Charitable contributions

The Reuter Foundation, the group’s charitable trust, remains the main vehicle for cash grants and for direct action in educational and humanitarian programmes. Its spending rose to £3.2 million in 1998, from £3 million in 1997. In addition, Reuters area management units made direct charitable grants of £0.9 million in cash and £11.1 million in kind in 1998, including the value of Reuters services, equipment and employees’ time donated to educational and charitable causes. This total of £15.2 million in overall charitable donations amounted to 2.6% of the group’s pre-tax profit in 1998.

The Reuter Foundation offers university fellowships, scholarships, research grants and training courses in sectors where Reuters itself is involved: financial markets, information technology, journalism and medical information. In emerging financial markets, the Foundation ran training courses and seminars in 1998 in Belarus, Cuba, Georgia, Russia, Uganda and Ukraine. In journalism training for the developing world, courses were held in 20 countries, including Iran for the first time.

The Reuter Foundation’s AlertNet, launched on the Internet at the end of 1997, established itself as a serious professional service to the international disaster relief community. By the end of 1998, it had 71 members, including the Red Cross movement and voluntary organisations in 16 countries. The service, funded by the Reuter Foundation, is provided free to the members in return for information which they contribute about their own relief operations.

General charitable giving by the Foundation increased in 1998, largely in response to the concerns of Reuters employees around the world. The focus is mainly on local community and healthcare projects. Some support is also given to environmental and cultural causes, particularly where there is an educational dimension. The Foundation usually limits its grants to causes which are actively backed by Reuters employees through voluntary work or fund-raising.

More information on the work of the Reuter Foundation is contained in a separate annual review, available on request from the Director, Reuter Foundation, 85 Fleet Street, London EC4P 4AJ, or on the Foundation’s website: http://www.foundation.reuters.com.

No political contributions are made.