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WE DID IT!

We made our match for the $50,000 grant from the Challenge Fund for Journalism — beating the deadline by three months!

In spite of the worst economy in decades and the worst case of instability in journalism ever, we beat the odds, overcame a little insecurity about asking for money and rallied together to provide a firmer financial future for JAWS.

Dozens and dozens of JAWS members donated generously, some of you more than once. Many of you “rounded up” on your dues. (You still can if you haven’t paid your dues yet.) Everyone on the JAWS board made substantial personal donations and asked friends, colleagues and family to contribute. We carried the mission and message of JAWS far beyond our membership and have helped establish a base of strength that we can build on.

We have already started to put this money to good use:

• We’ve paid for “I Can Do It!” multimedia training workshops in Chicago, Stanford, Calif., and Washington, D.C.
• We bought a new computer for JAWS HQ to replace Becky’s aging equipment and will add to it with additional software to keep intergalactic headquarters running smoothly.
• We paid for some help with the JAWS Web site to make online credit card payments easier to use.
• We’re spending more on membership outreach and promoting the programs and mission of JAWS.
• We’re helping members at a time when jobs are dropping and expenses are rising. Our fundraising allows us to continue to keep JAWS dues low (we haven’t raised them in four years) and we’ve offered a one-year break on dues for those who have lost their jobs.
• We’ve established a respectable fund to create a great 25th annual conference in October, including money to bring speakers to Camp.

We still have time to do more.

Donations to the JAWS 25th Anniversary Fund will continue until Camp, Oct. 2 - 4. Additional funds we bring in can be used to help ensure JAWS’ future financial stability, help JAWS members in need get to Camp and expand the good things we’ve started.

If you haven’t already donated, please so do now. If you have already given, thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We applaud all of you as we celebrate and share in this exciting achievement.

Matching gifts

Seek a matching gift for your JAWS donation

This is an ideal way to multiply your gift by two or even three times. Recognizing the importance of philanthropy, many employers agree to match or multiply donations made by both active and retired employees and, in some cases, employees' spouses. To learn more about matching gift programs, inquire with your employer's human resources office.

Companies that match your donation to JAWS

Chicago Tribune Company
Copely Press Inc.
Dow Jones & Co., Inc.
Gannett Co., Inc.
Globe Newspapers Company and subsidiaries
McCormick & Co., Inc.
New York Times Co.
Reuters America
E.W. Scripps Co.
Time Inc.
Time Warner
Times Publishing
Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc.
Turner Corp.
Washington Post Co.

Here is information about three matching programs. If you work for a New York Times company, a Washington Post company or a Tribune Co. business unit, here are the specifics. Please tell us if you have information about other employers of JAWS members and benefactors by e-mailing beckyd@jaws.org.

New York Times | Washington Post | Tribune Company

New York Times

New York Times Company Foundation matches gifts at 1.5 to 1 for employees of the newspaper and the company's wholly owned subsidiaries. It also provides the same match for retired employees and for company directors. The annual limit per person is $3,000 a year, which evokes $4,500 in Times contributions. Gifts to educational, cultural, environmental and journalistic organizations are matched, and JAWS has qualified. The matching gift form must be an original, not a photo-copy or a fax copy. It may be obtained at company offices or by phone request to 212 556-1901. The foundation notifies donors, by e-mail, when a matching gift has been mailed. The Web site is www.nytco.com/foundation.

Washington Post

The Washington Post matches contributions to tax-exempt organizations, up to $2,000 a year for full-time employees. The Post double-matches contributions to organizations for which an employee is an active volunteer, meaning you serve on the board of directors or hold an active committee position. Employees send a form to the organization with their donation. The organization then returns the form to The Washington Post.

To access a form and instructions, go to the company's IntraNed website and click on 'online forms.' Questions also can be directed to washpost@easymatch.com or 877-702-6381.

Tribune Company

"Tribune Company or its participating business units will match donations to most United States nonprofit organizations that are tax-deductible under Section 501 (c)(3) and 170 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. Included are public as well as private elementary and secondary schools; two- and four-year colleges, universities, graduate and professional schools listed in Accredited Institutions of Post Secondary Education, U.S. Office of Education; state, regional or national associations of colleges or universities; cultural, performing and visual arts organizations; hospitals; social service organizations and a wide variety of other non-profit organizations.

"Excluded are donations to public television, public radio or their connected enterprises; the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation; the United Way/Crusade of Mercy; places of worship; partisan political organizations; and organizations that discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected classification in access to services, employment, membership, or in the selection of volunteers or vendors."

• Gifts must be in cash (check or money order).

• $25 is the minimum amount for a single gift to be eligible for a company match.

• An employee may make an unlimited number of gifts during a calendar year. Up to $500 of employee gifts will be eligible for a company match.

• The company will match qualifying tax-deductible donations on a $2-for$1 basis.

• Gifts will be matched on a first-come, first-served basis, as there is a limited employer matching gifts budget.

• Memberships, subscriptions, fees, tuition or any form of purchase or payment for service are not eligible for matching purposes.

• Donations to college or university athletic associations or their athletic booster clubs are not eligible for matching purposes.

• At the time when an employee makes a donation to an organization, a preference to have the company's matching gift applied for a specified fund or particular area of support may be indicated.

• The company has final approval on whether or not a gift qualifies for matching purposes.