Mailing List Archive: The Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund

The Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund

Jan 26, 2009, 8:35 AM

Post #1 of 4 (1066 views)

Over here....
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Benefactors/De#Major_benefactors_.28.2450.2C000_or_more.29

...the Wikimedia Foundation gives credit to "the Stanton Foundation".
It's my learning that "the Stanton Foundation" is a small non-profit
located in Jackon, Michigan. However, "The Ruth and Frank Stanton
Fund" is a large foundation (about $28 million in holdings, in 2007)
that has made the high-profile donations in the past that are
associated with the legacy of CBS head, Frank Stanton.

There are other places on the web where it seems that the Ruth and
Frank Stanton Fund has been described as "the Stanton Foundation",
namely surrounding their $3 million donation to a Boston animal
shelter. Does anybody have a good explanation for what is happening
here? Is the "Fund" being miscalled as a "Foundation", and it's just
a simple mistake? Or, has the Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund split off
or reorganized at some point since their 2007 filing of the Form 990,
as the "Stanton Foundation"?

--
Gregory Kohs

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Re: The Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund [ In reply to ]

thomas.dalton at gmail

Jan 26, 2009, 9:12 AM

Post #2 of 4 (1047 views)

Permalink

2009/1/26 Gregory Kohs <thekohser@gmail.com>:
> Over here....
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Benefactors/De#Major_benefactors_.28.2450.2C000_or_more.29
>
> ...the Wikimedia Foundation gives credit to "the Stanton Foundation".
> It's my learning that "the Stanton Foundation" is a small non-profit
> located in Jackon, Michigan. However, "The Ruth and Frank Stanton
> Fund" is a large foundation (about $28 million in holdings, in 2007)
> that has made the high-profile donations in the past that are
> associated with the legacy of CBS head, Frank Stanton.

Given that the WMF will have had substantial communications with them
for some time before getting the money, I think it's highly unlikely
WMF would get their name wrong. What gives you the idea that the
Stanton Foundation is a small Michigan non-profit?

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The Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund [ In reply to ]

thekohser at gmail

Jan 26, 2009, 9:32 AM

Post #3 of 4 (1038 views)

Permalink

Thomas Dalton says:
Given that the WMF will have had substantial communications with them
for some time before getting the money, I think it's highly unlikely
WMF would get their name wrong. What gives you the idea that the
Stanton Foundation is a small Michigan non-profit?

++++++++++

For these reasons:
http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/PubApps/showVals.php?ft=bmf&ein=383448185
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/383/448/2008-383448185-04683dae-F.pdf

I consider a foundation with about $400K in holdings a "small" one.

I'm waiting to hear back from Holtz Rubenstein Reminick (preparers of
the Form 990 for the Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund), but I'll bet they
have no affiliation with any "Stanton Foundation". I'm predicting
this is a repeated error of the "shorthand" nature, being made by both
the press and even benefactors. Nothing egregious, but it's just that
because there *is* another real "Stanton Foundation", this is
confusing. You know, "the sum of human knowledge" type of stuff that
is important to me.

Greg

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Re: The Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund [ In reply to ]

me at marcusbuck

Jan 26, 2009, 9:35 AM

Post #4 of 4 (1029 views)

Permalink

Thomas Dalton hett schreven:
> 2009/1/26 Gregory Kohs <thekohser@gmail.com>:
>
>> Over here....
>> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Benefactors/De#Major_benefactors_.28.2450.2C000_or_more.29
>>
>> ...the Wikimedia Foundation gives credit to "the Stanton Foundation".
>> It's my learning that "the Stanton Foundation" is a small non-profit
>> located in Jackon, Michigan. However, "The Ruth and Frank Stanton
>> Fund" is a large foundation (about $28 million in holdings, in 2007)
>> that has made the high-profile donations in the past that are
>> associated with the legacy of CBS head, Frank Stanton.
>>
>
> Given that the WMF will have had substantial communications with them
> for some time before getting the money, I think it's highly unlikely
> WMF would get their name wrong. What gives you the idea that the
> Stanton Foundation is a small Michigan non-profit?
>
He wrote that. Each foundation has to file Form 990. Those forms can be
searched online <http://tfcny.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php>.
The search term "Stanton Foundation" returns only small foundations. The
biggest is the Oliver & Elizabeth Stanton Foundation with assets of 6
million $. They spend around 100,000 each year, which is not enough to
fit. There's a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation too with more assets, but I
guess, it would have been named with the full name and not abbreviated.
The Stanton Fund has spent 1,2 million $ in 2007, which is the fitting
magnitude. But the profile of their spendings is not obviously related
to the Wikimedia donation.

(That's all no support of the idea, the WMF got wrong the name, just
information without judgement.)

Marcus Buck

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