Pop Quiz | Gannett Foundation exec gifts 2012!

Illustrations hint at charities favored by top execs. See quiz, below.

Right in time for Thanksgiving, I've just obtained a copy of the Gannett Foundation's 2012 IRS tax return, the annual report that reveals the highs and lows of the company's philanthropic arm.

For Gannett Blog virgins, the foundation has a history of curious (ahem) contributions made to non-profit groups at the behest of current and retired executives. Their employee benefits include the right to earmark up to $15,000 annually for any of their favorite charities. But they're not required to pony up any of their own money to exercise that benefit. That's different than the employee GannettMatch program for all the little people, who must first make a contribution before the foundation will match it to a maximum $10,000 per year.

All the rest of the foundation's grants go to non-profits in communities where the nation's top newspaper publisher does business. As with many companies, that makes the foundation an extension of Gannett's public relations operation. (Indeed, the foundation's executive director is Debra Goetz, the company's vice president of marketing, according to the IRS return.)

Here's the fine print
The IRS tax returns are public documents under federal open-records laws. They're the most detailed reports charitable foundations must make public every year. For the Gannett Foundation, the documents only disclose names of executives under their special program. The returns don't identify individual employees using GannettMatch. (Read and download a free 116-page copy of the 2012 return.)

Payne

The exec-driven contributions open a rare window on their philanthropic priorities: for example, how closely they favor personal interests such as their alma maters (hi, retired CEO Doug McCorkindale!) or their dedication to actual journalism (Chief Digital Officer David Payne!).

This spreadsheet lists 43 contributions earmarked last year by 15 top executives totaling $215,000. (Chief Financial Officer Victoria Harker directed just $5,000; she came to Gannett only midway through the year.) Click on the "2011" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to see a list of the previous year's gifts.

Now for that pop quiz
Which executives chose which non-profits?

1. Center for Reproductive Rights: $1,000. (I sure didn't see this one coming: "Our groundbreaking cases before national courts, United Nations committees, and regional human rights bodies have expanded access to reproductive health care, including birth control, safe abortion, prenatal and obstetric care, and unbiased information.")
2. University of Texas Foundation for support of the College of Communications' Innovation Fund: $15,000. (Obvious hint: The university's other programs include the Craig A. & Denise W. Dubow Endowed Presidential Scholarship.)
3. Indiana University Clown Science Program: $7,500. ("Licensed clown science practitioners provide humor therapy in a variety of settings.")
4. Glimmerglass Opera: $1,500. (Show tunes! "The company’s mission is to produce new, little-known and familiar operas and works of music theater in innovative productions.")
5. Wellesley College: $10,000. (Longtime readers will say: "Duh!" For everyone else: "Wellesley is known for the thousands of accomplished, thoughtful women it has sent out into the world for over 100 years -- women who are committed to making a difference.")

(Answers are in the comments section, below.)

Earlier: Gannett Foundation gives $1,200 to Focus on the Family, founded by the conservative evangelical minister James Dobson.

This is now, that was then

The Gannett Foundation is actually the organization's second incarnation. The original was renamed Freedom Forum two decades ago when the late Gannett CEO Al Neuharth, facing the prospect of retirement spent riding an adult-sized tricycle in Cocoa Beach, Fla., got other ideas. (Way, way too complicated to explain here. But you can get a flavor of what's happened since then.)

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.