Honest Feedback

Who left the staff as of November 15, 2024? At least 2.

Apparently Nicole Bradley is gone. She was head of communications but she has disappeared. Her Linkedin profile does not tell us where she is now. Also gone Ayda Yurekli, who was an economist, now since november 'Independent' according to her linkedin profile. Cliff provides us agaisn with an immensely self congratularory message about his first year as President and concludes "We couldn’t have made these changes and this progress without the vision of our dedicated Board of Directors and the extraordinary effort of our immensely talented team." Immensely talented indeed. As the French would say: "on croit rêver".

Erik Augustson Named Vice President, Programs at FSFW

I reproduce below the text of the press release by FSFW, dated February 1st 2024. There is no mention of the time spent by Erik with Juul (from October 2018 to January 2023) after his 11 years with the National Cancer Institute, according to his Linkedin profile. Congratulations and all my best wishes.

Interesting article by Marc Gunther about Cliff and FSFW

Published initially in the Chronicle of Philanthropy then picked up by the Washington Post and the Seattle Times where I found it (well my dear spouse Patricia did). Sorry maybe you have to subscribe to access it :(

 

Katherine Ellen Foley, director of media for FSFW

On January 2nd it is announced on twitter that Katherine Ellen Foley becomes director of media for FSFW. On January 5th there is still no information about this nomination on the FSFW website: the staff list is dated December 12, the most recent news posted is dated December 19. Her profile when she was reporting about the FDA for Politico, very short profile on Muckrack. More personal info on Scrapfacts. Considering all the huge disinformation taking place against tobacco harm reduction, all my best wishes and maybe you'll tell us what your priorities are going to be.

 

2023 Platinum Transparency Award for FSFW?

I wrote tho Candid/Guidestar to have their explanation.

December 5, 2023
Dear Candid-Guidestar
I see that you awarded a "platinum transparency" 2023 to the Foundation for a Smoke Free World, that they proudly posted on the left corner of their website.
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/82-2800838
Can you detail the criteria you take into account to provide such a 'platinum' assessment.
I ask because I did not see anything out of what is legally required (ie sharing the 990 form) and only a very minimal information about the activities with no details about the results of the grants that still represent millions of dollars.
I am concerned this platinum award will keep this Foundation not sharing anything substantial about its activities.
Hoping to hear from you
Philippe Boucher

Cliff Douglas chosen as new President and CEO

That's a very good choice as Cliff is a long time tobacco control advocate. Congratulations Cliff and all my best wishes in your new position. The press release is here and his bio here. On May 28, 2001 (22 years ago!) I had posted this rendez-vous with Cliff :) Read this commentary posted by Cliff in 2021. A first presentation by Cliff on October 26, 2023. This short presentation on October 20, seems to me overly optimistic and vague as far as what the FSFW is going to do under the new CEO. Sorry Cliff, but someone has to tell you, not that I am very optimistic: I did send a few emails in feedback, as had been asked, but as of today, I have not received any reply :( (this update was posted on December 4, 2023). Tempus fugit.

Before Cliff's arrival, PMI has been making its final payment (see pdf), $140 million ($17,5 on July 31 2023 and $122,5 on September 29, 2023).

Self-congratulatory email from Heidi and David. Amazing but true :(

How long does 'interim" last? For ever? Derek Yach left 19 months ago. Mice very happy in this cheese.

June 5, 2022 Dear Philippe, In 2022, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World made great progress against its Strategic Plan goals that are designed to help us achieve our mission to end smoking in this generation. We are pleased to share the Foundation’s 2022 Annual Report, which can be accessed on our website. The report summarizes the measurable impact of our grantmaking efforts and charitable activities last year, which included funding 60 grants in 17 countries. Additionally, the Annual Report provides a preview of several 2023 grant projects.   We are proud of the progress the Foundation attained, which was driven by the commitment and excellence of our grantees and staff, and overseen by our Board of Directors, who generously shared their collective wisdom.   Thank you for your interest and engagement.   Warm regards,

Heidi B. Goldstein  Interim Co-President Executive Vice President Chief Legal Officer David Janazzo Interim Co-President Executive Vice President, Operations and Finance Chief Financial Officer

Looking a bit more closely at the evolution of the compensations

If the global budget is a bit reduced, that's not the case for the compensation of all the  6 remaining members of  the board of directors (see on pages 47 to 51) nor for the 2 'interim co-presidents' (+$59K and +$57K) and other top staff. Any independent evaluation of their performances? Just kidding. The word is self-serving. Even if PMI has reduced the budget, there is still plenty for such raises.

The 2022 990 PF Form is now available

The 2022 990PF Form in now available (PDF). You can compare with the form for the previous year, 2021. Philip Morris's contribution dropped from $40 million to $17,5 million. Here is the link to the page about financials. I have not been able to understand the reasoning for the drop in funding. It is linked to the 'cash balance'. The modified pledge agreement 'explains' the procedure on page 5 item 3.5 (copied below). The total annual budget now seems to be $35 million, depending on the situation of the 'cash balance'.

If the global budget is a bit reduced, that's not the case for the compensation of all the 6 remaining members of  the board of directors (see on pages 47 to 51) even if the total budget went down from $ 2,031,120 to $1,362,008.

 

One year later, still no replacement for Derek Yach

Revisiting the Foundation's site today, I notice that while Derek Yach left on October 25, 2021 for reasons that remain unknown, the quest for a replacement has apparently not been successful. Not that this permanent interim situation seems to bother the present team. I assume they all keep their substantial compensation so all is well. The board members who had left have not been replaced either but a team of 5 is enough to keep running, as I had explained. You can look at the still active grants here. The list also includes closed grants. Very little info is available about what they are about.