The Pew Charitable Trusts

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The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental organization, founded in 1948. Its current mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and stimulating civic life."[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The Trusts, a single entity, is the successor to, and sole beneficiary of, seven charitable funds established between 1948 and 1979 by the adult children of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew. The four co-founders were J. Howard Pew, Mary Ethel Pew, Joseph N. Pew, Jr., and Mabel Pew Myrin. The Trusts is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with an office in Washington, D.C..

Joseph Pew and his heirs were politically conservative. The J. Howard Pew Freedom Trust had as its mission to "acquaint the American people with 'the evils of bureaucracy' and 'the values of a free market' and 'to inform our people of the struggle, persecution, hardship, sacrifice and death by which freedom of the individual was won.'" Joseph N. Pew, Jr. called Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, "a gigantic scheme to raze U.S businesses to a dead level and debase the citizenry into a mass of ballot-casting serfs."[2]

Early beneficiaries included a cancer research institute, a museum, higher education, the American Red Cross, and historically black colleges. For many years, the Trusts tended to fund charities and conservative causes located in Philadelphia.

In 2004, the Pew Trusts changed from a foundation into a nonprofit. It can now raise funds freely and devote up to 5% of its budget to lobbying the public sector.

According to the 2007 Annual Report, five of the 12 persons currently serving on the Board for the Trusts are named Pew, including the Chair. Two of the five are physicians.

[edit] Current concerns

The Trusts fund the Pew Research Center, the third-largest think tank in Washington DC, after the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress.

The Trusts have worked closely with the Vera Institute of Justice on issues related to state correction policies in the "Public Safety Performance Project." [1] In 2008, the Pew Center on the States reported that more than one in 100 adults in the United States is in jail or prison, an all-time high. The cost to state governments is nearly $50 billion a year and the federal government $5 billion more. The report compiled and analyzed data the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons and each state's department of corrections.[2] In 2007 the Trusts issued a report lauding states that had adopted strategies recommended by the Trusts to avoid increased incarceration of felons, praising in particular Connecticut for its "data driven policies." In the wake of the July 2007 Cheshire home invasion, in which two paroled criminals were charged with three murders, the Connecticut Chief State's Attorney admitted the state's criminal justice data system was "nonexistent." [3] Governor M. Jodi Rell abandoned this effort in September 2007 by announcing a parole moratorium for violent offenders. + The Trusts have worked closely with the Vera Institute of Justice on issues related to state correction policies in the "Public Safety Performance Project." [4] - [5] Following a Quinnipiac University poll showing overwhelming opposition to the early parole of criminals [6], state legislators proposed the more traditional approach of longer sentences and additional prison space. [7]


The Trusts funds the Pew Biomedical Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences, intended to support promising early and mid-career scientists investigating human health, both basic and clinical. The awards provide flexible support ($240,000 over a four-year period). Grantees are encouraged to be entrepreneurial and innovative in their research.[8]

[edit] Financial facts

According to the 2007 Annual Report, as of 30 June 2006, the Trusts owned over US$5 billion in assets. For the 12 months ending on that date, total revenues were about US$264 million and total expenses were about $197 million, of which $12 million were for operating costs and fund raising expenses.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Pew Charitable Trusts - Non Profit Organization Serving the Public
  2. ^ Wooster, Martin. Too Good to Be True.
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Corrections &Amplifications

UNDER FEDERAL tax law, the Pew Charitable Trusts will be permitted to spend as much as 5% of the organization's annual budget on lobbying activities after it converts to a public charity. An article Thursday incorrectly gave the figure as 20%. (WSJ Nov. 10, 2003)


Letters to the Editor Pew's Agenda? We're Here To Help Solve Problems 368 words 8 April 2005 The Wall Street Journal A13 English (Copyright (c) 2005, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

In his April 1 commentary "Too Good to be True," Martin Wooster asks, "What, exactly, is Pew's agenda?" (Taste page, Weekend Journal). It is clear from his subsequent distortions that he knows little about the charitable work of The Pew Charitable Trusts and how we fulfill the mission of our founders.

The Trusts' goal for its policy work is simple: to help solve critical, deeply rooted problems confronting the nation. Whether it is working to improve the country's foster-care system, encouraging all young people to vote, protecting untouched forests, or ensuring America's four-year-olds have access to quality pre-kindergarten, we draw on the best and brightest minds to seek solutions that work for the American people. We are deeply grateful that Trusts-supported policy projects continue to draw participation and leadership from public stewards and professionals across the ideological spectrum -- from former presidents and policy makers to business executives, civic leaders and scientists.

Mr. Wooster's column also inaccurately described the research and polling activity of the Trusts' subsidiary, The Pew Research Center. The center is among the nation's most respected, impartial sources of information, providing facts to inform the public dialogue. It never takes positions on any policy issues, and the Trusts maintains a strict separation between the center's information work and the Trusts' support for projects seeking policy solutions, much as The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers separate news from editorial pages.

In an era of personal attacks and polarization, the Trusts strives to provide objective information and to seek common-ground solutions to many of our country's most vexing problems. Our approaches are consistent with the desires of the American people, who have grown frustrated by the current culture of acrimony and unfounded accusation.

Like most Americans today, our founders expected more from the national dialogue of a great nation, and that is why our board -- including direct descendents of our founders -- continues to take great pride in supporting this important work.

Rebecca W. Rimel

President and CEO

The Pew Charitable Trusts

Philadelphia