"I'm hoping we get $10,000 or $15,000," Kaplan said. "But I'm not counting on it."
Grant reductions for specific groups are "not a trend; it is not a pattern," said foundation spokeswoman Beverly Barnes. "We are looking at each grant individually and making a decision about each grant individually."
_____Fannie Mae Coverage_____
•
Fannie, Freddie Back Regulator But Will Fight Portfolio Limits (The Washington Post, Apr 20, 2005)
•
Fannie's Troubles May Hit Big Donor (The Washington Post, Apr 14, 2005)
•
False Signatures Aided Fannie Mae Bonuses, Falcon Says (The Washington Post, Apr 7, 2005)
•
Legislators To Take Up Replacing OFHEO (The Washington Post, Apr 6, 2005)
•
More Fannie Mae Stories
|
| |
|
The foundation decided last summer to discontinue its advertising and direct-mail campaign, Barnes said. The ads publicized the availability of foundation brochures on home buying. The foundation will stop the advertising by the end of June because similar information is available from other sources, Barnes said.
Fannie Mae, a government-chartered company that buys mortgages from lenders to either resell or hold, overstated past earnings by billions of dollars and is under orders from regulators to shore up its capital. The accounting scandal has contributed to a dramatic plunge in Fannie Mae's share price, and that has taken a toll on the foundation because much of its wealth is in Fannie stock.
The prospect of the corporation's troubles rippling through the foundation highlight the relationship between the mortgage finance company and its charitable adjunct.
The ad campaign the foundation is canceling was once a function of the corporation.
Over the years, the foundation has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, philanthropic offshoots of the legislative groups. Members of the caucuses have played a sympathetic role in congressional hearings and debates on Fannie Mae.
With the company under scrutiny by members of Congress who want to tighten the rules governing its operations, several advocacy groups that have received foundation grants sent a letter last week to Capitol Hill opposing a provision that would restrict Fannie's business.
Five of the groups that signed the letter, including the Consumer Federation of America, have received a combined total of almost $4 million from the Fannie Mae Foundation over the years, according to the foundation's Web site.
"We funded these organizations because they work on affordable housing and homeownership and that's part of our mission," the foundation spokeswoman said.
Allen J. Fishbein, director of housing and credit policy at Consumer Federation of America, said the foundation's grants do not affect the consumer group's positions on issues. The group has taken positions that Fannie has opposed, such as backing requirements that Fannie do more for affordable housing, Fishbein noted.
The way the foundation uses its money is under review by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said at a recent Senate hearing.
The review is focusing on "whether Fannie Mae, through the Fannie Mae Foundation and its activities, is operating within its Charter," HUD spokesman Lemar C. Wooley said by e-mail yesterday, declining to elaborate.
The foundation spokeswoman declined to comment on the review.
