In the foundation's '09 loss of $549K, Ralph Lauren

The value of the Gannett Foundation's endowment of stocks and other investments fell to $15.5 million last year from $17.3 million in 2008, according to newly released public documents, and one culprit was a $549,193 loss on the sale of some of those assets.

The foundation, which is advised by two professional money management firms, taps its endowment annually to pay for grants it gives to non-profit groups across the country. It is Gannett's principal source of charity.

Losers
The foundation took especially big hits in 2009 on the sale of shares of banking and other companies, including:

• Morningstar: a $90,027 loss
• Emerson Electric: $74,490
• Polo Ralph Lauren: $61,784
• Bank of America: $54,142
• Zions Bancorp: $53,425
• Wells Fargo: $43,359
• IBM: $36,420

Winners
However, those losses were partially offset by gains in the sale of other shares, mostly of technology companies, including:

• Oracle: a $34,992 gain
• Research in Motion: $29,198
• Motorola: $20,579
• Apple: $16,034
• Intel: $14,294

The endowment was advised in 2009 by two money management firms that have advised Gannett and its charitable arm for many years: Luther King Fund Management, and Northern Trust of Chicago. Luther King was paid $31,534 in fees, and Northern got $14,946, the documents show.

Earlier: Rochester hit hard by funding decrease; foundation gave $255,000 to executives' favorite charities