RENSSELAERVILLE — One of the main programs offered by the Carey Institute for Global Good has gone on hiatus, owing to what are apparently financial difficulties, as indicated by a statement published on the program’s website. 

“At this time, we have made the difficult decision to take a pause as we reimagine what the Logan Nonfiction Program might look like in the future and reassess the financial sustainability of the high-quality experience we have offered since 2015,” the statement says in part.

The program is funded by the Logan Family Foundation. 

“As such, we will not be accepting any inquiries or applications for the fellowship in 2023. We thank you for your interest and support of the program over the years. We encourage you to check this website periodically for updates.” 

It concludes by saying that organizers are “optimistic about a new future for the program.” 

Gareth Crawford, president of the Carey Institute, which served as the campus for the program, told The Enterprise in an email that the hiatus is indefinite, but did not answer other questions about what changes led to this decision, whether it had anything to do with the attemps to sell the Carey property, and what the program’s absence means for the institute. 

Crawford could not be reached by phone, nor could Carly Willsie, who is described on LinkedIn as the head of the Logan Nonfiction Program. A man who answered the only number provided on the Logan Family Foundation website hung up on The Enterprise as it attempted to find out more about the decision and did not return a message left asking for other contact information. 

The Logan Nonfiction Program, which was founded in 2015 and fostered 15 classes for journalism fellows since its inception, had begun experimenting with remote and semi-remote workshops since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Last year, it received a $1 million grant from the Logan Foundation, which has been the program’s primary benefactor since 2016, when the program took on the Logan name. 

Willsie told The Enterprise at the time that, prior to the pandemic, the fully in-person program operated on a roughly $750,000 budget. 

Willsie said at the time that the $1 million grant would fund the majority of the program’s 2022 budget, which included expenses ranging from lodging at the Carey Institute campus to fees for mentors and professional speakers who would engage with the fellows. She added that the program would also be funded in part by the Open Society Foundations.

This decision was made after it was announced that the Carey Institute would sell its historic Rennselaerville campus due to the financial pressures of the pandemic. No sale has been made yet, and Willsie said last year that the decision to adopt a hybrid format was unrelated to the impending sale of the property.