JENKINTOWN, Pa., Sept. 12, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), one of the nation's 100 largest charities and among the top 35 grant makers in the United States, today announced their selection by the John Templeton Foundation (JTF) to manage a new Supporting Organization called Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). The John Templeton Foundation's mission is to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for scientific discovery on what scientists and philosophers call the 'Big Questions,' ranging from questions about the laws of nature to the nature of creativity and consciousness.
FQXi -- a Supporting Organization to NPT -- is an institute and grantmaking vehicle that will receive $8.6 million in grant funds from JTF over the next four years and re-grant those funds to support research in the fields of physics and cosmology.
Through the new Supporting Organization with NPT, JTF is outsourcing the management of financial and administrative work to NPT, which has expertise in grantmaking administration, financial management and back office support. As part of its stewardship of FQXi, NPT is overseeing all administrative and financial activities including tax filings, audit management, expenses, record keeping and compliance.
"NPT's reputation for exemplary fiscal stewardship and their unparalleled track record for assisting organizations and individuals to successfully attain their philanthropic goals makes them an ideal partner for re-granting funds for FQXi research," said Judith Marchand, an Officer of the John Templeton Foundation. "I'm confident our collective efforts to fund this worthwhile research will result in exciting discoveries."
FQXi received 172 initial applications from a diverse group of universities, colleges, laboratories, think tanks and businesses in nineteen countries on five continents including most of the world's top institutions in physics and cosmology. The applications covered a wide range of disciplines, from astrobiology, fine-tuning, complexity, cosmology, and a variety of quantum and gravitational topics, involving both experiment and theory.
"NPT is pleased to have been selected to work with the John Templeton Foundation," said Eileen Heisman, President and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust. "Our role for administering a Supporting Organization as part of this re-granting program is a natural evolution of the experience and expertise behind our private-labeled donor-advised funds program; managing administrative functions for the donor-advised funds of Wall Street's biggest firms and two other Supporting Organizations. Fulfilling philanthropic objectives is a critical component of the National Philanthropic Trust mission and we work with many other individual donors and institutions in this capacity," she added.
About Supporting Organizations
Supporting Organizations, also known as Supporting Foundations, are a charitable vehicle that individual or institutional donors can use to meet their philanthropic goals. A Supporting Organization is a public charity that must be closely tied to at least one other public charity and but is a distinct and separate legal entity. A Supporting Organization must meet one of three complex legal tests that assure, at a minimum, that the organization being supported has some influence over the actions of the Supporting Organization. According to the IRS, there are more than 45,000 Supporting Organizations operating in the United States, with assets of over $76 billion.
About the National Philanthropic Trust
The National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) is an independent public charity dedicated to promoting and facilitating charitable giving by individuals, families and organizations while expanding their knowledge in the field of philanthropy. Founded in 1996, NPT is among the 100 largest charities and one of the top 35 grant makers in the United States with nearly $600 million in assets under management. Since its inception, NPT has raised more than $1 billion in charitable assets, and made more than 19,000 grants to U.S. and international charities totaling $525 million. Led by a national board of trustees and a team of professionals with more than eight decades of philanthropic experience, NPT has proven expertise in the stewardship of charitable donations.
NPT offers donor advised funds, Supporting Organizations, and special field of interest funds to help donors with the administration and investment of their philanthropic dollars and give them freedom to recommend support to charities and causes that interest them. For more information, visit www.nptrust.org.
About the John Templeton Foundation
The John Templeton Foundation, headquartered in Conshohocken, PA., is a private foundation created by financier Sir John Templeton, with the mission "to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for scientific discovery on what scientists and philosophers call the 'Big Questions.' Ranging from questions about the laws of nature to the nature of creativity and consciousness, the Foundation's philanthropic vision is derived from Sir John's resolute belief that rigorous research and cutting-edge scholarship is at the very heart of new discoveries and human progress."