Talk:William H. Donner Foundation
Contents
Ties to DonorsTrust, a Koch Conduit
DonorsTrust is considered a "donor-advised fund," which means that it divides its funds into separate accounts for individual donors, who then recommend disbursements from the accounts to different non-profits. Funds like DonorsTrust are not uncommon in the non-profit sector, but they do cloak the identity of the original donors because the funds are typically distributed in the name of DonorsTrust rather than the original donors.[1] Very little was known about DonorsTrust until late 2012 and early 2013, when the Guardian and others published extensive reports on what Mother Jones called "the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement."[2][3]
Americans for Prosperity, an organization founded and funded by the Koch brothers, received nearly $9.5 million from DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund from 2010 to 2012.[4]
DonorsTrust Funding
The William H. Donner Foundation contributed $273,000 to DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund between 2009 and 2011 (see links to the foundation's IRS forms 990 below).
A report by the Center for Public Integrity exposes a number of DonorsTrust funders, many of which have ties to the Koch brothers. One of the most prominent funders is the Knowledge and Progress Fund, a Charles Koch-run organization and one of the group's largest known contributors, having donated nearly $9 million from 2005 to 2012. Other contributors known to have donated at least $1 million to DonorsTrust include the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, Donald & Paula Smith Family Foundation, Searle Freedom Trust, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the John M. Olin Foundation.[5]
Since its inception in 1999, DonorsTrust has been used by conservative foundations and individuals to discretely funnel nearly $400 million to like-minded think tanks and media outlets.[5] According to the organization's tax documents, in 2011, DonorsTrust contributed a total of $86 million to conservative organizations. Many recipients had ties to the State Policy Network (SPN), a wide collection of conservative state-based think tanks and media organizations that focus on shaping public policy and opinion. In 2013, the Center for Media and Democracy released a special report on SPN. Those who received DonorsTrust funding included media outlets such as the Franklin Center and the Lucy Burns Institute, as well as think tanks such as SPN itself, the Heartland Institute, Illinois Policy Institute, Independence Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, South Carolina Policy Council, American Legislative Exchange Council, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, and the Cascade Policy Institute.[6]
Finances and Grants Paid by Foundation
Fiscal Year 2009
In 2009, the Foundation reported 4.5 million dollars worth of grants paid out to different foundations. Of that 4.5 million dollars, approximately $950,000 went to right-wing think tanks included in the State Policy Network[7]
- Donors Trust 110,000
- Social Affairs Unit 5,000
- American Foreign Policy Council 100,000
- Bill of Rights Institute 25,000
- Atlas Economic Research Foundation 75,000
- Alexis de Tocqueville Institution 132,000
- Claremont Institute 20,000
- Capital Research Center 20,000
- CATO Institute 20,000
- Center for Security Policy 25,000
- Heritage Foundation 25,000
- Hudson Institute 40,000
- Independent Institute 25,000
- Institute for American Values 12,000
- Institute for World Politics 25,000
- International Republican Institute 20,000
- Pacific Research Institute 20,000
- Property and Environment Research Center 21,000
- Independent Women's Forum 40,000
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research 35,000
- Alliance for Choice in Education 10,000
- America's Future Foundation 19,000
- Institute for Justice 20,000
- Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs 50,000
- American Enterprise Institute 25,000
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy 10,000
- Texas Public Policy Foundation 10,000
Fiscal Year 2010
In 2010, the Foundation reported 4.5 million dollars paid out in grants, and of that 4.5 million, approximately $835,000 was granted to conservative think tanks involved in the State Policy Network.[8]
- Donors Trust 63,000
- Alexis de Tocqueville Institution 105,000
- Alliance for Choice in Education 10,000
- American Foreign Policy Council 47,500
- American Studies Center 65,000
- Americans for Tax Reform 10,000
- America's Future Foundation 9,500
- Atlas Economic Research Foundation 50,000
- Bill of Rights Institute 25,000
- Capital Research Center 20,000
- Cato Institute 20,000
- Center for American Progress 10,000
- Center for Security Policy 65,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute 10,000
- Heritage Foundation 57,000
- Hudson Institute 50,000
- Independence Institute 20,000
- Institute for American Values 10,000
- Institute for Justice 20,000
- Institute of World Politics 58,500
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy 10,000
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research 32,500
- National Resources Defense Council 20,000
- Pacific Research Institute 20,000
- Political Economy Research Center 6,000
- Property and Environment Research Center 20,000
- Federalist Society 10,000
Fiscal Year 2011
In 2011, the Foundation reported 4.5 million paid out in grants, and of that 4.5 million approximately $750,000 was paid to right-wing thinktanks. [9]
- Alexis de Tocqueville Institute 65,000
- Alliance for Choice in Education 30,000
- American Enterprise Institute 50,000
- American Foreign Policy Council 25,000
- American Studies Center 25,000
- Atlas Economic Research Foundation 25,000
- Capital Research Center 20,000
- Cato Institute 20,000
- Center for Security Policy 25,000
- Competitive Enterprise Institute 46,000
- Donors Trust 100,000
- Heritage Foundation 80,000
- Hudson Institute 50,000
- Independence Institute 20,000
- Institute for Justice 30,000
- Institute of World Politics 25,000
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research 35,500
- National Resources Defense Council 20,000
- Pacific Research Institute 20,000
- Political Economy Research Center 20,000
- Property and Environmental Research Center 15,000
- State Policy Network 7,500
Officers, Directors, and Trustees
Fiscal Year 2009
- Michael Hunter Spencer, Treasurer
- David Donner, Vice President
- Anita Winsor Edwards, President
- Monica Winsor, Secretary
Trustees
- Hon. Curtin WInsor, Jr.
- Robert Donner Jr.
- Joseph W. Donner Jr.
- Deborah Donner
- Alexander Donner
- Brittany Roy
- Timothy E. Donner
- Stephanie K. Hanson
- Cristina Winsor
- Robert D. Spencer
- William M. Spencer
- Curtin Winsor, III
- Rebecca Winsor
- Sharon Lainhart
Fiscal Year 2010
- Michael Hunter Spencer, Secretary
- David Donner, President
- Monica Winsor, VP & Assistant Treasurer
- Timothy E. Donner, Treasurer
Trustees
- Christopher K. Roosevelt
- Robert Donner Jr.
- Joseph W. Donner III
- Sharon Lainhart
- Anita Winsor Edwards
- Rebecca Winsor
- Curtin Winsor III
- William M. Winsor III
- Robert D. Spencer
- Cristina WInsor
- Stephanie K. Hanson
Fiscal Year 2011
- Timothy E. Donner, Secretary
- Cristina Winsor, Treasurer
- Michael Hunter Spencer, VP & Assistant Treasurer
- Monica Winsor, President
Trustees
- Hon. Curtin Winsor Jr
- Joseph W. Donner Jr.
- Deborah Donner
- Alexander Donner
- Brittany Roy
- Stephanie K. Hanson
- Robert D. Spencer
- William M. Spencer III
- Curtin Winsor III
- Rebecca Winsor
- David Donner
- Anita Winsor Edwards
- Sharon Lainhart
- Joseph W. Donner III
- Dillon Roy
- Christopher K. Roosevelt
- William H. Donner III
Fiscal Year 2013
- Timothy E. Donner, President
- Cristina Winsor, Vice President & Assistant Treasurer
- Joseph W. Donner, III, Secretary
- Rebecca D. Winsor, Treasurer
Trustees
- Alexander B. Donner, Esq.
- David W., Donner
- Deborah Donner
- Joseph W. Donner, Jr.
- Joseph W. Donner, III.
- Timothy E. Donner
- Anita Winsor Edwards
- Stephanie K. Hanson
- Sharon W. Lainhart
- Christopher K. Roosevelt
- Brittany D. Roy
- Dillon Roy
- M. Hunter Spencer
- Robert D. Spencer
- William M. Spencer, III.
- Cristina S. Winsor
- Curtin Winsor, Jr.
- Monica Winsor
- Rebecca D. WInsor
References
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, A Reporters' Guide to the "State Policy Network" -- the Right-Wing Think Tanks Spinning Disinformation and Pushing the ALEC Agenda in the States, PRWatch.org, April 4, 2013.
- ↑ Andy Kroll, Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement, Mother Jones, February 5, 2013.
- ↑ Suzanne Goldenberg, "Secret funding helped build vast network of climate denial thinktanks," The Guardian, February 14, 2013.
- ↑ Center for Media and Democracy, DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund Grant Recipients, SourceWatch.org, accessed December 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Paul Abowd, Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states, Center for Public Integrity, February 14, 2013.
- ↑ Donors Trust, GuideStar.org, IRS form 990, 2011.
- ↑ William H. Donner Foundation,2009 Form 990,Foundation IRS Filing, October, 31, 2009
- ↑ William H. Donner Foundation.2010 IRS 990, Foundation tax filing, October 31, 2010.
- ↑ WIlliam H. Donner Foundation2011 IRS 990, Foundation IRS filinf, October 31, 2011.
