Donors Capital Fund
Type | Nonprofit 501(c)(3) |
---|---|
54-1934032 | |
Location |
|
Coordinates | 38°48′20″N 77°03′37″W / 38.8056°N 77.0603°W |
Services | Donor-advised fund |
Revenue (2014) | US$49,063,464[1] |
Expenses (2014) | US$49,229,176[1] |
Website | www |
Donors Capital Fund is a nonprofit United States donor-advised charity that distributes grants to conservative and libertarian organizations. Donors Capital Fund is associated with Donors Trust, another donor-advised fund.
Background
Donors Capital Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[1] established in 1999.[2] According to the organization, it was "formed to safeguard the charitable intent of donors who are dedicated to the ideals of limited government, personal responsibility, and free enterprise."[3] Donors Capital Fund assures contributors that their donations will only support "a class of public charities firmly committed to liberty."[4] Grants from Donors Capital Fund are based on the preferences of the original contributor.[5]
Donors Capital Fund is associated with Donors Trust. Donors Trust refers clients to Donors Capital Fund if the client plans to maintain a balance of US$1 million or more.[3][6]
Board
As of 2020, the board of directors of Donors Capital Fund[7] includes:
- Lawson Bader
- Adam Meyerson of Philanthropy Roundtable
- Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute
- Kimberly Dennis of the Searle Freedom Trust
- Steven F. Hayward of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
- Kris Mauren of the Acton Institute
- Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice
- Roger Ream of The Fund for American Studies
Grant-making activities
According to The Guardian, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund distributed nearly US$120 million to more than 100 groups skeptical of global warming between 2002 and 2010.[8] According to a 2013 analysis by Drexel University environmental sociologist Robert Brulle, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund combined were the largest funders of what he calls "the climate change countermovement" in the US between 2003 and 2013.[5][9] Brulle estimated that by 2009, approximately one-quarter of the funding of the "climate countermovement" came from Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund.[6]
In 2008, Donors Capital Fund granted US$17.7 million to the Clarion Fund, now the Clarion Project, a nonprofit organization which "educates the U.S. public about the dangers of Islamic extremism".[10][11]
Donors Capital Fund granted US$192,000 to the Alaska Policy Forum (APF) in the organization's first two years, 2009 and 2010. APF is free-market think tank and a member of the State Policy Network (SPN) of conservative and libertarian think tanks which focus on state-level policy. The grants from Donors Capital Fund were most of the funds raised by APF in that period.[12] In 2010, Donors Capital Fund granted US$1.75 million to SPN, US$2 million to Donors Trust, US$2.5 million to the American Enterprise Institute, US$2 million to Citizens Against Government Waste, US$1.7 million to The Heartland Institute, and over 206 other grantees.[13]
See also
- Convention of States Project
- Democratic backsliding in the United States
- Leonard Leo
- Open the States & Convention of States Action[14][15][16]
- The 85 Fund
References
- ^ a b c "IRS Form 990 2014" (PDF). GuideStar. Internal Revenue Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "Bruce H. Jacobs". Donors Capital Fund. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ a b "What is Donors Capital Fund?". Donors Capital Fund. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ^ "Mission and Principles". Donors Capital Fund. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
- ^ a b Brulle, Robert J. (December 21, 2013). "Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations". Climatic Change. 122 (4): 681–94. doi:10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7.
- ^ a b "Robert Brulle: Inside the Climate Change "Countermovement"". Frontline. PBS. October 23, 2012. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ^ "Donors Capital Fund Board of Directors". Donors Capital Fund. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Goldenberg, Suzanne (February 14, 2013). "Secret funding helped build vast network of climate denial thinktanks". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ Kroll, Andy (February 5, 2013). "Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ Elliott, Justin (November 16, 2010). "Mystery of who funded right-wing "radical Islam" campaign deepens". Salon. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ^ Zornick, George (August 29, 2011). "Fear, Inc.: America's Islamophobia Network". The Nation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ DeMarban, Alex (September 14, 2014). "Conservative group shapes Alaska policy debate with Outside help". Alaska Dispatch News. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ^ Hickley, Walter (February 12, 2013). "Inside The Secretive Dark-Money Organization That's Keeping The Lights On For Conservative Groups". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
- ^ Conley, Julia (September 19, 2022). "Warnings Mount Over Right-Wing Plot to Rewrite US Constitution". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
The Convention of States Project has received millions of dollars from the right-wing Donors Capital Fund and has been endorsed by Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and influential conservative commentators Sean Hannity and Ben Shapiro.
- ^ Adeoye, Rotimi (August 24, 2022). "Democrats Need to Win State Elections to Stop Republicans From Rewriting the Constitution". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
This plan, spearheaded by the group Convention of States Action (COS), has received millions from the Donors Capital Fund, as well as from numerous other high-profile Republican donors. COS is led by Mark Meckler, the interim president of the conservative-friendly social media site Parler, and Eric O'Keefe—a longtime right-wing political operative. COS also has the support of high-profile conservatives and Republicans such as Sean Hannity, Ben Shapiro, Mark Meadows, and Ben Carson. It's even endorsed by prominent GOP elected officials, including Govs. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, as well as Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.
- ^ Armiak, David (February 25, 2020). "Radical Resolution Calling for a Constitutional Rewrite Passes Wisconsin Assembly". Center for Media and Democracy. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.