NEW YORK – The Toyota USA Foundation Wednesday announced more than $1.3 million in new grants to support innovative K-12 math, science, engineering and environmental science education programs, with a focus on programs that serve diverse and underserved communities.

These new grants, combined with the more than $3.8 million in multi-year commitments, total to more than $5 million that the Toyota Foundation has disbursed to nonprofit organizations this year.

Toyota USA Foundation grant decisions place a high priority on programs that value diversity, incorporate inter-disciplinary learning and are built around “real-world” classroom applications. In addition, the foundation focuses on innovative and cost-effective programs that help students and educators develop their abilities.