PMJA members approve merger with sibling foundation

Members of the Public Media Journalists Association have approved a merger of the organization with the Public Media Journalism Foundation. 

Members voted on the change during PMJA’s annual meeting Thursday. PMJA established PMJF seven years ago as a 501(c)(3) foundation to receive tax-deductible donations and to be eligible to apply for grants that required the status, Christine Paige Diers, PMJA’s executive director, told Current in an email. PMJA has been a 501(c)(6) business association throughout its history.

PMJA has now applied for and been granted 501(c)3 status, “which means that the foundation is no longer necessary for applying for grants and taking donations,” Paige Diers said during the meeting. The legal name of the organization will remain Public Radio News Directors Inc., she added. 

PMJA determined last year that it would be “a better business decision” to adopt 501(c)(3) status and merge the organizations. 

“We’ve been working through that process with our attorneys, and today’s vote is … one of the last steps that needs to happen by law in order for the merger to happen,” Paige Diers said in the email. 

The final step will be to file paperwork with the state of South Dakota, where both organizations are incorporated, she said.