{{short description|American nonprofit donor-advised fund}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2015}} {{Infobox organization | name = DonorsTrust | native_name = | logo = DonorsTrust logo.svg | image_alt = | caption = | map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | map2 = | map2_size = | map2_alt = | map2_caption = | abbreviation = | predecessor = | merged_into = | successor = | formation = 1999 | founder = | extinction = | merger = | type = Nonprofit (IRC § 501(c)(3))<ref name="IRS">{{cite web|title=2017 IRS 990 FORM|work=ProPublica |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/522166327/03_2019_prefixes_51-56%2F522166327_201712_990_2019030616152331|access-date=October 25, 2020|archive-date=April 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423205120/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/522166327/03_2019_prefixes_51-56%2F522166327_201712_990_2019030616152331|url-status=live}}</ref> | tax_id = 52-2166327 | registration_id = | status = | purpose = | headquarters = | location = Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. | coordinates = {{coord| 38.8056|-77.0603|display=inline,title}} | region_served = | services = Donor-advised fund | products = | methods = | fields = | membership = | num_members_year = | language = | owner = | secretary_general = | leader_title = CEO | leader_name = Lawson Bader<ref name=bader>{{cite news|title=DonorsTrust's New CEO|url=http://www.donorstrust.org/news-notes/donorstrusts-new-ceo/|access-date=3 February 2016|publisher=Donors Trust|date=September 22, 2015|archive-date=February 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203224328/http://www.donorstrust.org/news-notes/donorstrusts-new-ceo/|url-status=live}}</ref> | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | board_of_directors = {{hlist | Kimberly Dennis | James Piereson | Lawson Bader | Thomas Beach | George G. H. Coates Jr.<ref name=board>{{cite web|title=Directors & Staff - DonorsTrust|url=http://www.donorstrust.org/who-we-are/directors-and-staff/|publisher=Donors Trust|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=November 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130041949/http://www.donorstrust.org/who-we-are/directors-and-staff/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} | key_people = | main_organ = | parent_organization = | subsidiaries = | secessions = | affiliations = Donors Capital Fund | budget = | budget_year = | revenue = $294 million<ref name="nonprofitexplorer">{{cite web|title=Donors Trust Inc|website=ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer|url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522166327|date=2022|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=February 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216074912/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/522166327|url-status=live}}</ref> | revenue_year = 2024 | disbursements = | expenses = $292 million<ref name="nonprofitexplorer"/> | expenses_year = 2024 | endowment = $1.36 billion in assets<ref name="nonprofitexplorer"/> | endowment_year = 2024 | num_staff = | num_staff_year = | num_volunteers = | num_volunteers_year = | website = {{official URL}} | remarks = | former_name = | footnotes = }} {{Conservatism US|other organizations}}
'''DonorsTrust''' is an American nonprofit donor-advised fund that was founded in 1999 with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors".<ref name="inside">{{cite web|last1=Callahan|first1=David|title=Inside DonorsTrust: What This Mission-Driven DAF Offers Philanthropists on the Right|url=http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/3/inside-donorstrust-what-this-mission-driven-daf-offers-phila.html|access-date=May 31, 2016|website=Inside Philanthropy|date=March 3, 2016|archive-date=April 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428165644/http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/3/inside-donorstrust-what-this-mission-driven-daf-offers-phila.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As a donor-advised fund, DonorsTrust is not legally required to disclose the identity of its donors, and most of its donors remain anonymous.<ref name="MJ_1">{{cite magazine |last1=Kroll |first1=Andy |date=February 5, 2013 |title=Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/donors-trust-donor-capital-fund-dark-money-koch-bradley-devos/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002141421/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/donors-trust-donor-capital-fund-dark-money-koch-bradley-devos/ |archive-date=October 2, 2019 |access-date=2 April 2019 |magazine=Mother Jones}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Callahan |first1=David |title=Inside DonorsTrust: What This Mission-Driven DAF Offers Philanthropists on the Right |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/3/inside-donorstrust-what-this-mission-driven-daf-offers-phila.html |access-date=2 April 2019 |website=Inside Philanthropy |date=August 23, 2017 |archive-date=August 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830160500/https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2016/3/3/inside-donorstrust-what-this-mission-driven-daf-offers-phila.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It distributes funds to various conservative and libertarian 501(c)(3) organizations.
It is affiliated with Donors Capital Fund, another donor-advised fund. In September 2015, Lawson Bader was announced as the new president of both DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. Bader was formerly president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and vice president at the Mercatus Center.<ref name=bader/>
==Overview== DonorsTrust is a 501(c)(3) organization.<ref name=IRS/> As a public charity and a donor-advised fund, DonorsTrust offers clients a variety of tax advantages compared to a private foundation.<ref name=nbc/>
DonorsTrust accepts donations from charitable foundations and individuals.<ref name=Guardian021513>{{cite news |title=Media campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/15/media-campaign-windfarms-conservatives |access-date=February 16, 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=February 15, 2013 |author-link=Suzanne Goldenberg |first=Suzanne |last=Goldenberg |archive-date=February 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215085631/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/15/media-campaign-windfarms-conservatives |url-status=live }}</ref> Grants from DonorsTrust are based on the preferences of the original contributor, and the organization assures clients that their contributions will never be used to support politically liberal causes.<ref name=secret/><ref name=mission>{{cite web|title=Mission & Principles|url=http://www.donorstrust.org/who-we-are/mission-principles/|publisher=Donors Trust|access-date=May 31, 2016|archive-date=May 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527233606/http://www.donorstrust.org/who-we-are/mission-principles/|url-status=live}}</ref> As a donor-advised fund, DonorsTrust can offer anonymity to individual donors, with respect to their donations to DonorsTrust, as well as with respect to an individual donor's ultimate grantee.<ref name=secret/><ref name=businessinsider>{{cite news |title=Inside The Secretive Dark-Money Organization That's Keeping The Lights On For Conservative Groups |first=Walter |last=Hickley |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/donors-trust-capital-fund-conservative-dark-money-2013-2 |newspaper=Business Insider |date=February 12, 2013 |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043939/http://www.businessinsider.com/donors-trust-capital-fund-conservative-dark-money-2013-2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=future>{{cite news|title=The future of donor-advised funds|url=http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/whitney_ball|publisher=Philanthropy Roundtable |date=September 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504162453/http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/whitney_ball|archive-date=May 4, 2017}}</ref><ref name=faq>{{cite web |title=FAQs |url=http://www.donorstrust.org/where-to-start/frequently-asked-questions/ |publisher=Donors Trust |access-date=May 31, 2016 |archive-date=July 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715163331/http://www.donorstrust.org/where-to-start/frequently-asked-questions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
As a donor-advised fund and public charity, DonorsTrust accepts cash or assets from donors, and in turn creates a separate account for the donor, who may recommend disbursements from the fund to other public charities.<ref name=future/> DonorsTrust requires an initial deposit of $10,000 or more.<ref>{{cite web|title=Open An Account|url=http://www.donorstrust.org/where-to-start/open-an-account/|publisher=Donors Trust|access-date=May 31, 2016|archive-date=May 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528054712/http://www.donorstrust.org/where-to-start/open-an-account/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=MotherJones20130205/> DonorsTrust is associated with Donors Capital Fund. DonorsTrust refers clients to Donors Capital Fund if the client plans to maintain a balance of $1 million or more.<ref name=brulle>{{cite news |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/robert-brulle-inside-the-climate-change-countermovement/ |title=Robert Brulle: Inside the Climate Change "Countermovement" |publisher=PBS |work=Frontline |date=October 23, 2012 |access-date=February 21, 2015 |archive-date=January 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131113416/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/environment/climate-of-doubt/robert-brulle-inside-the-climate-change-countermovement/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=overview>{{cite web |title=What is Donors Capital Fund? |url=http://www.donorscapitalfund.org/AboutUs/Overview.aspx |publisher=Donors Capital Fund |access-date=February 21, 2015 |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028224946/http://www.donorscapitalfund.org/AboutUs/Overview.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> DonorsTrust president Lawson Bader said the goal of the organization is to "safeguard the intent of libertarian and conservative donors," ensuring that funds are used only to promote "liberty through limited government, responsibility, and free enterprise".<ref name="inside"/>
==History== DonorsTrust was established in 1999 by Whitney Lynn Ball.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gillespie|first1=Nick|title=Whitney Ball, Founder of DonorsTrust, RIP|url=http://reason.com/blog/2015/08/18/whitney-ball-founder-of-donorstrust-rip|access-date=May 31, 2016|publisher=Reason|date=August 18, 2015|archive-date=June 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605092746/http://reason.com/blog/2015/08/18/whitney-ball-founder-of-donorstrust-rip|url-status=live}}</ref> It and Donors Capital Fund have been described as spinoffs of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a coordinating group for conservative foundations, where Ball had been executive director.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singer |first=Merrill |title=Climate Change and Social Inequality: The Health and Social Costs of Global Warming |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2018 |isbn=9781351594813 |location=United Kingdom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Farrell |first=Justin |date=2019-03-18 |title=The growth of climate change misinformation in US philanthropy: evidence from natural language processing |journal=Environmental Research Letters |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=034013 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/aaf939 |bibcode=2019ERL....14c4013F |issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-18 |title=Whitney Ball Knew the Landscape of the Conservative Movement Unlike Any Other |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/08/whitney-ball-remembered/ |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}</ref> According to DonorsTrust, the organization was founded by a group of donors and nonprofit executives who were "actively engaged in supporting and promoting a free society as understood in America's founding documents."<ref name=mission/> A major selling point to donors is that even after their death, their money will continue to fund conservative/libertarian goals, and not change based on the attitudes of their heirs or trustees as a family foundation might.{{ r | MJ_1 | p=1 | q=Donors Trust grew out of the fear among right-leaning donors that their family foundations might end up in the hands of those who would fund centrist or, even worse, left-of-center causes. ... Ball says she travels all over the country courting wealthy conservatives and libertarians, and attends Koch donor retreats and Cato "shareholder" meetings. The crux of her pitch is this: Rich folks can give to Donors Trust and rest easy knowing that their millions will continue bankrolling the conservative movement long into the future, even after their death. They don't have to worry that, after they die, their heirs and trustees will use their bucks for causes they would never support. Ball points to the Ford Foundation as one example of a major charity that, in her view, drifted leftward over time and away from the ideals of man who started it, industrialist Edsel Ford. }}
In early 2013, DonorsTrust was the subject of reports by ''The Independent'',<ref name=independent20130124/> ''The Guardian'',<ref name=Guardian021513/><ref name=secret/><ref name=Guardian021413/> ''Mother Jones'',<ref name=MotherJones20130205/><ref name=MotherJones20130211/> and the Center for Public Integrity.<ref name=nbc/> Calling it the "dark money ATM" of the political right, the progressive magazine ''Mother Jones'' said DonorsTrust had funded a conservative public policy agenda against labor unions, climate science, public schools, and economic regulations.<ref name=MotherJones20130205>{{cite news |title=Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement |url=http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/donors-trust-donor-capital-fund-dark-money-koch-bradley-devos |first=Andy |last=Kroll |date=February 5, 2013 |access-date=February 20, 2015 |journal=Mother Jones |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218002434/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/donors-trust-donor-capital-fund-dark-money-koch-bradley-devos |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Slodysko |first=Brian |date=27 July 2020 |title=Wealthy donors pour millions into fight over mail-in voting |url=https://www.startribune.com/wealthy-donors-pour-millions-into-fight-over-mail-in-voting/571915722/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031215247/https://www.startribune.com/wealthy-donors-pour-millions-into-fight-over-mail-in-voting/571915722/ |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |access-date=20 November 2020 |work=Minneapolis Star Tribune}}</ref>
DonorsTrust raised over $1 billion in 2021, with two separate donations, each exceeding $425 million, being anonymous.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fuchs |first=Hailey |date=2022-11-16 |title=Two anonymous $425 million donations give dark money conservative group a massive haul |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/16/two-anonymous-425-million-donations-gives-dark-money-conservative-group-a-massive-haul-00067493 |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Politico |language=en}}</ref>
==Donors== As of 2013, DonorsTrust had 193 contributors, mostly individuals, and some foundations.<ref name=nbc/>
The Charles G. Koch Foundation has contributed millions of dollars to DonorsTrust.<ref name=independent20130124>{{cite news|last1=Connor|first1=Steve|title=Exclusive: Billionaires secretly fund attacks on climate science|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-billionaires-secretly-fund-attacks-on-climate-science-8466312.html|access-date=February 7, 2015|newspaper=The Independent|date=January 24, 2013|archive-date=February 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219132559/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-billionaires-secretly-fund-attacks-on-climate-science-8466312.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=|first=|date=|title=Project Veritas received $1.7 million last year from charity associated with the Koch brothers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/project-veritas-received-17-million-last-year-from-koch-backed-charity/2017/12/01/143e13ca-d6d3-11e7-9461-ba77d604373d_story.html|newspaper=Washington Post|location=|access-date=|archive-date=August 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827153352/https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/project-veritas-received-17-million-last-year-from-koch-backed-charity/2017/12/01/143e13ca-d6d3-11e7-9461-ba77d604373d_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Charles and David Koch were the top contributors to DonorsTrust in 2011, according to an analysis by the ''Columbia Journalism Review''.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/the_koch_brothers_media_invest.php |title=The Koch brothers' media investment |journal=Columbia Journalism Review |date=April 22, 2013 |first=Sasha |last=Chavkin |access-date=March 5, 2015 |quote=In 2011, fully 95 percent of the Franklin Center's revenues came from a charity called Donors Trust, whose top contributors were the Koch brothers. |archive-date=February 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209090220/http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/the_koch_brothers_media_invest.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
DonorsTrust account holders have included the John M. Olin Foundation, the Castle Rock Foundation, the Searle Freedom Trust, and the Bradley Foundation.<ref name=nbc/><ref name="searle">{{cite news |author-link=John J. Miller (journalist) |first=John J. |last=Miller |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/222772/daniel-c-searle-rip-john-j-miller |journal=National Review |date=November 8, 2007 |access-date=March 6, 2015 |title=Daniel C. Searle, R.I.P. |archive-date=August 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803072304/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/222772/daniel-c-searle-rip-john-j-miller |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bradley family contributed $650,000 between 2001 and 2010.<ref name=MotherJones20130205/> The DeVos family foundation contributed $1 million in 2009 and $1.5 million in 2010 to Donors Trust.<ref name=MotherJones20130205/>
Robert Mercer and Rebekah Mercer contributed nearly $20 million through DonorsTrust in 2020.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Brian |date=2021-09-15 |title=Mercer family played bigger role in 2020 election than thought, giving nearly $20 million to dark money GOP fund |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/15/robert-mercer-family-gave-nearly-20-million-to-dark-money-gop-fund-during-2020-election.html |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=CNBC |language=en |quote=In 2019, the Donors Trust, sent donations to groups such as Turning Point USA, which is led by vocal Trump supporter Charlie Kirk; and the VDARE Foundation, which the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled a hate group.}}</ref> Marble Freedom Trust, led by Leonard Leo, gave $41 million to DonorsTrust in 2021 after a donation from Barre Seid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Griffin |first=Casey Tolan, Curt Devine, Drew |date=2022-08-22 |title=Massive dark money windfall: New conservative group got $1.6 billion from single donor |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/politics/dark-money-donation-conservative-group-invs/index.html |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
==Recipients== From its founding in 1999 through 2013, DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund distributed nearly $400 million, and through 2015, $740 million, to various nonprofit organizations, including numerous conservative and libertarian causes.<ref name=nbc/><ref name=dunbar>{{cite news |title=Donors Trust: Little-Known Group Helps Wealthy Backers Fund Right-Wing Agenda in Secret |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2013/2/19/donors_trust_little_known_group_helps |first=Amy |last=Goodman |author-link=Amy Goodman |date=February 19, 2013 |access-date=March 15, 2015 |work=Democracy Now! |archive-date=March 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313041740/http://www.democracynow.org/2013/2/19/donors_trust_little_known_group_helps |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Whitney Ball Was a Champion of Liberty Par Excellence |first=Adam |last=Meyerson |date=August 17, 2015 |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/422657/whitney-ball-was-champion-liberty-par-excellence-adam-meyerson |magazine=National Review |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=August 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820001746/http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/422657/whitney-ball-was-champion-liberty-par-excellence-adam-meyerson |url-status=live }}</ref> DonorsTrust requires that recipients are registered with the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Whitney Ball, the former president of the Trust, told ''The Guardian'' in 2013 that it has about 1,600 grantees.<ref>{{cite news |title=How the 'Kochtopus' stifled green debate; Behind the climate 'countermovement' are two billionaire brothers |first=Steve |last=Connor |date=January 24, 2013 |access-date=April 15, 2015 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/how-the-kochtopus-stifled-green-debate-8466316.html |newspaper=The Independent |archive-date=April 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421155752/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/how-the-kochtopus-stifled-green-debate-8466316.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, Ball said that 70 to 75 percent of grants go to public policy organizations, with the rest going to more conventional charities such as social service and educational organizations.<ref name=nr20140924>{{cite news |last1=Zeiser |first1=Bill |title=Dark Money: The Left's unprincipled campaign against philanthropic privacy |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/388705/dark-money-bill-zeiser |access-date=February 7, 2015 |journal=National Review |date=September 24, 2014 |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403080156/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/388705/dark-money-bill-zeiser |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2010, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-17/koch-group-wins-order-blocking-california-donor-data-demand|title=Koch Group Gets to Keep Donors Secret in California Lawsuit|journal=Bloomberg Business|date=February 17, 2015|first=Edvard|last=Pettersson|access-date=March 6, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225174226/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-17/koch-group-wins-order-blocking-california-donor-data-demand|url-status=live}}</ref> received a DonorsTrust grant of $7 million, nearly half of the Foundation's revenue that year.<ref name="nbc" /> Other DonorsTrust recipients have included The Heritage Foundation, Americans for Tax Reform, the National Rifle Association Freedom Action Foundation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, the Federalist Society, the FreedomWorks Foundation, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, and the Center for Class Action Fairness.<ref name="MotherJones20130205" /><ref name="MotherJones20130211">{{cite news |title=Exclusive: Donors Trust, The Right's Dark-Money ATM, Paid Out $30 Million in 2011 |url=http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/donors-trust-2011-dark-money-heritage-cato-unions |first=Andy |last=Kroll |date=February 11, 2013 |access-date=March 5, 2015 |journal=Mother Jones |archive-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226021220/http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/donors-trust-2011-dark-money-heritage-cato-unions |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ABA">{{cite news |title=Unsettling Advocate |date=April 1, 2010 |first=Rachel |last=Zahorsky |url=http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/unsettling_advocate/ |journal=ABA Journal |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=March 6, 2015 |archive-date=March 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301053049/http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/unsettling_advocate/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
DonorsTrust paid the legal fees of the Project on Fair Representation, a Washington, D.C.–based legal defense fund that assembled the plaintiff's legal team in ''Fisher v. University of Texas'', a 2013 United States Supreme Court case concerning affirmative action college admissions policies.<ref>{{cite news |title=One Man Standing Against Race-Based Laws |last=Smith |first=Morgan |date=February 23, 2012 |access-date=April 30, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/us/edward-blum-and-the-project-on-fair-representation-head-to-the-supreme-court-to-fight-race-based-laws.html |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423201421/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/us/edward-blum-and-the-project-on-fair-representation-head-to-the-supreme-court-to-fight-race-based-laws.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, an online conservative news organization, received $6.3 million in DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund grants, 95 percent of the center's revenue that year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-02-14 |title=Koch-funded charity passes money to free-market think tanks in states |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/koch-funded-charity-passes-money-free-market-think-tanks-states-flna1c8370335 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Center for Public Integrity |language=en |via=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Suzanne |last2=Bengtsson |first2=Helena |date=2015-06-09 |title=Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups $125m over three years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/secretive-donors-gave-us-climate-denial-groups-125m-over-three-years |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Other DonorsTrust recipients have included the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wuest |first1=Joanna |last2=Last |first2=Briana S. |date=2024 |title=Church Against State: How Industry Groups Lead the Religious Liberty Assault on Civil Rights, Healthcare Policy, and the Administrative State |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C9C946BF24F6962BB685974EB29AEC80/S1073110524000652a.pdf/div-class-title-church-against-state-how-industry-groups-lead-the-religious-liberty-assault-on-civil-rights-healthcare-policy-and-the-administrative-state-div.pdf |journal=The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics |volume=52 |issue=52 |pages=151–168 |doi=10.1017/jme.2024.65 |pmid=38818606 |quote=A 2022 investigative report revealed that DonorsTrust — a fundraising operation known as the “dark money ATM” of contemporary conservative politics — had funneled millions of dollars into religious liberty legal organizations. Among the recipients was the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, an organization renowned for its litigation against LGBTQ+ rights and the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate as well as its legal support for overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.}}</ref> the Conservative Partnership Institute,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Blitzer |first=Jonathan |date=2024-07-15 |title=Inside the Trump Plan for 2025 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/07/22/inside-the-trump-plan-for-2025 |access-date= |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> Consumers' Research,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mufson |first=Steven |date=January 20, 2023 |title=This group is sharpening the GOP's attack on "woke" Wall Street |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/30/climate-change-sustainable-investing/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Foundation for Jewish Camp, the James Randi Educational Foundation, the Marijuana Policy Project,<ref name="nr20140924" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Marijuana Policy Project|url=https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C90008061&cycle=2004|publisher=OpenSecrets|access-date=March 8, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402164423/https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C90008061&cycle=2004|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Morse Wooster|first1=Martin|title=Remembering Whitney Ball's lasting but rarely noticed work|url=http://www.philanthropydaily.com/whitney-balls-lasting-contributions-through-unnoticed-work/|access-date=September 1, 2015|publisher=Philanthropy Daily|date=August 26, 2015|archive-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910130603/http://www.philanthropydaily.com/whitney-balls-lasting-contributions-through-unnoticed-work/|url-status=live}}</ref> the New Century Foundation,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> PragerU,<ref name="Sludge">{{cite web |url=https://readsludge.com/2018/12/27/who-funds-pragerus-anti-muslim-content/ |title=Who Funds PragerU's Anti-Muslim Content? |author=Kotch, Alex |work=Sludge |date=December 27, 2018 |access-date=December 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229031208/https://readsludge.com/2018/12/27/who-funds-pragerus-anti-muslim-content/ |archive-date=December 29, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Project Veritas,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=O'Harrow |first=Robert Jr. |date=2017-12-02 |title=Project Veritas received $1.7 million last year from charity associated with the Koch brothers |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/project-veritas-received-17-million-last-year-from-koch-backed-charity/2017/12/01/143e13ca-d6d3-11e7-9461-ba77d604373d_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827153352/https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/project-veritas-received-17-million-last-year-from-koch-backed-charity/2017/12/01/143e13ca-d6d3-11e7-9461-ba77d604373d_story.html |archive-date=August 27, 2019 |access-date=2017-12-02 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and VDARE.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Fraga |first=Brian |date=January 21, 2022 |title=Right-wing Catholic causes got millions from group that funded some Capitol rioters |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/right-wing-catholic-causes-got-millions-group-funded-some-capitol-rioters |work=National Catholic Reporter |quote=The organization, known as Donors Trust, has been described as a "dark money ATM" for the political right...}}</ref>
DonorsTrust CEO Bader told ''Inside Philanthropy'' in 2021 that his fund had seen "a noticeable uptick of account rollovers" from non-ideological donor-advised funds he said had slowed or stopped grant-making to political causes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-09 |title=After Trump, What's Happening at DonorsTrust, the Right's Favorite DAF? |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2021-6-9-after-trump-whats-happening-at-donorstrust-the-rights-favorite-daf |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Inside Philanthropy |language=en-US |quote=As Bader tells it, DonorsTrust has gotten a definite boost from fears of so-called 'cancel culture' coming to the DAF world. "The fact that Fidelity Charitable (and some community foundations) [are] refusing to honor grant recommendations (or at least slowing down the process) to various 'conservative policy' groups, combined with the recent decision by the Goldman Sachs DAF to cease grantmaking to all perceived ‘policy’ groups—on left and right—has resulted in a noticeable uptick of account rollovers from these groups," Bader said. The concern is that such a pattern could spread further afield to Schwab, Vanguard and the like. "Fortunately," Bader said, "in this market, there are alternative choices, and DonorsTrust is benefiting from that."}}</ref>
===Climate change contrarian funding=== DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund have been major sources of funding for conservative groups with contrarian stances on climate change.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Coan |first1=Travis G. |last2=Boussalis |first2=Constantine |last3=Cook |first3=John |last4=Nanko |first4=Mirjam O. |date=2021-11-16 |title=Computer-assisted classification of contrarian claims about climate change |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |article-number=22320 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-01714-4 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=8595491 |pmid=34785707 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1122320C |quote=Notably, prominent contrarian CTTs such as the Heartland Institute are heavily dependent upon these key donors and, in particular the “donor-advised” funding flows from Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, which ensure anonymous funding to conservative causes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brulle |first1=Robert J. |last2=Hall |first2=Galen |last3=Loy |first3=Loredana |last4=Schell-Smith |first4=Kennedy |date=May 2021 |title=Obstructing action: foundation funding and US climate change counter-movement organizations |url=https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-178750/latest.pdf |journal=Climatic Change |language=en |volume=166 |issue=1–2 |article-number=17 |doi=10.1007/s10584-021-03117-w |bibcode=2021ClCh..166...17B |issn=0165-0009 |quote=Donors Trust and DCF alone account for 13.7% of grants.}}</ref><ref name="secret" /><ref name="MotherJones20130205" />
''The Guardian'' reported DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund distributed nearly $120 million to 102 think tanks and action groups "which have a record of denying the existence of a human factor in climate change, or opposing environmental regulations" between 2002 and 2010.<ref name="secret">{{cite news |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Suzanne |author-link=Suzanne Goldenberg |title=Secret funding helped build vast network of climate denial thinktanks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/14/funding-climate-change-denial-thinktanks-network |access-date=February 7, 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=February 14, 2013 |archive-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525121334/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/14/funding-climate-change-denial-thinktanks-network |url-status=live }}</ref> According to an analysis by Drexel University environmental sociologist Robert Brulle, between 2003 and 2010, DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund combined were the largest funders of organizations opposed to restrictions on carbon emissions.<ref name="MotherJones20130205" /><ref name="brulle2">{{cite journal |last1=Brulle |first1=Robert J. |s2cid=27538787 |author-link=Robert Brulle |title=Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations |journal=Climatic Change |date=December 21, 2013 |volume=122 |issue=4 |pages=681–94 |doi=10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7}}</ref> By 2009, approximately one-quarter of the funding of what Brulle calls the "climate change counter-movement" came from grants via DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund.<ref name="brulle" />
As of 2010, DonorsTrust grants to conservative and libertarian organizations active in climate change issues included more than $17 million to the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank; $13.5 million to the Heartland Institute, a public policy think tank; and $11 million to Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group.<ref name=Guardian021413>{{cite news |title=How Donors Trust distributed millions to anti-climate groups |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/14/donors-trust-funding-climate-denial-networks |access-date=March 5, 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=February 14, 2013 |author-link=Suzanne Goldenberg |first=Suzanne |last=Goldenberg |archive-date=April 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409165028/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/feb/14/donors-trust-funding-climate-denial-networks |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a conservative Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit organization, received $1.2 million from Donors Trust, 40 percent of CFACT's revenue in that year.<ref name=businessinsider/> Climate change writer Wei-Hock "Willie" Soon received hundreds of thousands of dollars from DonorsTrust.<ref name="doubtful">{{cite news |first1=Justin |last1=Gillis |first2=John |last2=Schwartz |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html |title=Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher |date=February 21, 2015 |access-date=March 3, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108123302/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Basken 2015">{{cite web |last=Basken |first=Paul |title=A Climate Crusader Melts, Exposing a Profitable Link to Harvard's Name |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education |date=February 25, 2015 |url=http://m.chronicle.com/article/A-Climate-Crusader-Melts/190349/ |access-date=March 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303134706/http://m.chronicle.com/article/A-Climate-Crusader-Melts/190349 |archive-date=March 3, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2015, ''The Guardian'' reported that Donors Trust gave $4.3 million to the Competitive Enterprise Institute over three years.<ref name="Guardian 2015">{{cite news |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Suzanne |last2=Bengtsson |first2=Helena |date=June 9, 2015 |title=Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups $125m over three years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/secretive-donors-gave-us-climate-denial-groups-125m-over-three-years |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130234026/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/secretive-donors-gave-us-climate-denial-groups-125m-over-three-years |archive-date=November 30, 2016 |access-date=November 30, 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
===State-based policy funding=== Between 2008 and 2013, DonorsTrust granted $10 million to the State Policy Network (SPN), a national network of conservative and libertarian think tanks focused on state-level policy. SPN used the grants to incubate new think tanks in Arkansas, Rhode Island and Florida. DonorsTrust also issued grants to SPN's affiliates at the state level during the same period. The American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that drafts and shares model state-level legislation, is a DonorsTrust recipient.<ref name=nbc>{{cite news |title=Koch-funded charity passes money to free-market think tanks in states |first=Paul |last=Abowd |url=http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16939114-koch-funded-charity-passes-money-to-free-market-think-tanks-in-states |access-date=March 10, 2015 |date=February 14, 2013 |work=NBC News |agency=Center for Public Integrity |archive-date=March 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313170452/http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16939114-koch-funded-charity-passes-money-to-free-market-think-tanks-in-states |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Elections and the judiciary === In 2018, the organization funded more than 99% of the Judicial Education Project, a legal alias for Honest Elections Project and The 85 Fund.<ref name="Guardian_20200527">{{Cite news |last1=Levine |first1=Sam |last2=Massoglia |first2=Anna |date=2020-05-27 |title=Revealed: conservative group fighting to restrict voting tied to powerful dark money network |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/27/honest-elections-project-conservative-voting-restrictions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528103353/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/27/honest-elections-project-conservative-voting-restrictions |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |access-date=2020-05-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Swan |first1=Jonathan |last2=Treene |first2=Alayna |title=Leonard Leo to shape new conservative network, step aside from the Federalist Society |url=https://www.axios.com/leonard-leo-crc-advisors-federalist-society-50d4d844-19a3-4eab-af2b-7b74f1617d1c.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614202717/https://www.axios.com/leonard-leo-crc-advisors-federalist-society-50d4d844-19a3-4eab-af2b-7b74f1617d1c.html |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |website=Axios}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Conservative 'dark money' network rebranded to push voting restrictions before 2020 election |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/conservative-dark-money-network-voting-restrict/ |date=2020-05-27 |publisher=OpenSecrets |access-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311120953/https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/conservative-dark-money-network-voting-restrict/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Board of directors == The board of directors of DonorsTrust includes:<ref name=board/> * Kimberly Dennis, chairman – president of the Searle Freedom Trust * Lawson Bader, president and CEO – DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund * James Piereson, vice chairman – conservative scholar and president of the William E. Simon Foundation * Thomas E. Beach * George G.H. Coates Jr. – chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150212053235/http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/522166327/popup/1 Organizational Profile] – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute) * {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|522166327}} {{authority control}}
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Alexandria, Virginia Category:Charities based in Virginia Category:Organizations established in 1999 Category:Conservative organizations in the United States Category:1999 establishments in Virginia Category:501(c)(3) organizations