Black Organization Attacks Harvard's '72 Charity Policy

A black charity organization yesterday accused Harvard of "closing its eyes on the community" in its 1972 employee charity drive.

In a statement issued yesterday, the United Black Appeal (UBA), a Boston area group that directs its resources to black inner city areas, said Harvard's new open giving policy failed to give the organization adequate publicity.

In its first year under the open giving policy, which allows employees to make their annual charity donations to the United Fund and or the charity of their choice. Harvard raised $935 for the UBA and $120,172 for the United Fund. In past years. Harvard's policy has been to allow only contributions to the United Fund in its annual drive.

William M. Pinkerton, assistant to the vice president for Government and Community Affairs, said the charity drive organizers gave UBA pamphlets to all solicitors in the drive but that the pamphlets were not given to all 15,000 Harvard employees.

Lisa Simmons, secretary of the UBA, said that "the way Harvard sets up its whole giving policy is irresponsible." Simmons praised MIT's giving program, which offers employees the option of giving to either-the United Fund or UBA. MIT raised over $20,000 for the UBA in 1972.

Pinkerton said that "some people wanted to follow the MIT pattern" in establishing Harvard's giving polices and that the present western is "a compromise."

The UBA was formed as an alternative to the United Fund, because its founders felt the United Fund gives inadequate attention to poor black neighborhoods.