Ideally, grantors and grantees would exchange money through blind trusts, neither organization influencing the goals of the trustees. Such a funding world would be really nice, wouldn't it? I have struggled with the issue of dirty money, as the president of a public charity dedicated to science and education, for 4 years. We science educators would prefer to be left to allow our students to discover for themselves, scientifically, what they can about renewable energy and such issues. But, 3 years ago, I accepted a grant of $45,000 from a quasi governmental agency entrusted with increasing the understanding and use of renewable energy in Massachusetts. It is interesting to note that the grantors explicitly allowed me to pursue education about non-renewables, without any stipulations, as long as renewables were in the mix, regularly covered. Since that contract expired last year, I have had more freedom, now running mostly on unrestricted private donation(s), but I have a lot less money to serve my clients. If I was offered $100,000 by BP, I and the rest of the board of directors would have to spend a large amount of time considering what's best for the charity. If we were free to do whatever we wanted, then I think I would argue for taking it. The students we reach are drastically smarter about energy issues than the layperson: They are learning to cook with the sun, ride bikes, site wind turbines. Would you call it blood money, guilt money, or reparations? It depends on the strings attached. Blood money would be something that made you feel guilty, guilt money something to assuage their guilt, and reparations their realization that we don't have money, they do, and we can do better with it than they can. Is the systems benefit charge and renewable portfolio standard money doled out by NYSERDA dirty, since it came from fossil fuel and nuclear users, the more they used the more they gave? Think about that when you get your rebate from NYSERDA for your zero-ghg-emitting home. Being a charity, it is definitive for me to accept charity. Charity is a resource lovingly given. It is my fiduciary responsibility to my charity that I ensure that it isn't usurped by the grantor. Thanks for raising the question, Maiken. It's good for me to review my position on this every year, especially just before the annual board of directors' meeting. ;-) -- -Shawn Reeves [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://energyteachers.org
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