Saturday, February 19, 2011

Join us in defending press freedom


Join us in defending press freedom


November 23 marked the anniversary of the massacre in Maguindanao province, Philippines, which took the lives of 32 journalists and media support workers. At the benefit, CPJ premiered the documentary video, "In pursuit of justice," detailing our efforts to win convictions and aid victims' families. To help in this important work, please considermaking a gift.

Your support may go twice as far.

To encourage broad support for our work, CPJ Chairman Paul E. Steiger has pledged$25,000 to match, dollar for dollar, gifts from new supporters of up to $500 each.


What We Do With Your Money

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) fights for the rights of journalists around the world to report the news freely, without fear of reprisals. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, CPJ relies solely on contributions from individuals and corporations to carry out our important work. In order to preserve our independence, we do not accept any government grants or support of any kind. Click here to see a list of supporters--which include media companies, foundations, corporations, and individuals--working with us to advance freedom of the press.


Donate to CPJ with our secure online system.
Become a Member
Spotlight on Giving
Individual and corporate donations help us investigate, publicize, and protest attacks on press freedom worldwide. CPJ responds whenever a journalist is in peril. We also assist journalists with urgent needs, such as emergency evacuation, resettlement in exile, medicine, and legal defense. CPJ publishes articles and news releases, special reports, and Attacks on the Press, the most comprehensive annual book on press freedom around the world.

Every report we author and distribute, every campaign we undertake to free jailed journalists, and all our missions to countries where journalists are in distress are fundedentirely by donations and gifts from supporters. Your tax-deductible contribution and membership will make a crucial difference in the lives of embattled journalists worldwide.

Our 2009-10 annual report, which includes our financial statements and a description of our initiatives, may be downloaded in pdf.


Donating To CPJ

In November 2002, CPJ launched a "Comprehensive Campaign" to build the organization's long-term financial stability, with a goal of raising $12 million and creating a permanent endowment. Our campaign is off to a very positive start, with leadership support from major media organizations and corporations dedicated to press freedom (click here for a list of supporters). We invite you to join our campaign; your donations will help CPJ continue to work on behalf of journalists worldwide and to defend those who risk their lives to bring us the news. CPJ is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax-deductible. To make individual donations to the campaign, please contact the Development Department at (212) 465-9344 ext. 144 or development@cpj.org.


Matching Gifts

Many organizations will match their employees' contributions to nonprofit organizations. Please contact your public/corporate affairs office and find out if your company will match your contribution to CPJ. All donations are tax-deductible.


Corporate Donors

CPJ is extremely grateful to its many corporate donors, which include major media organizations, corporations, and financial institutions. All corporate donors are recognized in CPJ promotional materials; are listed in the current supporters section of our Web site; receive the electronic newsletter CPJ Impact and our annual publication on press freedom worldwide, Attacks on the Press. Corporate donors are also given priority access to tables at our annual International Press Freedom Awards dinner, which has been a sold-out event for more than 12 years.

To become a corporate donor to CPJ, please choose one of the following options:

Corporate Leader$50,000
Corporate Underwriter$25,000
Sponsor$15,000
Patron$10,000
Friend$5,000
Benefactor$1,000

Foundations

CPJ is grateful to the many foundations that have supported its activities and worked closely with CPJ to defend press freedom in the more than 120 countries we monitor. Program officers or members of foundations interested in learning more about CPJ should contact the Department of Development and Outreach via e-mail or call Elena Snyder at (212) 465-9344 ext. 109.

You can also write to:
Department of Development and Outreach
Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001


In-kind Donations

In-kind donations and services can make a significant difference to CPJ. Consider donating a broad range of products and services, including research; technology; advertising; publicity; printing; graphic design; photography; video; office space; furniture; and equipment. Write to development@cpj.org or call (212) 465-9344 ext. 144.


Memorial Contributions

If you would like to make a contribution in memory of a family member, friend, or journalist or in honor of someone's special occasion, please contact the Development Department. All contributions will be acknowledged in the Current Supporters section of the Web site and in the print edition of Attacks on the Press. CPJ will send a letter to whomever you choose notifying them of your gift.


Name CPJ in your will

Including the Committee to Protect Journalists in your estate plans is a wonderful way to help ensure the organization's future, and it is easy to carry out. A charitable bequest to CPJ may be included in your will when it is written or revised. You may also add a bequest through a codicil, a separate document consisting of an amendment to an existing will. All charitable bequests are fully deductible from your gross estate.

The following examples are meant to illustrate a variety of bequest techniques. You should consult an attorney to adapt this language to your individual circumstances as part of an overall estate plan.

A specific bequest is a gift of a particular dollar amount or a particular piece of property.
For example: I bequeath (dollar amount or description of property) to the Committee to Protect Journalists (or its successor).

A residuary bequest is a gift of all or part of the property remaining in your estate after debts, expenses, and specific bequests have been paid. When you use a percentage instead of a specific amount, your gift will stay relatively the same in proportion to your entire estate, regardless of unexpected increases or decreases in its value.

For example: I give, bequeath, and devise (all, or XX percent of) the rest, residue, and remainder of the property, both real and personal, wherever situated, which I may own or be entitled to at my death, to the Committee to Protect Journalists (or its successor).

A contingent bequest is a gift that takes effect only if the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries of the bequest predecease you.

For example: If neither my husband nor any descendants of mine survive me, then I give, bequeath, and devise all the rest, residue, and remainder of the property, both real and personal, wherever situated, which I may own or be entitled to at my death, to the Committee to Protect Journalists (or its successor).


Include CPJ in your retirement plans


Retirement Plans

One of the most cost-effective ways of including the Committee to Protect Journalists in your estate plans is to leave either the remainder or a portion of the remainder of your retirement plan to the Committee to Protect Journalists. If the unused portion of your pension fund, 401k, or IRA is assigned to any individual(s) other than a spouse, it is subject to an estate tax at your death, as well as an income tax when received by the heirs (if your estate is $650,000 or more). The two combined could erode up to 80 percent of the remaining benefits. If bequeathed to the Committee to Protect Journalists, those funds would escape both income and estate taxes, thereby reducing your taxable estate.


Life Insurance

If you own a life insurance policy that is no longer needed for the protection of your family or for other purposes, you may use it to make a gift to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The simplest way is to make the Committee to Protect Journalists both owner and irrevocable beneficiary of the policy, which would entitle you to an income tax deduction based on either the total value of the premiums paid, or the cash surrender value, whichever is less. An alternative is to name the Committee to Protect Journalists beneficiary of a policy you receive through your place of employment.


Become a Member

All CPJ members receive a subscription to CPJ's annual survey Attaks on the Press, as well as our electronic newsletter, CPJ Impact. Members can also opt to receive e-mail alerts, protest letters, and special reports from selected geographical regions. If you'd like to become a member of CPJ, please choose one of the following options:

Friend$5,000
Benefactor$1,000
Supporter$500
Contributor$100
Participant$45
Student$20

Click here to fill out a membership form

Thank you for your interest in CPJ, and for helping us to defend journalists and press freedom.


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Spotlight on Giving

• CPJ is pleased to count Peter Thiel as one of our largest supporters. His $250,000 contribution is being used for advocacy work around the globe, as we as to help endow CPJ's International Program Network.

Peter is President of Clarium and Managing Partner of the Founders Fund, two U.S. investment firms. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of PayPal, an Internet company he co-founded in 1998 and that eBay acquired in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

"As a true believer in the critical importance of free speech, I am delighted to support CPJ's fight for the rights of journalists around the world," said Peter, pictured below.

Credit: Robert Houser
Credit: Robert Houser

An avowed libertarian, Peter has a long history as a champion of freedom. While studying philosophy at Stanford, he founded the Stanford Review, a weekly newspaper that made its name criticizing the university's speech code.

Peter is a founding investor in Facebook and sits on its board of directors, and is on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution. He received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a law degree from Stanford Law School.

• On November 21, 2006, at CPJ's International Press Freedom Awards dinner, Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Institute, announced a $1 million dollar gift to establish the Michael Massing Emergency Response Fund. The fund is named for CPJ co-founder and board member Michael Massing.

At the core of CPJ's advocacy are its missions. CPJ's emergency response activities have enabled the organization to carry out more than a dozen missions annually, along with regular embassy visits and advocacy campaigns. OSI's gift helps to strengthen this critical work.

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