listed within “Contacting Dictionary
Companies” at the end of this home page. After you have written to any or all of those
dictionary companies, if you still want to help, maybe you can write to some foundations
and government agencies.

Should this Website be called a nonprofit or private activity?

This Website could have been called a strict nonprofit activity. But maybe someone would
find some unfair and not-applicable legal interpretation and use that to object to this. After all,
I may be an annoyance to some educational theorists, dictionary companies, and foundations
who may prefer that I just go away. I would not want anyone to try to tie up my time and funds
in court.

To be on the safe side, this can as easily be called a private activity. I, Alexander Weilgart,
did all the writing of all the articles on this Website. No one in this nonprofit corporation has
any responsibility for what is in this Website; I just did this on my own. I paid for this
Website out of my own private funds. Therefore, this Website is being called here a “private”
activity.

As a free citizen, I am free to donate free mention in this Website of this nonprofit
corporation and its purposes and activities. No one should object to any free mentions.

I will mention that I never claimed to be a “writer.” Maybe I could have made some of these
articles shorter. Maybe there was some redundancy. But with no one else doing the writing, I
have done what I could also in that area. In my work on the videos filmed years ago, I was
somewhat stilted in front of those cameras, not as relaxed as I usually am. But someone
had to appear in those videos, and I was it. I am doing what I can, so far being a committee of
one to do it all.

I could use some help.

I do all the work for this nonprofit activity, though I do not have much time or funds to work on
this. I have an ordinary job with an ordinary income – and have never yet earned even a
dime for this patent or for the large work I have done for this nonprofit corporation.

Keep in mind that I am one person trying to help the education system throughout this
whole country. How about some other people out there helping me “carry on the good fight”?
Your writing letters and making donations would really help.