SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – Aug. 27, 2014 – The Motorola Solutions Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI), announced that its 2014 “Innovation Generation Grants” will support over 90 organizations in the United States and Canada. These programs ignite student interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as STEM-related careers for teachers and students, especially girls and underrepresented minorities.

The $4 million in grants will support 1 million students and teachers. Each participant will receive an average of 80-hours of hands-on STEM experience. Since 2007, Innovation Generation Grants have provided $38 million to support STEM programs at schools, museums and nonprofits in the United States and Canada.

KEY FACTS

The 2014 Motorola Solutions Foundation grants were distributed as follows:
Sixty-six grants were awarded in seven states in the U.S. and The District of Columbia. In addition, 13 grants were awarded to nationwide programs in the U.S., along with seven U.S. multistate grants. Six grants were awarded to organizations based in Canada.
The grants were awarded in two categories:
Local Impact Grants that target innovative, hands-on STEM education programs for elementary through university students and teachers, such as Ryerson University for their Research Opportunity Program in Engineering, which provides an intensive paid four-week internship opportunity for up to 20 junior and senior high school students in the Greater Toronto Area.
National Partnership Grants that support large-scale, multiregional STEM education programs that impact at least 150 participants, such as the Girl Scouts of the USA for their participation in the 2014-2015 FIRST Robotics program, which provides hands-on learning in STEM and team support to approximately 600 girls in the United States.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2012: The annual mean wage for engineering jobs is $79,000. For all other occupations, the mean annual wage is $45,790. The unemployment rate for engineers is only 3.8 percent, compared with 7 percent for all other occupations.

According to the National Science Foundation: Underrepresented minorities hold only 10 percent of science and engineering jobs despite making up over a quarter of the U.S. population age 21 and older.

SUPPORTING QUOTE
Matt Blakely, director, Motorola Solutions Foundation
“In 2007, the Motorola Solutions Foundation created the Innovation Generation Grant program to support instruction and educational experiences that spark young imaginations and turn their dreams into the innovations that will shape our future. Organizations awarded these grants are teaching tomorrow’s workforce that careers in engineering and technology are not only fun, but also within their reach.”