http://m.wsbradio.com/ap/ap/education/romney-charity-used-for-conservative-donations/nF8RL/
<...>
Romney's main outlet for charity is the Tyler foundation. It was originally called the Ann D. and Mitt Romney Charitable Foundation and renamed for a street where the couple once had a home in Belmont, Mass. The foundation, which listed $10 million in assets in 2010, has given more than $7 million in charity over the past decade.
Most of its assets come from direct grants from the Romneys or from Romney-owned stocks and other holdings. Until the most recent 2010 tax disclosure, the Tyler foundation had previously provided detailed lists of stock holdings the Romneys had bought and sold to increase the charity's funds. Earlier this year, an AP review of earlier Tyler holdings showed that some investments included companies whose interests conflicted with GOP positions — including firms tied to the Chinese government, companies that did business in Iran and firms working in stem cell research.
Romney had earlier declared that the blind trust lawyer overseeing Tyler's finances would end such investments. A trust official indicated those investments are being eliminated, but the most recent tax filing does not include details of any specific investments and lists only total holdings.
Most of the Romneys' monetary gifts have gone to non-political causes, including more than $4.7 million to the Mormon Church, reflecting the family's faith, and hundreds of thousands more to research on cancer and multiple sclerosis (which afflicts his wife, Ann); academics (Harvard Business School and Brigham Young University) and athletics (a variety of Olympic and other sports groups).
Between 1999 and 2004, the Romneys' giving went almost exclusively to non-political charities. Their gifts helped Boston and Massachusetts-based charities aiding education programs, deprived children and the homeless — although one $5,000 contribution to an AIDS relief group in 2004 was later criticized by conservative activists for supporting a gay rights agenda.
<...>
Apparently, however, since he's been running allegedly as a conservative, the donations have been heading rightward.
= new reply since forum marked as read