At the parent company level, Berkshire makes no charitable contributions except those designated by shareholders.

The claim is judged as of February 2002 and covers the parent company only. Gifts made by subsidiaries do not count against it. True: Berkshire's records show that in 2001 and early 2002 the parent company's charitable giving was only through the shareholder-designated contributions programme. Mostly true: the parent's only other gifts were trivial or incidental. Mixed: the parent made some material non-designated contributions alongside the programme. Mostly false: the parent routinely made substantial contributions of its own choosing, with the programme only one part. False: no shareholder-designated programme was operating then, or the parent's giving was mainly non-designated.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 berkshire hathaway inc. 2000 annual report Berkshire Hathaway Inc. · 2001 Own record

   “In addition to the shareholder-designated contributions summarized above, Berkshire and its subsidiaries have made certain contributions pursuant to local level decisions of operating managers of the businesses.”

2. E2 berkshire hathaway inc. 2000 annual report Berkshire Hathaway Inc. · 2001 Own record

   “The rest of Berkshire's giving is done by our subsidiaries, which stick to the philanthropic patterns that prevailed before they were acquired (except that their former owners themselves take on the responsibility for their personal charities).”

3. E3 berkshire hathaway inc. 2000 annual report Berkshire Hathaway Inc. · 2001 Own record

   “Cumulatively, over the 20 years of the program, Berkshire has made contributions of $164 million pursuant to the instructions of our shareholders.”

4. E4 berkshire hathaway inc. 2000 annual report Berkshire Hathaway Inc. · 2001 Own record

   “In aggregate, our subsidiaries made contributions of $18.3 million in 2000, including in-kind donations of $3 million.”

Berkshire's 2000 annual report, published in 2001, says the shareholder-designated programme had been running for 20 years and had given $164 million in total (E3). It also says that 'the rest of Berkshire's giving is done by our subsidiaries' (E2), with subsidiary gifts of $18.3 million in 2000 (E4). That supports the claim that the parent gave only through the shareholder-designated programme. E1 adds some doubt, because it says 'Berkshire and its subsidiaries' also gave on the decisions of local operating managers, without saying whether any of that came from the parent. All of this evidence is Berkshire's own record and covers 2000 rather than 2001 directly, so it supports 'mostly true' rather than 'true'.