The Michael J. Connell Foundation has made more than half of its grants to advance the cultural experience. Some of the more typical grants made in the past three years have included:
- Three separate grants to the Los Angles Philharmonic Association aggregating $275,000. All three of these grants provided support for specific musical programs.
- Several grants to Camerata Pacifica to support their chamber music concerts in Pasadena, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
- Several grants to Montana State University to support a summer travling Shakespeare project and programs to introduce Shakespeare to primary school children.
- Several grants to small local theatre groups to support productions and community outreach.
Educational grants made by the Michael J. Connell Foundation have spanned a broad range of endeavors, but most recently have focused on programs designed to serve minorities or on the implementation of technology. A few of the more typical recent grants have included:
- A grant to Occidental College to support the creation of a digital production studio.
- A grant to Don Bosco Technical Insitute to upgrade classroom and campus wide computer systems.
- A grant to Kidspace Children's Museum to support science programs.
The Michael J. Connell Foundation has supported numerous environmental activities and continues to be very concerned over the deterioration of our environment and the effect of the deterioration on future generations. Recent grants addressing these concerns include:
- Grants to the Bitteroot Land Trust, Hamilton, Montana to acquire and convert to public use a parcel of land adjacent to the Bitterroot River and to provide public access to fishing and hunting opportunities over private land.
- A series of grants over the past several years to Concerned Resources & Environmental Workers, a Ventura, California based group that employs youth, many of whom are "at risk", to work on fire prevention, land restoration, trail maintenance and other wilderness projects.
Many of the recent grants made by the Michael J. Connell Foundation have supported issues relating to mental health, particularly those relating to children and families. The following describes the foundation's most recent significant grants:
- Several grants aggregating to Chiron Center, an organization that provides crisis counseling services.
- Several grants to Hillsides, an organization that provides mental health and other support to vulnerable children and families in the Los Angeles area.
