December 13, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
A wealthy money manager’s family foundation is underwriting a national advertising campaign to encourage people to
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exchange charitable donations instead of material goods this holiday season.
The Dalio Family Foundation, in Westport, Conn., led by Raymond T. Dalio, who heads Bridgewater Associates, also in Westport, plans to spend $2-million on the campaign before the year ends.
The fund plans weekly advertisements that will run in The Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Wall Street Journal. The campaign also includes 10-second radio advertisements in New York, and a Web site.
The ads urge Americans to “redefine Christmas” by giving donations instead of presents — and asking other people to do the same. An advertisement that was published last week pictured a man overburdened with wrapped presents and noted that “shopping” is “easier and tax-deductible” when gifts go to charity.
The goal of the ad campaign is to raise awareness and change people’s thinking about giving, says Ryan Geraghty, a spokesman for the foundation.
“There is an enormous amount of waste on Christmas spending — money that is spent on chocolates or other goodies that no one ever uses, or don’t serve any particular purpose,” he says.
“The foundation believes that people really appreciate gifts of charity and have found that in their personal experience it also makes a lot of sense and is more in keeping with the Christmas spirit.”
The ads do not support any particular cause, and the Web site steers people to JustGive, an online site that allows people to make charitable donations to any group.
The foundation spent $1.2-million on similar newspaper advertisements last year, and plans to continue the effort in the future, says Mr. Geraghty.
In 2006, the most recent year for which information is available, the Dalio Family Foundation had $20.4-million in assets and distributed nearly $5-million in grants. Its largest award, a $1.1-million grant, was made to the Robin Hood Foundation, in New York, a charity started by a hedge-fund manager, Paul Tudor Jones II. It fights poverty in New York.
