Fannie, Freddie Scale Back Gifts to Charity

The Washington Post reports:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduced charitable giving by more than 40 percent from 2006 to 2008 and focused it more sharply on housing-related issues, leaving some local nonprofits without a major source of funding.

The mortgage giants' charitable giving is projected to drop slightly again this year, and the longer-term future of the companies -- and their donations -- is still unclear.

District-based Fannie Mae and McLean-based Freddie Mac were veering toward collapse when they were taken over by the government in September in a bid to stabilize the home-loan market. The companies have long been the two biggest donors to Washington area charities, and the takeover sent worries throughout the local nonprofit community.

Fannie Mae and the Freddie Mac Foundation together gave more than $47 million last year, down from $83.5 million in 2006, the year before Fannie shut down its foundation and moved its giving in-house. The Freddie Mac Foundation is still funded by an endowment. In the first quarter of this year, the two companies gave out $4.5 million.

No word from Jesse Jackson on this great moment in socialism.