Mikeroweworks Foundation

“Mary sullivan is engaged by mr. Rowe's companies as his president and in house counsel and is paid a customary salary by mr. Rowe's companies for such services; therese oswald is engaged by mr. Rowe's companies as vice president and is paid a customary salary by mr. Rowe's companies for such services.”

“A copy of form 990 was distributed to the governing board for review prior to the filing of the return.”

“The organization does not make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financials statements available to the public.”

“The mikeroweworks foundation, a california nonprofit public benefit corporation ("mrwf") was founded by mike rowe to promote, foster and support charitable and educational activities and organizations involved in the skilled trades. The specific purpose of mrwf is to provide financial support to trade schools, technical colleges, trade-related organizations and individuals interested in pursuing a career in the trades. All of its programs and efforts are aimed at supporting the skilled trades, people who want to be trained for a career in the trades and in serving as the country's "pr campaign for hard work." in addition to public support raised through typical donation avenues, mrwf sells posters, books and other items (typically donated by individuals) as well as encourages employers to match funds donated by their employees. Mrwf has joined charity support networks like amazonsmile, ebay and paypal giving fund in order to further raise capital. The foundation may also conduct special events or develop educational materials in which skilled labor and hard work are celebrated in order to call attention to the increasingly high demand for skilled tradespeople and bolster enrollment in technical colleges and trade and vocational schools. On behalf of his foundation, mike rowe has spent the past few years traveling around the country, speaking to the senate and house and being interviewed about the skills gap, aging workforce, the predicament of simultaneous and record-setting unemployment while a record number of unfilled jobs remain unfilled simply because the country does not have a sufficient quantity of trained workforce. Mrwf was able to create an overall trade school partnership plan to develop and co-sponsor multi-million dollar scholarship programs. It has identified and worked with trade schools partners putting large scale partnership programs in motion, while overseeing execution and administration of the programs. The programs will make available over $2.5 million in full-ride scholarships for trade-related careers. Mike and mrwf continue to challenge the notion that a four-year degree is the only way to have a useful education and mrwf is dedicated to moving steadily forward with its efforts to train people for jobs that actually exist.”