The Kinsman Foundation
January, 2010
The start of this new decade finds us evaluating both our work of 2009 and the plans we have made for 2010. The uncertainty and apprehension that marked last year have mellowed somewhat, and we’re ready to progress.
Financially, the past year was no less a roller coaster ride for us than it was for everybody else. The world’s economic situation sometimes suggested we were staring into the Abyss, but frequently there were promising signals that conditions would improve. Since October 2008 we have made minor adjustments to our investments, but our choice was, essentially, to trust our previous decisions. This choice has at this moment brought us a moderate recovery. We will for some time be a somewhat smaller organization than we had been, and we’re comfortable with that fact.
Our 2009 grants were moderately impacted by economic difficulties. Our total grants budget is based on the amount the IRS requires us to distribute, and that figure is based on previous years’ financial information. Our total 2009 grants were about 80% of 2007 and 2008 levels and about 20% above our required payout.
Our 2010 grants have been significantly affected, partially because of the decline in the world’s economies and partially because of our own mistakes in budgeting and grant spending. A grave lack of resources resulted in our discontinuing grants to music, dance, and fine arts organizations for the foreseeable future. Also new for 2010 grants is our decision to discontinue continuous processing of arts and culture grants in our small grants program. We will decide all 2010 arts and culture grants at a board meeting in April.
A big change in our office routine is occasional visits by Ruby Bailey, born to our grants associate, Sara in October. We’re hoping for more visits soon. We owe many thanks to Ulla Dosedal, who processed our 2009 grants during Sara’s maternity leave.
Continuing thanks to all who help us support our grantees’ work.
THE KINSMAN FOUNDATION
Keith Kinsman, President