Institutions are (quietly) taking Sackler money
When arts organizations began shunning the Sackler family for its role in America's opioid crisis, it wasn't just American institutions that cut ties. Museums in Britain that had accepted Sackler's generosity were among the first to take action.
After London's National Portrait Gallery canceled a $1.3 million Sackler donation in 2019, the Tate museum group announced it would no longer seek the family's support. Other museums began talking about removing the Sackler name from their walls.
Soon, the Sackler Trust—a British nonprofit founded by members of the family that once owned Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the addictive painkiller OxyContin—announced that it stop all new philanthropic donationsand donations dropped dramatically.
The foundation continued to honor a number of existing commitments. But now donations appear to be growing again – and quickly. According to the latest accounts of the Sackler Trust, which were published this month, the nonprofit has committed approximately 5.2 million pounds (or $6.6 million) in 2022, consisting of 66 grants to institutions. That was almost four times more than the commitments made the year before.
As Britain's arts, sciences and education institutions face a cash crunch, fueled by high inflation and declining government support, some organizations appear to have accepted Sackler's funding – albeit at the risk of reputational damage offset by keeping the donations secret. to hold.
In previous years, the Sackler Trust listed grant recipients in its accounts. In 2018 for example it indicated including the Young Vic, the Old Vic and the Donmar Warehouse – three of London's most important theaters. Occasionally the trust was donated to recipients in the United States, including the Friends of the High Line and the New York Genome Center.
But the latest accounts do not say who the 2022 beneficiaries were, or where they are located. Instead, the document groups donations by area of activity, with scientific organizations receiving the most money. A note said that including names would “expose the recipients to serious prejudice and hinder the furtherance of their charitable activities.”
Through a Trust spokeswoman, the Sackler family declined to comment.
Peter Grant, a lecturer at the Center for Charity Effectiveness at City University in London, said he would be “very, very surprised” if major British institutions took money from the Sackler family – even secretly – given the potential for criticism as discovered. But small organizations may decide it's better to accept a donation from Sackler than full shutter services, he added.
In emails, more than 30 cultural institutions that once accepted funding from the Sackler Trust – including the Royal Opera House, the Royal College of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum – said they would not receive any money from the Sackler family in 2022 or beyond received.
The only exception was the Watermill Theater – a small theater in a village about 60 miles from London – which declined to comment. Although the Sackler Trust currently isn't listed as donor the Watermill's website gave the theater £500,000, about $635,000, in 2020. Two years later, the theater lost all its state subsidies due to a shake-up in government funding for the arts. thus endangering its survival.
Only one organization has that publicly admitted on receiving money from the Sackler Trust: Veterans Aid, a British non-profit organization that supports former soldiers experiencing financial, housing or other crises. Glyn Strong, the nonprofit's media adviser, said in an email that Veterans Aid has regularly received funding from the trust since 2016 and used it to help about 80 people overcome addiction each year.
“We view expenditures on rehabilitation/detox as the most appropriate use of these funds,” Strong said in an email, adding that Veterans Aid expected to continue receiving Sackler funding for the foreseeable future.
Beth Breeze, the director of the Center for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, said it was impossible to find out whether the Sackler Trust had actually increased donations in 2022 because the grants in the accounts could be legacies or multi-year liabilities which are only now being done. paid.
In any case, Breeze added, the trust's options were limited: Under British law, funds from grant-making trusts and foundations must be used for charitable purposes, so the Sackler family cannot withdraw money for personal use. According to Breeze, if the money were not given to educational, cultural and scientific nonprofits, they would simply sit in a bank account accruing interest.
When approached with a possible donation, she added, charity trustees would have to decide for themselves whether it was better to accept the money and use it “for good” or to leave it unused.