When it comes to philanthropic support for right-leaning policy groups, it’s hard to get around the fact that year after year, a growing cascade of donor dollars is flowing through one outfit: DonorsTrust. Often criticized on the left as a channel … [Read more...] about After Trump, What’s Happening at DonorsTrust, the Right’s Favorite DAF?
Conservative Causes
Abortion Foes Are Scoring More Wins. Here’s Who is Funding a Powerful Movement
As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the country, one of its many secondary victims appears to be reproductive rights. Some states are banning nonessential medical procedures, and several (including Ohio, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma) have applied these … [Read more...] about Abortion Foes Are Scoring More Wins. Here’s Who is Funding a Powerful Movement
Stand Together: The Koch-Backed Anti-Poverty Group Starting off 2019 with a Bang
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on January 24, 2019.Stand Together, a nonprofit backed by the Koch family and its network, plans to give $10 to $15 million in grants in January to mark “Poverty Awareness Month.” The organization … [Read more...] about Stand Together: The Koch-Backed Anti-Poverty Group Starting off 2019 with a Bang
The Private Money Shaping Public Conversation About Restricting Immigration
For years, the think tanks and organizations that pushed for tougher immigration restrictions operated on the fringes of public policy debates. Now, with a powerful friend in the White House, they are enjoying new influence. Promises to build a wall … [Read more...] about The Private Money Shaping Public Conversation About Restricting Immigration
Man Bites Dog? Not Quite. But Koch Support for Criminal Justice Reform is Pretty Interesting
If you’re an avid reader of Inside Philanthropy, you have no doubt read about various criminal justice research grants and reform initiatives funded by the Charles Koch Foundation. Most recently, Stand Together, a Koch-backed nonprofit, announced a … [Read more...] about Man Bites Dog? Not Quite. But Koch Support for Criminal Justice Reform is Pretty Interesting
7 Tips for Using Tax-Exempt “Charitable” Gifts to Get Your Candidates Elected
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in August 2016. If you have some extra cash, and you want to give your political candidates a boost this fall—while also getting a nice tax break—you’ve come to the right place.We know what you’re … [Read more...] about 7 Tips for Using Tax-Exempt “Charitable” Gifts to Get Your Candidates Elected
Levers of Influence: How These Top Donors Back Conservative Causes
Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein started shipping supply distributor Uline in their basement in 1980. Since then, it’s grown into as much as a $2 billion company, according to Forbes. Lately, the couple have attracted attention as GOP … [Read more...] about Levers of Influence: How These Top Donors Back Conservative Causes
War of Ideas: Conservative Intellectuals Have a Friend in This Foundation
When cybercriminals broke into the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in 2016, documents came to light laying out the funder’s national strategy: work state-by-state on conservative infrastructure and turn the nation’s overall political culture to … [Read more...] about War of Ideas: Conservative Intellectuals Have a Friend in This Foundation
Extremist: What the Right’s Most Influential Philanthropist Really Thinks
There is no admissions test to join the ranks of top philanthropists. Anyone with enough money can start giving on a large scale and more of the super-wealthy have been stepping forward to do exactly that.Cheerleaders for philanthropy tend to see the … [Read more...] about Extremist: What the Right’s Most Influential Philanthropist Really Thinks
Fortress Mentality: Which Funders Are Working Against Immigration?
The Trump administration’s actions against immigrants and refugees might appear chaotic and impulsive, but over the past eight months they’ve had real impact. From January through July, arrests of undocumented immigrants without criminal histories … [Read more...] about Fortress Mentality: Which Funders Are Working Against Immigration?
A New Challenge to Koch Gifts on Campus Raises Larger Issues About Transparency
Private citizens and foundations donate to universities all the time. It’s not unusual for donors to attach strings to those funds. Maybe the money funds a specific school within a university, or endows a professorship. But finding where the line is … [Read more...] about A New Challenge to Koch Gifts on Campus Raises Larger Issues About Transparency
The Dark Side of Philanthropy: A Look at Tax-Exempt Donations to White Supremacists
Two weeks before the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, about 300 white supremacists converged outside Nashville with far less fanfare. The occasion was the annual American Renaissance conference, where speakers celebrated the rising … [Read more...] about The Dark Side of Philanthropy: A Look at Tax-Exempt Donations to White Supremacists
Inside DonorsTrust: What This Mission-Driven DAF Offers Philanthropists on the Right
If you want to understand the core appeal of DonorsTrust — the top donor-advised fund for conservative and libertarian philanthropists — start with its name. It telegraphs that this is a place that will honor the intent of its clients in terms of how … [Read more...] about Inside DonorsTrust: What This Mission-Driven DAF Offers Philanthropists on the Right
Pulling Every Lever: More Mega Donors Blend Political and Philanthropic Giving
The uproar this spring over North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” has drawn new attention to Art Pope, a top conservative leader in that state. The law was passed by a Republican legislative majority that Pope helped engineer with millions in campaign … [Read more...] about Pulling Every Lever: More Mega Donors Blend Political and Philanthropic Giving
Big Money, Quiet Power: A Look at the National Christian Foundation
The National Christian Foundation is one of the biggest donor-advised funds in the United States, yet it has a remarkably low profile—at least in the secular nonprofit world. NCF’s grants totaled a whopping $960 million last year, a figure that has … [Read more...] about Big Money, Quiet Power: A Look at the National Christian Foundation
Path to Power: Who Funds the Religious Right?
Forget the fact that the new U.S. president has been married three times and allegedly cheated on each of his wives, or that he made part of his fortune on gambling casinos. The Christian Right has forged an unlikely alliance with Donald Trump. Many … [Read more...] about Path to Power: Who Funds the Religious Right?
Charles Koch and a Sports Legend Walk Into a Bar Together. Will Poverty Fall as a Result?
As we’ve pointed out time and again, David and Charles Koch are eager for an image makeover. After decades spent attacking governmental overreach and financing the right’s policy infrastructure, as well as bankrolling GOP candidates, the Kochs found … [Read more...] about Charles Koch and a Sports Legend Walk Into a Bar Together. Will Poverty Fall as a Result?
“The Longer View.” Inside the Bradley Foundation’s Ambitious Push to Win State Policy Battles
The Koch brothers aren’t the only donors that have ambitions of setting the national policy agenda to fuel the ascendance of conservative ideas. Hacked documents reveal that the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, which supported Gov. Scott Walker’s … [Read more...] about “The Longer View.” Inside the Bradley Foundation’s Ambitious Push to Win State Policy Battles
Balancing Act: Can Koch Giving Bolster a Corporate Brand While Pushing a Libertarian Agenda?
Two recent Koch-related announcements—the naming of Koch Scholars at Wichita State University and support to Wellesley College's Freedom Project—neatly encapsulate the brothers' "thread the needle" approach to higher ed giving.Let me explain.The Koch … [Read more...] about Balancing Act: Can Koch Giving Bolster a Corporate Brand While Pushing a Libertarian Agenda?
Take a Look at the Biggest Pot of Conservative Money You’ve Never Heard Of
Think of some big names in conservative philanthropy. There's Scaife and Bradley. There are the Kochs and the DeVoses. But we’re betting that the name Davis doesn't much ring a bell. Flying below the radar, the philanthropic arm of investor Shelby … [Read more...] about Take a Look at the Biggest Pot of Conservative Money You’ve Never Heard Of
More Big Conservative Money on Campus, This Time in California
One of these days maybe we should stop thinking about academia as a bastion of liberalism. That's because barely a month goes by when we don't hear news of another large conservative gift going to fund conservative and libertarian thinking on … [Read more...] about More Big Conservative Money on Campus, This Time in California
A Donor Goes to Washington: The Philanthropy of Betsy DeVos
The selection of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education by President-elect Donald Trump has set off a firestorm of criticism among public education advocates. A billionaire Republican Party donor, school choice activist, and philanthropist, DeVos has … [Read more...] about A Donor Goes to Washington: The Philanthropy of Betsy DeVos
Legacy: The Visionary Philanthropist Who Fueled the Right’s Rise in the States
Regardless of what happens in this national election, Republicans are likely to retain a considerable amount of power in state capitals, where they've lately controlled a majority of state houses. In turn, these elected officials can count on … [Read more...] about Legacy: The Visionary Philanthropist Who Fueled the Right’s Rise in the States
These Conservative Funders Want to Close the “Marriage Gap”
When many of us hear the phrase “family values,” what immediately comes to mind is a whole slew of divisive partisan issues: the marriage equality fight, abortion and “religious liberty” among them. What can get lost in the turmoil are actual family … [Read more...] about These Conservative Funders Want to Close the “Marriage Gap”
The Money Behind the Conservative Women’s Groups Still Fighting the Culture War
If you thought the culture war was over, think again. The fight to advance traditional moral values is still going strong, fueled by some serious donor dollars. Today's exhibits A and B: Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and Concerned Women for … [Read more...] about The Money Behind the Conservative Women’s Groups Still Fighting the Culture War
Move Over, Bernie. This Foundation Wants Millennials to Love the Free Market
If nothing else, Bernie Sanders’s unexpected success in the 2016 primaries proves what many conservatives long feared: Young Americans just aren’t that bothered by big government. By some polls, millennials favorable to the term “socialism” actually … [Read more...] about Move Over, Bernie. This Foundation Wants Millennials to Love the Free Market
The Forever Grant: Why the Bradley Foundation Keeps Bankrolling Charles Murray
Over the past year, the unexpected success of certain presidential campaigns has galvanized debate about what’s acceptable to say in politics. Should we “tell it like it is,” or should we keep it civil with some form of political correctness? … [Read more...] about The Forever Grant: Why the Bradley Foundation Keeps Bankrolling Charles Murray
Who’s Getting This Conservative Funder’s Top Prizes?
The Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation makes no secret of its conservative principles, backing right-leaning policy research and implementation alongside funders like Olin, Scaife, and the Kochs. Over the years, the Bradley Foundation … [Read more...] about Who’s Getting This Conservative Funder’s Top Prizes?
Conservative Policy Wonks: Who Among You Doesn’t Love the F.M. Kirby Foundation?
History remembers Fred Morgan Kirby as a businessman and philanthropist. Cofounding the Woolworth retail chain in the 1880s and starting the F.M. Kirby Foundation in 1931 were his claims to fame. But libertarian politics drove Kirby, too, and his … [Read more...] about Conservative Policy Wonks: Who Among You Doesn’t Love the F.M. Kirby Foundation?
Who Gives Money to Conservative Think Tanks?
The Heritage Foundation just landed a hefty $2.7 million gift to promote marriage and family. What kind of donor is excited by that kind of work? Well, first some background. Wealthy Americans are a diverse group, at least when it comes to how they … [Read more...] about Who Gives Money to Conservative Think Tanks?
