Times Co. ratchets down charitable work in Boston and NYt
This step was announced in two emails today, one from Times Co. vice chairman Michael Golden and one from Globe publisher Steve Ainsley. Here they are; note the possible implications of the move for Boston's nonprofit community:
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Dear Colleagues,
It is with sadness that I write to tell you that The New York Times Company Foundation is suspending grant making and the matching gifts program. This includes the grant making of The Boston Globe Foundation. As all of you know only too well, the economy and the secular changes in our industry are causing everyone to rigorously manage costs and unfortunately, this is a difficult but necessary step.
The Foundation will honor existing commitments, including those for multi-year grants but will make no other grants or accept any new applications for funding. This will, over time, affect the free access employees and their families enjoyed to museums. We will update the list of places offering free passes or discounts to Times Company employees, which can be found at: [internal company web site address]
Under the present matching gifts program, the Foundation has matched, dollar for dollar, contributions to eligible nonprofit institutions by full-time or retired employees and directors. This program will be suspended as of Friday, May 22. Contributions made after May 22 will not be matched by the Foundation.
The Times College Scholarship program will continue in a smaller incarnation. All of the students currently in the program will continue as normal as will the students currently in the Globe Scholars program.
The New York Times Neediest Cases Campaign and The Globe Santa program are unaffected by the changes announced today.
Lastly, the Foundation’s grants and matching gifts programs have touched the lives of many people. I would like to extend sincere appreciation on behalf of the company to the dedicated staff who has played such an important role in making the Foundation a success.
Sincerely,
Michael
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Dear Colleagues,
As the memo from Michael Golden you received today indicated, The New York Times Company Foundation is suspending grant making and matching gifts, which includes the grant making of The Boston Globe Foundation. This was a painful but necessary decision given current economic and industry conditions.
The Boston Globe Foundation will honor existing commitments, including those for multi-year scholarships. Community programs that will continue in 2009 are the Boston high school newspaper Teens in Print, the 2009 Media Matters Writing Conference, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Boston Summer Scholars. The Boston Globe will continue its Globe Santa program, which raises funds to deliver holiday gifts to underprivileged children.
We can all be proud of the many accomplishments of The Boston Globe Foundation and its tremendous support to our community. We are all grateful for the staff's dedication and contributions.
Despite this decision, we will continue to help make a difference in the lives of our neighbors through our community affairs programming, Team Globe volunteering, and collaborative work with nonprofit organizations.
-- Steve
