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First off, I just want to say that if that guy was a friend of John Heinz's as he claims, he would never speak of Teresa in that way.
Second, the money he claims she inherited has nothing to do with the grants to Tides. The money was in the form of grants from the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, which was established upon the death of Senator Heinz's great-aunt. So... tell you friend that it would be wise to know of what he speaks.
Lastly, I past a press release from Tides.
Good luck with the conversion!
March 19, 2004
Dear Friends:
Recently, Tides has been the subject of inaccurate reporting and editorial comment laden with innuendo and negative spin. For those of you who know us well, you don’t have to be reminded about how deeply we value diverse perspectives, or how strongly we feel about everyone’s right to express those points of view, whether we agree with them or not. In this case, though, we feel compelled to correct the record. We hope that we can enlist your support as we reach out to others to clarify what is true and what is nonsense.
Tides has come under attack in several opinion pieces recently appearing in media such as The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times, among others. It is truly frustrating to see our name in articles and editorials where the media never spoke with us, never attempted to check their 'facts', nor sought our perspective on what they were writing. The articles focus on the funding Tides receives from The Heinz Endowments as well as Tides’ support for a group called “September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows”.
What seems to be motivating these stories is a desire to place Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of the presumed Democratic nominee, in a bad light. We are quite aware that she serves as a trustee of The Heinz Endowments, from which Tides Foundation received several modest grants totaling $230,000 from 1994-1998, and from which, more recently, the Tides Center has received important grant support for several Pittsburgh-based projects administered by Tides Center. All of these restricted grants were limited to the environmental and youth programs Heinz has chosen to fund in Pittsburgh. Needless to say, neither I personally, nor Tides institutionally, has any relationship with Teresa Heinz Kerry, persons involved in Senator Kerry’s campaign, or with the Democratic Party. We are very conscious of the line that must exist between charities and all things electoral.
It has been alleged that we redirected funds from The Heinz Endowments to a project of Tides Center called Peaceful Tomorrows, a very small collection of 9/11 families that joined together to advance a message of dialog and reconciliation in response to the tragedies. Tides Foundation has made four grants in 2002 and 2003 for a combined total of $34,665 to Peaceful Tomorrows – a small fraction of their total support. Peaceful Tomorrows has also raised $19,097 in small donations from individuals through Groundspring.org since August, 2002 for their work promoting the idea of nonviolent conflict resolution. Regardless of your opinion of this point of view, I am sure you would defend their right to make their voices heard. The main message in the media surrounding Peaceful Tomorrows is their desire to keep images of September 11th sacred, and not used in political advertising, as it is very painful for many families of the victims. While asking that the images not be used, the group specifically endorsed the notion of candidates talking about terrorism as one of the most important national issues in front of the country. We also want to set the record straight that no monies from The Heinz Endowments went to support this group in any way, as the media has suggested.
Tides has always strived to operate within both the letter and the spirit of the law, and we have modeled frugal, responsible internal management practices. For instance, Tides Foundation employs donor advised funds—the same financial vehicle administered in precisely the same way as the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and similar programs operated by Schwab, Vanguard, and more than 600 community foundations across the country.
Tides organizations work under the rigors of FASB rules, fund accounting, restricted grants, and annual audits, ensuring that funds are responsibly managed. All monies granted by Tides Foundation are properly distributed and accounted for; in 28 years, there have been no questions raised about our practices from any source. Tides Center projects each raise funds for their individual program activities, with these funds being separately accounted for and administered. These funds are limited to the specific purposes for which they were given. As a recipient of government grants, Tides Center maintains the very highest of standards in its accounting and financial systems.
The diversity of funding sources, for both the Foundation and Center, is so wide as to eschew any notion of bias. From government grants programs to national foundations like Ford, MacArthur, and Mott, and from corporate giving programs to small family foundations of many types, Tides Foundation and Tides Center have been trusted partners in philanthropic innovation for many years.
At Tides, our goals are to support a society based on fairness, equally shared economic opportunities, engaged and active citizens, and environmental sustainability. We facilitate progress toward what we term a ”healthy society” through partnerships, innovation and dialogue. Thanks to our many partners, collaborators and projects, the work speaks for itself in the broad range of program activities that supports a diverse array of organizations working on projects from human rights to disaster relief to to youth education. More than most, we recognize that no one has all the answers.
Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the years. We are proud of our work and will continue to work with and fund organizations and projects that help to make a positive contribution to our society.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have additional questions that have not been covered in this correspondence.
Sincerely,
Drummond Pike President, Tides Foundation and Tides Center
PS: As a matter of record, here are some examples of the projects funded by The Heinz Endowments and administered by the Tides Center Pennsylvania:
-- Sustainable Pittsburgh, a non-partisan, civic forum addressing economic growth, environmental health, and social equity that includes business and community leaders working to improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh.
-- Keys2Work, a program providing tools technology, and expertise that students and educators need about academic standards, the relationship between academics and needed workplace skills, training materials helpful to improving the prospects of employment for students.
-- Cool Space Locator helps businesses and organizations find effective locations for their enterprises thus facilitating reinvestment and revitalization in Pittsburgh’s urban core.
-- Youth Places focuses on underserved, high risk youth ages 12-18, creating quality programs within their neighborhoods shaped to develop skills for youth to increase their opportunity for success.
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