Foundation Avoids New Grants to Recover From Madoff Scandal

Eighty Boston charities received a letter Friday from the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation informing them that the organization will make no new grants in 2009 as it recovers from the Bernard L. Madoff investment scandal, which claimed about $145-million, nearly half of its assets, reports The Boston Globe.

The foundation, which has given about $100-million to local charities over the last decade, will still give about $9-million to honor its existing financial pledges.

“We are apprising you of this situation as early as possible to allow you to either seek alternate sources of funding or to adjust your plans for this year,” says the letter, written by the foundation’s executive director, Jean Whitney. The decision, the letter goes on to say, is meant to “ensure the long-term health and stability of the foundation.”

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