The PBS Foundation was created in June 2004¹ and seeks donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to support the work of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) at a national level.²³

Founding

In a May 2005 speech, then-PBS President Pat Mitchell provided further information about the motivation for the Foundation’s creation as follows:

“To make it possible to solicit the kinds of major gifts from individuals and private foundations that enable us to launch new national and local initiatives, to invest in more content, to fully optimize this content with new technologies, we set up a PBS Foundation.”⁴

 In the same speech, Mitchell announced that the liberal Ford Foundation had committed $10 million in support of the PBS Foundation, representing the first contribution to its coffers.⁵

Activities

Located in Arlington, VA, the PBS Foundation is currently led by Brian Reddington⁶, its executive director, who in 2010 succeeded the inaugural executive director, Cheri Carter.⁷ The foundation’s fund-raising efforts include an online donation initiative⁸ and a program started in 2014 that focuses on building an endowment.⁹

Overseeing the PBS Foundation is a 13-member board¹⁰; its members serve without remuneration and are appointed by PBS’ Board of Directors.¹¹

In 2015, money raised by the PBS Foundation was used to support PBS production of news/current affairs, scientific, learning and arts programming.¹²

Funding

Foundations that have contributed to the PBS Foundation are: Adobe Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Anne Ray Foundation, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Atlantic Philanthropies, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Charles H. Revson Foundation, Ford Foundation, George Lucas Family Foundation, Grable Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Kern Family Foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation, Orfalea Foundation, Skoll Foundation, and W. K. Kellogg Foundation.¹³

People

Around the time of his appointment as PBS Foundation Executive Director, it emerged that Brian Reddington had from 2003 to 2006 jointly owned a New York City condominium with PBS President Paula Kerger and her husband.¹⁴

Lewis Cullman, who served on the PBS Foundation’s Board of Directors from 2006 to 2007¹⁵, has been identified as a member of George Soros’s controversial Democracy Alliance.¹⁶

1. “Cheri Carter Named Executive Director of the PBS Foundation.” PBS. April 13, 2005. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/cheri-carter-named-executive-director-of-the-pbs-foundation-april-13-2005/.
2. “Who We Are.” PBS. 2017. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/foundation/who-we-are/#frequently-asked-questions.
3. Its formation represents a further evolution in the long-running relationship between PBS and its funders (including left-of-center foundations), which has traditionally involved donor support for specific programs.
4. “‘Public trust is the rating that matters most to PBS’.” Current.org | Pat Mitchell speech, May 2005. March 27, 2006. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://current.org/wp-content/uploads/archive-site/why/why2005mitchell.shtml.
5. “‘Public trust is the rating that matters most to PBS’.” Current.org | Pat Mitchell speech, May 2005. March 27, 2006. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://current.org/wp-content/uploads/archive-site/why/why2005mitchell.shtml.
6. http://www.pbs.org/foundation/who-we-are/           
7. “Cheri Carter Named Executive Director of the PBS Foundation.” PBS. April 13, 2005. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/cheri-carter-named-executive-director-of-the-pbs-foundation-april-13-2005/.
8. Sefton, Dru. “PBS hires online-giving firm, gives sparse details of plan.” Current.org | PBS proposes national online initiative, 2010. June 7, 2010. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://current.org/wp-content/uploads/archive-site/funding/funding1010pbsonline.shtml.
9. “Ways to Give.” PBS. 2017. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/foundation/ways-to-give/.
10. “Who We Are.” PBS. 2017. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/foundation/who-we-are/#foundation-board.
11. “Fred Berens and Wendy Dayton Begin Service on PBS Foundation Board of Directors.” PBS. June 11, 2014. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/fred-berens-managing-director-investments-wells-fargo-advisors-and-wendy-dayton-president-of-the-douglas-wendy-dayton-foundation-begin-service-on-pbs-foundation-board-of-directors/.
12. PBS Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2015, Part 3 – Statement of Program Service Accomplishments, Line 4a.
13. “Our Impact.” PBS. 2017. Accessed July 30, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/foundation/our-impact/#donor-recognition.
14. Sefton, Dru. “PBS entrusts key funding job to good friend of its president.” Current. May 3, 2010. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://current.org/2010/05/pbs-entrusts-key-funding-job-to-good-friend-of-its-president/.
15. PBS Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2006, Part V -A – List of Current Officers, Directors, Trustees and Key Employees.
16. Vadum, Matthew. “The “Vast Left-wing Conspiracy”: George Soros’s Democracy Alliance remains a potent force in the 2014 elections.” Capital Research Center. October 6, 2014. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy-george-soross-democracy-alliance-remains-a-potent-force-in-the-2014-elections/.