The Atlantic Philanthropies, Open Society Institute and MoveOn.org Respond to Madoff Scandal with Matching Program

Many groups and organizations working for social change and human rights have been hit hard by the Bernie Madoff scandal. Many of these groups will have to shut down programs, lay off staff or close their doors if they are unable to replace the funding that was lost in this scandal. The Atlantic Philanthropies is joining with the Open Society Institute to match support provided by MoveOn.org members for four organizations designated by MoveOn.org which Atlantic already supports. MoveOn.org will reach out to its 50 million members to donate and Atlantic and OSI will match every dollar that comes in by January 1st, up to a total of $300,000 per group. While these efforts cannot fill the enormous funding gap left in the nonprofit sector from this scandal, and does not represent the limit of Atlantic’s efforts to respond to the impact of the economic crisis on our grantees, this effort aims to preserve these valuable organizations with the help of millions of Americans committed to social change. To make a donation, please visit this link. Note: Matched donations to the c4 organizations in this year-end fundraiser ended at midnight, December 31st, 2008.