The Chronicle of Philanthropy
As Ted Turner’s $1-Billion Pledge Ends, U.N. Fund Seeks New Donors
February 9, 2014
By Alex Daniels
This year, the United Nations Foundation will learn that deep pockets are not, in fact, bottomless.
That’s because Ted Turner, who started the foundation with a staggering $1-billion pledge in 1997, is due to make his last payment next summer.
To keep the money flowing in the post-Turner era, the foundation is wooing others with deep pockets in the corporate world and is on the lookout for leaders made in the mold of the charity’s founder: entrepreneurs equally dedicated to striking it rich and helping improve people’s lot throughout the world.
When Mr. Turner made the pledge, which helped trigger a series of other outsize gifts from the wealthy, he considered bailing out the United States, which was far behind in its dues to the United Nations. Instead, he decided to create a foundation to support the U.N.’s global mission and build public support of the international organization.
Through the foundation, Mr. Turner and a roster of international-development leaders he helped recruit have used the pledge to support United Nations projects scattered across the map. The foundation has helped build solar-powered irrigation systems in Zambia, handed out mosquito nets to refugees in Kenya, and taught basic health care and nutrition to girls in Guatemala.
To prepare for when the Turner lifeline is cut, the foundation will again travel—this time to Peoria, Ill.
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