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To: MtnClimber; piasa

States at the Core co-director Darren Sandow of Ross Consulting, former executive director of the Hagedorn Foundation, works with an immigration advocacy group called the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF), funded via NEO Philanthropy by the usual suspects: Atlantic Philanthropies, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Gill Foundation, the Pew Trusts, and the Carnegie Corporation.

* * *

https://media.carnegie.org/filer_public/22/ab/22abeeee-40ef-4ae7-a15c-4f827c42e34e/four_freedoms_fund-fin.pdf

The work of the Four Freedoms Fund is guided by a
shared belief in the power of collaboration and partnership among the funders, between the funders and
the staff, and between staff and grantees. Participating
funders regularly and repeatedly say that their participation in the Four Freedoms Fund enables them to amplify
the impact of their immigrant rights grantmaking.
“I can’t say enough about how important the Four
Freedoms Fund was to the work of our foundation and
the grantees we work with locally,” said Darren Sandow,
who was formerly the executive director of the Hagedorn
Foundation, a Long Island grantmaker that concluded a
sunsetting process in 2017. In addition to the power that
comes from pooling donor resources for greater impact,
Sandow cited the learning experience of collaborating
with fellow funders and the Fund’s expert staff as a key
benefit of the Hagedorn Foundation’s participation.
“Four Freedoms is really intentional about making sure
funders are connecting with and learning from experts
at all levels on these issues, including the leaders who
are working on the ground in their communities. And
we learn so much from each other too,” Sandow said.
“Those relationships you form at a table like this end up
adding more value to your work than you ever imagined.” n
***
https://fourfreedomsfund.org/about/

About Four Freedoms Fund
Our Mission
Four Freedoms Fund is a national funder collaborative that was launched by NEO Philanthropy in 2003. FFF strengthens the capacity of the immigrant justice movement to ensure all immigrants, regardless of immigration status, have dignity, power to shape change, and agency to determine the quality of their life, community, and future. To achieve this goal, FFF believes we need a robust and powerful infrastructure of organizations leading the transformation of our country’s systems to be inclusive, fair and just, and grounded in racial, economic, and gender justice.

Anchor heading for values
Our Values
Self-Determination
FFF centers, trusts, and supports the leadership of directly impacted people to lead the immigrant justice movement, shape strategy, make decisions, and transform the systems that directly impact their lives.

Racial Justice
FFF recognizes that justice for immigrant communities is impossible to achieve in the absence of racial justice. We prioritize support for organizations advocating for systemic change and anti-racist solutions promoting equitable power, access, opportunity, treatment, and outcomes for all people, within their organizations, across the immigrant justice movement, and beyond.

Inclusion and Equity
FFF strives to resource the work of the immigrant justice movement more equitably. With the understanding that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution, FFF structures our grantmaking to be more accessible to communities that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in decision making processes. We prioritize support for, and seek to elevate the power of, organizations that are led by and accountable to immigrants, including those living at the intersections of multiple identities and compounding oppressions.

Solidarity
FFF prioritizes support for collaborative efforts that deepen solidarity and alliances within the immigrant justice movement and cross-movement collaboration between partners fighting for immigrant justice, racial justice, economic justice and other inclusive visions for society.

Anchor heading for strategy
Our Strategy
FFF is a key partner to foundations in building the power of the immigrant justice movement. FFF invests in organizations in more than half of U.S. states, giving us the ability to respond to emerging opportunities and threats, understand trends, and identify and fill strategic gaps across the nation to strengthen the immigrant justice movement.

FFF prioritizes investments in: 1) strengthening the state and local advocacy and organizing infrastructure of the immigrant justice movement, 2) increasing immigrant civic participation in our democracy, and 3) blunting immigration enforcement and criminalization.

Through sustained grantmaking, ongoing technical assistance to grantees, and funder education and coordination, FFF invests in the long-term growth and ability of the immigrant justice movement to thrive, achieve bold, transformational reforms, and win lasting justice.

Across all of our work, FFF pursues the following strategic approaches:

Strengthen the Immigrant Justice Field Across the Nation
Through long-term flexible grants and agile responsive funding, FFF ensures that the immigrant justice movement has the resources and infrastructure to empower, protect, and defend immigrant communities, particularly the most vulnerable and marginalized, under all political conditions. FFF strategically layers investments to strengthen the long-term ability of immigrant justice organizations to effectively organize and build power from the ground up, blunt immigration enforcement, mobilize immigrant voters, secure inclusive state and local immigrant justice policies, shape a pro-migrant public narrative, and build momentum to transform federal immigration systems.

Grow Skills, Organizational Capacity, Leadership, and Impact
FFF provides grantees with high quality technical assistance, skills training, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities to strengthen the effectiveness of leaders and organizations in the immigrant justice movement. Through capacity building support, FFF deepens the resilience, adaptability, relationships, and ongoing ability of grantee organizations and their leaders to build power and achieve equitable outcomes for marginalized communities.

Deepen Connectivity and Cross-Movement Collaboration
FFF fuels efforts that deepen connections within the immigrant justice movement and across movements for racial and social justice. By investing in a broad spectrum of organizations working to advance immigrant justice and collaborations among communities of color, Black and indigenous communities, LGBT advocates, and others across the broader social justice movement, FFF strengthens the network of organizations working together to advance inclusive reforms benefiting the most marginalized communities. Through support for convenings, learning spaces, and centralized tools accessible to partners within and across movements, FFF fosters alignment and transformational alliances to achieve immigrant and racial justice, and reimagine an inclusive and equitable society.

Leverage Political Will and Power
FFF grows the power and policy influence of immigrant communities and the immigrant justice movement through support for organizing, voter engagement, and policy advocacy campaigns. By building the capacity of immigrant justice organizations to mobilize and empower new grassroots voters, leaders and allies through voter engagement and immigrant justice issue campaigns, FFF bolsters the movement’s ability to advance pro-immigrant policies, programs, and influence at all levels of government. By investing in efforts to grow the advocacy leadership and civic participation of Latinx, Asian, Black, MASA and other New American communities and allies, FFF seeks to ensure that decision-makers are accountable to immigrant communities and especially to people historically excluded from political participation.

Spur Funder Education, Collaboration and Aligned Funding for Greater Impact
FFF funders work in community to strengthen the immigrant justice movement’s ability to achieve meaningful, lasting change for immigrant communities. With our staff’s deep expertise and relationships across the immigrant justice field, FFF gathers and shares critical information and deepens donors’ understanding of emerging developments, gaps, and trends. FFF creates the space for veteran and newer immigration grantmakers alike to work together through challenges and opportunities, pool resources, invest in historically under-resourced communities, and collaborate to enhance their collective impact and strengthen the immigrant justice movement.

Partner with Four Freedoms Fund
Through FFF, funders can support visionary immigrant justice organizations to build power, strengthen our democracy, and transform the U.S to be a place where everyone can live and work without fear.

Learn More About FFF

* * *
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/neo-philanthropy-formerly-public-interest-projects/

NEO Philanthropy (formerly Public Interest Projects) is a New York-based nonprofit that serves as a fiscal clearinghouse for left-of-center causes. The group serves as a vehicle for left-of-center foundations to pool resources, hosts donor-advised funds, and sponsors various advocacy projects. 1

The organization is the fiscal sponsor of left-of-center entities, including the Funders Committee on Civic Participation, a voter mobilization group. 2 Disbursing grant money serves remains one of NEO’s primary functions; NEO Philanthropy gave close to 60 percent of its total expenditures as grants. 3

Inside Philanthropy described NEO as “an intermediary that doesn’t have its own resources for grantmaking.” 1 The group receives funding from major left-of-center donors institutions including the Atlantic Philanthropies, George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Gill Foundation, the Pew Trusts, and the Carnegie Corporation, among others. 4 The organization and similar left-of-center groups that engage in “nonpartisan” voter registration have received criticism for appearing to favor the registration of voters exceptionally likely to vote for Democratic candidates. 4

NEO Philanthropy Action Fund is the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of NEO Philanthropy. 5

Donald K. Ross
Early Career
Donald K. Ross is a left-wing environmental activist credited with proposing the model of the Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) in the 1970s alongside activist Ralph Nader. The PIRGs, state-based policy advocacy groups, operate under the national U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US-PIRG); US-PIRG and numerous other left-wing policy advocacy groups, including the canvassing services group Fund for the Public Interest, are controlled by the umbrella group Public Interest Network. Ross worked as the founding director of New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) from 1973 to 1982, where he reportedly grew the organization to 180 staffers operating out of 31 offices. 6 Barack Obama, then a student at Columbia University, worked full-time for NYPIRG as a community organizer from February through May 1985. 7 Ross later worked as director of left-wing advocacy group Citizen Action.8

In 1971, Ross co-authored Action For a Change alongside Nader, a book credited as a kind of manual for the then-new network of Public Interest Research Groups they had founded. In More Action For a Change (1987), journalist Kelley Griffin noted that Ross, “a native of the Bronx with a law degree from New York University and three years’ experience in organizing PIRGs nationwide . . . was a natural candidate to heard NYPIRG” as well as its lobbying program in 1973. Ross also aided activists in establishing the Oregon Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) in the 1970s, one of the oldest and largest state PIRGs, as well as the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group. 9 10

Founding of “Public Interest Projects”
NEO Philanthropy was formed in 1983 as Public Interest Projects. NEO’s founder, Donald Ross, reportedly chose the name “Public Interest Projects” because he “wanted the organization to be under the radar so that people wouldn’t necessarily know what it did.” 11

Later Work
From 1985 to 1999, Ross was chief administrative officer for the Rockefeller Family Fund. 12 In July 2014, a report by the Republican Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works recorded that Ross was part of “a narrow set of individuals whose careers are part of the fabric of the far-left environmental movement . . . [who] exercise outsized influence regarding the distribution of funds” by groups like “Environmental Grantmakers Association, Democracy Alliance, and others.” 13

From 2004 to 2009, Ross was a member of the Greenpeace board of directors; in multiple years he was also board chairman. 14 Ross was also a member of the board of directors for the League of Conservation Voters from 2004-2010. 15

M&R Strategic Services
Ross is the co-founder of Malkin & Ross, an Albany, New York-based lobbying and government affairs firm created in 1984. Malkin & Ross lists clients including Food and Water Watch, Vera Institute of Justice, Sierra Club, and Make the Road New York; it’s first large client was reportedly the New York Trial Lawyers Association. 16 17 18 Arthur N. Malkin, Ross’s business partner and the firm’s co-founder, reportedly worked for Ross as legislative director for NYPIRG beginning in 1979. 16

M&R Strategic Services (MRSS) is Malkin & Ross’s Washington, D.C.-based lobbying and government relations affiliate. MRSS notes campaigns and left-wing groups it’s consulted for, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), Sierra Club, GLAAD, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Population Connection, Oxfam America, Planned Parenthood, 350.org, and Earthrights International. 19 The group also opposed the Trump administration’s decision to undo the creation of several national parks in the final weeks of the Obama administration. 20

Past MRSS clients also include AARP, Alliance for Justice, Bread for the World, Environmental Defense Fund, Human Rights Campaign, NARAL Pro-Choice America, League of Conservation Voters, National Environmental Trust, the Bauman Family Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Public Interest Projects (NEO Philanthropy). 21

In 2018, the Packard Foundation reported a $50,000 grant to MRSS “for public opinion polling and other research on views of science”; in 2018 it reported another $150,000 grant to the firm for the same purpose. 22 23

Since 1996, people associated with MRSS have donated $41,735 to Democratic Party political candidates, including 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton 24

In the 2018 midterm election, MRSS received $1,335,417 in payments from left-wing PACs and labor unions, including Planned Parenthood Votes, the SEIU, League of Conservation Voters, Win Justice PAC, United We Can, American Nurses Association, and It Starts Today. 25

“NEO Philanthropy” Rebrand
A 2015 interview with the website Inside Philanthropy noted that NEO Philanthropy was always intended to provide funding to “social justice” causes, but grew more cognizant of “alliance-building” with other left-wing groups in the mid-2000s. Around 2008, according to then-president Berta Colón, the group rebranded itself from Public Interest Projects to NEO Philanthropy and coalesced its mission around “strengthen[ing] intersections of social justice issues, aligning the diverse interests of donors and advocates while nurturing collective action across areas that are too often pursued in isolation.” 26

The Fiscal Sponsorship Model
According to a June 2015 interview with NEO president Michele Lord, NEO was established to serve as the 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor for numerous left-wing groups that didn’t want to pursue nonprofit recognition by the IRS under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. According to Lord, NEO was “the backroom for lots of organizations that didn’t have their own 501(c)(3) [status].” Lord also noted that, as of 2015, NEO hosted over 40 fiscally sponsored projects. 27

“Alliance building is central to NEO’s model,” according to a 2015 Inside Philanthropy interview with Lord. The group calls itself a “bridge” between funders and activists on the Left, using its various funds to sponsor projects aimed at pushing center-left policies in voting, LGBT issues, etc.: 26

NEO is an intermediary that doesn’t have its own assets for grantmaking. Money comes in the door from funders and goes out the door to social justice groups. As a go-between, NEO is able to talk to both grantmakers and grantees with unusual candor.

. . .

What NEO did, over eight years, was to organize disparate efforts through a national donor collaborative that ultimately gave $34 million in grants to 140 groups. This collaborative wasn’t just a clearinghouse for cutting checks; it was, says NEO, a movement-building effort that sought to empower the parents and community residents most affected by education reform. It drew in some name brand funders, but also a great many smaller, more obscure funders who were able to hook into a sophisticated grantmaking operation.

Beyond providing money, CPER sought to build the infrastructure of an “educational justice movement” in a variety of ways, including connecting up different players, helping them work together through convening and facilitating, and ensuring that best practices were shared.

Initiatives
NEO Philanthropy primarily exists to provide fiscal sponsorship to center-left projects. The group notes that it has hosted some 60 such projects. 28

NEO is also involved in efforts to change criminal justice. The MacArthur Foundation gave NEO $18 million for juvenile justice projects aimed at preventing juveniles from entering the adult justice system. 29

NEO supports projects in the feminist and pro-abortion spheres. The group was the charitable partner for the producers of the controversial campus sexual assault documentary The Hunting Ground. (Reason magazine described the film as “a work of activist propaganda,”30 and, ironically, it was distributed by The Weinstein Company of alleged sexual predator Harvey Weinstein. 31) NEO Philanthropy is also the fiscal sponsor of Shout Your Abortion, an aggressive pro-abortion messaging campaign seeking to normalize the practice. 32

“Funder Collaboratives”
NEO’s largest projects are what it calls “funder collaboratives,” each of which focuses on an area interest to left-of-center donors. As of December 2024, NEO had two collaborative funds: The Four Freedoms Fund and the State Infrastructure Fund. 33

The Four Freedoms Fund is directed toward supporting the political interests and welfare of illegal immigrants. The Just and Fair Schools Fund seeks to ease school discipline. The State Infrastructure Fund is directed toward building voter participation among “historically underrepresented communities” and has raised and granted over $180 million to voter organizations since its founding in 2010. The State Infrastructure Fund also engages in voter registration and opposes conservative electoral reform legislation. 34 The Sunrise Initiative for Human Rights opposes U.S immigration law enforcement activities. 35 36

In the electoral area, NEO Philanthropy also operated the Shelby Response Fund, dedicated to opposing voting laws in states affected by changes to the Voting Rights Act ordered by the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder. 37 That fund was managed by Karen Narasaki, an attorney with ties to numerous liberal nonprofits who was appointed by then-President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 38 According to leaked documents reported on by the Washington Free Beacon, the Open Society Foundations funded by left-wing financier George Soros is a principal funder of the Shelby Response Fund, with liberal voter registration practices such as expanded same-day registration and early voting on the Fund’s agenda. 39

Funders Committee for Civic Participation
Also see Funders Committee for Civic Participation (Nonprofit)

NEO fiscally sponsors the Funders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP), a membership organization of left-wing donors including the Democracy Alliance, the AFL-CIO, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the MacArthur Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and numerous other donors that focuses on voter registration and liberal-backed changes to election systems. 40

The FCCP is formally nonpartisan, but critics have noted that the organization’s election-related efforts are funded by liberal foundations and support strategies which help Democrats get elected. 4

Federal Agencies Project
The Federal Agencies Project (FAP) was created by NEO Philanthropy to encourage “U.S. government agencies to be more responsive to LGBT needs.” 41

The campaign primarily targets federal agencies to push for expanded domestic partnership benefits for gay couples. FAP is managed by Civitas Public Affairs Group, a consultancy created by left-wing activists from the gay marriage groups Gill Foundation, Freedom to Marry, and now-defunct Gill Action Fund; FAP itself has received grants from the Gill Foundation, an LGBT interest funder, including $965,000 in 2015. 42 43 44

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice is a left-wing immigration advocacy project of NEO Philanthropy. 45

The group purchased numerous Facebook advertisements in 2018 and 2019, some of which solicited donations that went to NEO Philanthropy. 46 Other Facebook advertisements criticized Republican legislators in New Jersey: 47

NJ GOP legislators started a petition today against expanding access to drivers licenses using Trump rhetoric to create fear & an us vs. them mentality. We won’t fall for it.

Let’s show every legislators there’s no reason to hesitate on voting yes on expanding access to drivers licenses for all, regardless of status. Call leadership & sign petition to show your support now.

Safety Donor Services Project
Safety Donor Services Project is a project fiscally sponsored by NEO Philanthropy that supports organizations focused on “frontline social justice work” by addressing any threats to these organizations. In 2022 Ford Foundation, one of the top liberal foundations in the U.S., donated $615,569 to NEO Philanthropy for the Safety Donor Services Project “to address threats to organizations that are engaging in frontline social justice work.”48

Other Past Projects
Past NEO projects include the incubation of Inside Climate News, an environmentalist media outfit. NEO Philanthropy, then still named Public Interest Projects, reportedly served as the fiscal sponsor for Inside Climate and its associated public relations firm, Science First, from 2010 through 2014. 49

NEO also managed the center-left projects National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice Systems, Define American, and Colorado Communities for Public Education Reform. 28 50

The National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice Systems was a NEO Philanthropy project in operation between 2011 and 2014. The project was launched in 2010 by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in order to “accelerate policy reforms to juvenile justice systems throughout the country,” with a particular focus on state legislatures. According to NEO, funders of the campaign included the George Gund Foundation, Interact Foundation for Health, MacArthur Foundation, Edward Moore Foundation, New York Community Trust, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Sapelo Foundation. NEO hired the services of M&R Strategic Services to run the campaign, the firm run by NEO Philanthropy founder Donald K. Ross. 41

Define American is an illegal immigration advocacy group incubated by NEO Philanthropy. The group aims to discourage the use of the term “illegal alien” to describe non-citizens living the United States illegally in favor of the term “undocumented immigrant.” Define American encourages illegal immigrants to advertise their status as non-citizens living illegally in the country. 51

Advocacty Activities
2000 San Diego School Board Election
In 2015, the San Diego Reader revealed that NEO Philanthropy (under the name Public Interest Projects) was one major contributor to a $720,000 advertisement campaign in a 2000 San Diego, California school board election managed by a group called the Partnership for Student Achievement. When pressed by journalists, the group revealed its two top donors: “Essential Information, Inc., of Washington, D.C., gave $100,000. Public Interest Projects of New York City gave $57,000.” Essential Information is a left-wing nonprofit founded by Russell Mokhiber, a professional activist who worked for Ralph Nader’s various groups, including Corporate Crime Reporter, a legal weekly. 52

Facebook Advertisements
NEO Philanthropy has purchased advertisements on the social networking site Facebook for at least two other groups:

NEO Philanthropy paid for multiple Facebook advertisements supporting abortion-on-demand and criticizing legislation passed in Alabama in May a “monstrosity.” While NEO paid for the advertisements, the ads themselves were released by Lady Parts Justice, a left-wing agitation group and a project of the “pop-up” group sponsor Sixteen Thirty Fund; Lady Parts Justice calls itself “a coven of hilarious badass feminists who use humor and pop culture to expose haters fighting to end abortion access.” 53

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, a left-wing immigration project of NEO Philanthropy, paid for multiple Facebook advertisements in 2018 and 2019 soliciting donations. Donations to the group went to NEO Philanthropy, the group’s fiscal sponsor. 45

Second Trump Administration
In the 2024 presidential election, NEO Philanthropy’s Four Freedom Fund sought to raise $5 million to help illegal immigrants stay in the country in the event of a victory by former President Donald Trump. 54

Funding
A table of NEO Philanthropy’s total revenues between 2010 and 2018 is available below: 55

NEO Philanthropy NEO Philanthropy Action Fund
Annual Revenues Annual Revenues
2018 $83,350,838 2018 $14,397,520
2017 $58,068,414 2017 $10,114,588
2016 $38,374,187 2016 $7,996,232
2015 $39,361,192 2015 $2,039,350
2014 $51,747,439 2014 $6,159,366
2013 $41,666,258 2013 $6,171,768
2012 $43,722,631 2012 $9,308,000
2011 $34,557,948 2011 $8,918,605
2010 $30,206,535 2010 $1,015,581
Grand Total: $421,055,442 Grand Total: $66,121,010
A table of NEO Philanthropy’s total expenditures between 2010 and 2018 is available below: 56

NEO Philanthropy NEO Philanthropy Action Fund
Annual Expenditures Annual Expenditures
2018 $68,749,210 2018 $8,452,395
2017 $45,086,138 2017 $8,245,330
2016 $38,557,461 2016 $8,101,542
2015 $39,701,506 2015 $3,191,129
2014 $46,872,485 2014 $8,714,271
2013 $38,578,027 2013 $3,786,318
2012 $42,281,349 2012 $11,486,609
2011 $32,847,684 2011 $4,263,280
2010 $30,510,933 2010 $1,856,880
Grand Total: $383,184,793 Grand Total: $58,097,754
Donors to NEO Philanthropy
NEO Philanthropy serves as a philanthropic intermediary, similar to a donor-advised fund (which NEO reportedly operates). Reports indicate that NEO partners with upwards of 100 left-wing funding groups. 57 NEO Philanthropy reportedly does not typically raise funds from the general public, though it began to do so as part of its association with the film The Hunting Ground. 57

As of 2024, NEO Philanthropy released individual donation totals but did not release the names of donors in its tax filings. The organization did the same in its 2022, 2021, and other tax filings. 58 59 60 61

However, NEO Philanthropy did release the names of some of its donors in earlier tax filings. In 2014, NEO Philanthropy reported $51.7 million in total revenue; grants to NEO Philanthropy from foundations in 2014 totaled over $37 million. 62 Other left-wing nonprofits have provided funds to NEO: Tax records show grants from New Venture Fund, The Energy Foundation, Greenpeace, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. 63

Atlantic Philanthropies, a Bermuda-based foundation consortium formerly headed by Democracy Alliance chief Gara LaMarche, granted NEO-associated entities more than $14.3 million from 2010 until Atlantic expended all its funds in 2016. 64

Between 2005 and 2010, the left-of-center Knight Foundation granted $4 million to NEO Philanthropy to establish the American Dream Fund, “which will provide flexible funding to immigrant-serving organizations in Knight communities,” according to the grant description. 65

In 2012, the Gates Foundation granted NEO $40,000 to run the project Colorado Communities for Public Education Reform. 50

A list of foundations that have given grants to NEO Philanthropy between 2013 and 2017 is available here: 66

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NEO Philanthropy: Donors (2013-2017) Years Grant Amount
American Endowment Foundation 2016 $17,386
Annie E Casey Foundation 2016 $6,000
Arcus Foundation 2015 $197,350
Aviv Foundation Inc 2017 $4,000
Bank Of America Charitable Foundation Inc 2016 $50,000
Bauman Family Foundation 2015, 2017 $2,870,000
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation Inc 2017 $40,000
Bohemian Foundation 2016 $150,000
Brett Family Foundation 2016 $7,500
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids 2016 $10,000
Carnegie Corporation Of New York 2014-2016 $20,125,000
Cedar Tree Foundation 2016 $400,000
Charter Charitable Foundation 2015 $20,000
Chestnut Fund 2016-2017 $30,000
Common Counsel Foundation 2015-2016 $105,000
Community Foundation Of New Jersey 2016-2017 $40,000
Compton Foundation Inc 2015-2016 $130,000
Crosscurrents Foundation Inc 2014 $10,500
David A Dechman Foundation 2016 $50,000
De Beaumont Foundation Inc 2015-2016 $1,450,975
Grand Total: $106,878,053
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Donors to NEO Philanthropy Projects
A number of grants from the left-of-center Bauman Family Foundation to specific NEO Philanthropy projects have been identified: 67

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Project Name Amount Year
State Infrastructure Fund $250,000 2020
State Infrastructure Fund $250,00 2019
Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation $250,000 2019
Civic Participation Project $200,000 2018
State Infrastructure Fund $250,000 2018
Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation $25,000 2018
State Infrastructure Fund $250,000 2017
Civic Participation Project $200,000 2017
Civic Participation Project $205,000 2017
Funder’s Committee For Civic Engagement $25,000 2017
Total: $5,132,000
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Consulting and Independent Contractor Fees
NEO Philanthropy has hired M+R Strategic Services (MRSS), the firm co-founded by NEO Philanthropy founder Donald Ross, for “project management” services multiple times. Since 2002, NEO has paid MRSS $24,399,042 in contractor fees. 68 According to a 2012 NEO report, the group hired MRSS “to help design, staff and manage state campaigns” for its project National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice Systems. 69

A full list of NEO Philanthropy’s independent contractor payments between 2002 and 2017 is available below: 68

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Neo Philanthropy: Independent Contractors (2002-2017) Years Total
M+R Strategic Services 2005-2008, 2011-2015 $24,399,042
Social Transformation Project 2012-2017 $3,124,644
Science First 2008-2013 $2,594,955
Team Blackbird LLC 2016-2017 $2,399,030
Civitas Public Affairs Group LLC 2012-2017 $1,573,598
Lord Ross Inc. 2003-2005 $1,465,705
Monona Yin 2009-2011, 2014 $692,231
Shout LLC 2016-2017 $647,438
Touchstone Center for Collaborative Inquiry 2006-2007,2009 $472,000
Grassroots Solutions Inc. 2015 $430,500
Blueprint Research and Design 2007, 2009 $422,473
Perry Undem LLC 2016 $395,400
Evans McDonough 2004-2005 $242,500
Chong & Koster LLC 2017 $242,498
James Elder 2007-2008 $241,000
Grand Total: $42,327,343
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Financial Documents
NEO Philanthropy’s IRS Form 990 filings for 2014 through 2021 are available here:

2014 Form 990
2015 Form 990
2016 Form 990
2017 Form 990
2018 Form 990
2019 Form 990
2020 Form 990
2021 Form 990
2022 Form 990
NEO Philanthropy Action Fund
NEO Philanthropy’s 501(c)(4) advocacy arm, NEO Philanthropy Action Fund (formerly Public Interest Projects Action Fund), received $21,993,000 from Atlantic Philanthropies between 2009 and 2010. 70 In 2011, Atlantic Philanthropies’s Atlantic Advocacy Fund gave the Action fund $2,197,500; in 2012, it gave the Action Fund another $1,802,500. 71

The Action Fund has given at least $100,000 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund since 2009. 72

Grant Recipients
According to tax filings, in 2023, NEO Philanthropy distributed tens of millions of dollars in grants to dozens of largely left-of-center organizations, including $500,000 to State Voices, $469,200 to Florida Rising Together, $450,750 to Blueprint North Carolina, $440,000 to the Florida Immigrant Coalition, $435,000 to Access Philanthropy Charities, $425,000 to the Center for Civic Policy, $420,000 to United We Dream Network, $411,131 to African Communities Together, $400,000 to Ohio Organizing Collaborative, $375,000 to the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, $351,000 to the Tides Center, $341,131 to the Transgender Law Center, and $295,273 to the New Venture Fund. 58

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NEO Philanthropy: Grant Recipients (2001-2017) Year(s) Amount
9 to 5 National Association of Working Women 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017 $282,500
ACCE Institute 2011-2014 $371,412
ACCESS 2004-2007 $180,000
Acercamiento Hispano de Carolina del Sur 2007 $37,500
ACLU - Immigrant Rights Project 2001 $10,000
ACLU - Michigan 2006 $50,000
ACLU Foundation of Arizona 2014-2015 $100,000
ACLU Foundation of Georgia 2011-2014 $160,000
ACLU Foundation of Southern California 2013 $25,000
ACLU Foundation of Texas 2011-2017 $628,895
ACORN Institute 2009 $125,000
Action for Community in Raleigh 2013 $66,600
Adhikaar for Human Rights 2010, 2016 $20,000
Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice 2010 $6,563
Advancement Project 2005-2008, 2011-2014, 2016 $1,387,000
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality 2011, 2012 $200,000
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights 2006, 2008-2010 $225,000
Advocates for Youth 2010 $20,000
Aegis Trust 2007 $500
Aercamiento Hispano de Carolina del Sur 2006 $12,500
African American Policy Forum 2008, 2009, 2011 $185,000
African Immigrant Social & Econ Dev Agency 2006 $12,500
AISEDA 2005, 2007-2009 $112,500
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice 2009, 2011-2015 $562,000
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice United 2017 $195,000
Alaska Conservation Foundation 2002 $107,000
Albany Park Neighborhood Council 2007-2013, 2015 $3,421,620
Albany Park Neighborhood Council 2014 $529,187
Alcorn State University 2015, 2016 $254,000
ALI NOORANI 2009 $250,000
Alliance for a Better Georgia 2015 $50,000
Alliance for a Better Minnesota Education Fund 2014 $30,000
Alliance for a Just Society 2012, 2013 $110,000
Alliance for Justice 2010-2015, 2017 $1,300,000
Alliance for Youth Organizing 2017 $100,000
Alternative for Community and Environment 2004, 2005, 2008 $150,000
America Votes 2016 $559,000
America Votes Education and Action 2012, 2014 $1,255,000
American Bar Association 2001 $8,000
American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education 2014 $30,000
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation 2006, 2007, 2009-2017 $2,080,000
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan 2007-2011 $280,000
American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico Foundation 2009, 2010, 2012-2017 $700,000
American Constitution Society For Law and Policy 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2017 $517,850
American Family Voices 2014, 2015 $94,000
American Forum 2009-2011, 2013, 2017 $295,000
American Friends Service Committee 2004, 2006-2017 $1,028,700
American Heart Association 2017 $215,600
American Immigration Council 2010, 2012-2016 $331,000
American Immigration Law Foundation 2009 $115,000
Grand Total: $283,512,595
Showing 1 to 50 of 951 entriesPreviousNext
Lobbying
In 2012, the left-wing New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) reported that NEO Philanthropy (Public Interest Projects) had spent $90,707 lobbying in New York state in 2010. 73

Leadership
President
Michele Lord is president of both NEO Philanthropy and NEO Philanthropy Action Fund, a position she assumed in 2015 after working as co-president alongside Berta Colón. Lord simultaneously works as director of the Ottinger Foundation, a foundation that “supports work in the areas of economic justice, civic participation and environmental justice.” She was previously director of the Norman Foundation for six years, and “has overseen program evaluations” with the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Open Society Foundations (formerly Institute). 74 In 2017, Lord was paid $276,025 in total compensation. 75

Lord has a background in Democratic electoral politics. She also worked as director for the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues from 1984 to 1988. She later worked in the New York City Mayor’s Office 1990 to 1993 under then-Mayor David Dinkins (D). 74

From 2002 to 2015, Berta Colón was co-president of NEO Philanthropy alongside Michele Lord. After leaving NEO, Colón was briefly deputy director of El Museo del Barrio, a Latino cultural museum in New York City; she was fired from her position in May 2017 after less than a year’s time with the museum for “performance reasons” related to its $800,000 deficit. 76

NEO Philanthropy founder Donald Ross was president of the group from its creation in 1983 until he left in 2003. 77

Staff
The chief operating officer and executive vice president of NEO Philanthropy is Erin Ballard. Ballard was previously a division administrator at the New York University School of Medicine and worked as director of incubator management at the Fund for the City of New York. 78 79

The chief financial officer and vice president of infrastructure is Su Hyun Lim. Lim was previously the CFO at Planned Parenthood of Great Plains, the vice president of finance at the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the financial reporting manager and budget analyst at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. 78 80

Erica Teasley Linnick is the Vice President for NEO’s State Infrastructure Fund. She previously worked as the acting director and senior program officer of the Democracy team at Open Society Foundations. Prior to this, she was the western regional counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, served on the board for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the ACLU of Northern California, and was previously the Board Chair of the Impact Fund. 81 78

Rini Chakraborty is the vice president of NEO’s Four Freedoms Fund, previously working for the Fund as a senior program officer as well as the senior director of programs since joining in 2012. Prior to joining the Fund and NEO, she was a senior policy analyst with the ACLU of Southern California, the executive director of advocacy group Sweatshop Watch, and was the western regional director for Amnesty International USA. 82 78

Gratienne Baskin was the former director of NEO’s Anti-Trafficking Fund. Baskin previously worked for the Urban Justice Center as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. 83

The vice president of human resources is Shelby Geter. The vice president of operations and internal capacity building is Laura Henderson. The director of fiscal sponsorship is Sara Motola. The chief program officer is Margarita Rubalcava; 78 she was the director of immigration for NEO Philanthropy from 2006 to 2014 as well as the director of the Four Freedoms Fund. Rubalcava was also previously president of the left-of-center funder Borealis Philanthropy, which supported the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT advocacy, and racial equity. 78

The assistant director of strategic initiatives is Huga Ayala. The vice president and general counsel is Rutledge Simmons. 78

Board of Directors
Kerrien Suarez is the co-chair of the board, alongside Kristen Ruff. Suarez is also the president and CEO of Equity at consulting group The Center. She has roughly 20 years of previous consulting experience with a focus on diversity, inclusion and equity (DEI). 84

Kristen Ruff is the co-chair of the board, alongside Kerrien Suarez. Ruff also works as the Senior Vice President of Philanthropy New York (PNY). Prior to PNY, she worked for women’s rights group MADRE. 84

Cathy Albisa is the vice chairman of the board for NEO Philanthropy. She is also the co-founder of the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative. Albisa has previously sat on the boards of several nonprofits including the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, ESCR-NET (International Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Network), and the Center for Social Inclusion (CSI). 85

Christina Schatz is the Secretary Treasurer of NEO Philanthropy’s board of directors. She also serves as a financial advisor and sports and entertainment director for Morgan Stanley and was previously an administrative assistant for Merrill Lynch. 86 87

John Gilroy was a former board chair for NEO Philanthropy, serving from 2013 through 2017. Gilroy also works as a principal officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts in environmental issues. He is a former campaign staffer for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), a position he held from 1980 to 1984 during the tenure of NYPIRG director and NEO Philanthropy founder Donald Ross. 88 89

Glenn Harris is the president of left-of-center advocacy Race Forward (also known as Applied Research Center). He also sits on the boards of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE), the Willamette Valley Law Project, and the City Parks Alliance. Prior to this, Harris was the manager of the city of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), the development director at technical training group Western States Center, and the interim director for the MRG Foundation. 90

Alex-Handrah Aimé, who joined the board as of July 2024, is the senior director and global head of network investments at Facebook parent company Meta. She previously worked as a partner as well the managing director and the head of the Johannesburg office for Africa-based private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners. In addition, she previously worked as a commissioner for the Los Angeles workforce development board as well as an executive fellow for equity-based nonprofit Fuse Corps. 84 91

Blake Strode, who joined the board as of July 2024, is the executive director of civil rights law firm ArchCity Defenders. He previously joined ArchCity Defenders as a staff attorney as well as a public-interest law Skadden Fellow. 84

Kesi B. Foster, who was elected to the board as of October 2024, is the co-executive director of Partners for Dignity and Rights. He also serves on the board of the North Star Fund and is co-chair of the Fund’s Community Funding Committee. Prior to this, Foster was the co-director of Make the Road New York‘s Youth Power Project, worked for the Urban Youth Collaborative and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and held positions with the Fortune Society and the Right to Vote Campaign. 92

References
Callahan, David. “Inside NEO Philanthropy: An Unusual Funding Group Works to Unify the Social Justice World.” Inside Philanthropy. June 30, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2017. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/6/30/inside-neo-philanthropy-an-unusual-funding-group-works-to-un.html
“2017 Membership Renewal Form.” Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. Accessed April 11, 2017. https://funderscommittee.org/2017-membership-renewal-form/
Author’s calculations from NEO Philanthropy, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2015. Total grants per Part I, line 13 were $23,297,680 for 58.7% of NEO’s total expenses of $39,701,506.
Johnson, Tom. “Partisan Donors Hiding under Charity’s Banner.” Capital Research Center. October 19, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/partisan-donors-hiding-under-charitys-banner/
NEO Philanthropy Action Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule R Part II https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/800444461/202333119349301228/full
“Donald K. Ross.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 21, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-k-ross-a217413/
Donald Critchlow and W.J. Rorabaugh. “Takeover: How the Left’s Quest for Social Justice Corrupted Liberalism.” Intercollegiate Studies Institute. 2013.
“Donald Ross (archived).” Malkin & Ross (Archived Page). Archived August 15, 2018. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181025213637/http://www.malkinross.com/About-Us/Policy-Staff/Donald-Ross
Kelley Griffin. More Action for a Change. Dembner Books. 1987.
Dan M. Burt. Abuse of Trust. Regnery Publishing. 1982.
“Michele Lord (interview).” Skaggs Creative. June 23, 2015. Accessed May 21, 2019. https://skaggscreative.com/2015/06/23/michele-lord/
Ken Silverstein. “Rockefeller Foundations Enlist Journalism in ‘Moral’ Crusade Against ExxonMobil.” The Observer. January 6, 2017. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://observer.com/2017/01/exxonmobil-rockefeller-foundation-deception/
“How a Club of Billionaires and Their Foundations Control the Environmental Movement and Obama’s EPA.” U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. July 30, 2014. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://archive.org/stream/FINALREPORT73014/FINALREPORT_73014_djvu.txt
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (multiple). Greenpeace. 2004-2009. Schedule A, Part VII.
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Greg David. “The lowdown on a so-called consumer advocate.” Crain’s. March 1, 2011. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110302/BLOGS01/303029998/the-lowdown-on-a-so-called-consumer-advocate
“Client List (archived).” Malkin & Ross (archived page). Archived August 15, 2018. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180805083007/http://www.malkinross.com/Client-List/
“Client List (archived).” Malkin & Ross (archived page). Archived July 16, 2015. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20150716221514/http://www.malkinross.com/Client-List
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“Recent Clients (archived).” M&R Strategic Services (Archived Page). Archived March 3, 2009. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20090303132736/https://www.mrss.com/clients.html
“M&R Strategic Services.” Packard Foundation. 2018. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/mr-strategic-services/
“M&R Strategic Services.” Packard Foundation. 2018. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/mr-strategic-services-2/
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“Vender: M&R Strategic Services.” Center for Responsive Politics. 2018 Cycle. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendor.php?year=2018&vendor=M%26R+Strategic+Services
David Callahan, “Inside NEO Philanthropy: An Unusual Funding Group Works to Unify the Social Justice World.” Inside Philanthropy. June 30, 2015. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/6/30/inside-neo-philanthropy-an-unusual-funding-group-works-to-un.html
“Michele Lord (interview).” Skaggs Creative. June 23, 2015. Accessed May 21, 2019. https://skaggscreative.com/2015/06/23/michele-lord/
“NEO Philanthropy Media Kit.” NEO Philanthropy. Accessed May 22, 2019. Original URL: http://neophilanthropy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/NEO-media-kit.pdf. Available here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NEO-Philanthropy-Media-Kit.pdf
Marek, Kiersten. “Criminal Justice Reform Is Gaining Steam. What Role Has Philanthropy Played?” Inside Philanthropy. November 23, 2015. Accessed April 12, 2017. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/23/criminal-justice-reform-is-gaining-steam-what-role-has-phila.html
Soave, Robby. “How The Hunting Ground Spreads Myths About Campus Rape.” Reason.com. November 20, 2015. Accessed April 12, 2017. http://reason.com/blog/2015/11/20/how-the-hunting-ground-spreads-lies-abou
Soave, Robby. “Don’t Cite The Hunting Ground in Defense of Harvey Weinstein.” Reason.com. October 08, 2017. Accessed October 18, 2017. http://reason.com/blog/2017/10/08/dont-cite-the-hunting-ground-in-defense
“Donate.” Shout Your Abortion. Accessed April 12, 2017. https://shoutyourabortion.com/donate/
“Collaborative Funds.” NEO. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/collaborative-funds/.
“NEO: Creative. Inspired Philanthropy.” NEO Philanthropy. March 2015. Accessed April 12, 2017 http://www.theneodifference.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/NEO-one-pager.pdf
“Domestic Human Rights.” The Overbrook Foundation. 2015. Accessed April 12, 2017. http://www.overbrook.org/domestic-human-rights-movement/
“State Infrastructure Fund.” NEO. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/state-infrastructure-fund/.
Deutsch, Abigail. “Not Left, Not Right, But Forward.” Carnegie Corporation of New York. July 27, 2015. Accessed April 13, 2017. https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/not-left-not-right-forward/
“Karen Narasaki is nominated to be the next U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner.” Asian American Press. July 28, 2014. Accessed April 13, 2017. http://aapress.com/government/karen-narasaki-is-nominated-to-be-the-next-u-s-civil-rights-commissioner/
Schoffstall, Joe. “Obama Appointee Manages Soros-Backed Election Fund.” Washington Free Beacon. September 1, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2017. http://freebeacon.com/politics/obama-appointee-manages-soros-backed-election-fund/
“About.” Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. Accessed April 12, 2017. https://funderscommittee.org/about/
“ARCHIVED: THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO REFORM STATE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS.” NEO Philanthropy. Accessed May 22, 2019. Original URL: https://neophilanthropy.org/collaborative-funds/national-campaign-reform-state-juvenile-justice-systems/. Available here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NEO-Philanthropy-NATIONAL-CAMPAIGN-TO-REFORM-STATE-JUVENILE-JUSTICE-SYSTEMS.pdf
Hayden Ludwig. “Gay Marriage Activists Push Carbon Taxes on the GOP.” Capital Research Center. April 24, 2019. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/gay-marriage-activists-push-carbon-taxes-on-the-gop/
“Federal Agencies Project.” Civitas Public Affairs Group. Accessed May 22, 2019. http://civitaspublicaffairs.com/portfolio/brady-campaign/
“2015 Annual Report: Grants.” Gill Foundation. 2015. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://annualreports.gillfoundation.org/annual-reports/year-2015/2015-gill-foundation-grants/
“NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice $25K in 25 Days.” Give Lively. Accessed May 23, 2019. Original URL: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/neo-philanthropy/nj-alliance-for-immigrant-justice-25k-in-25-days. Available here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NJ-Alliance-for-Immigrant-Justice-Donation-NEO-Philanthropy.pdf
“Advertisements: New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.” Facebook. Accessed May 23, 2019. Original URL: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&q=New%20Jersey%20Alliance%20for%20Immigrant%20Justice&view_all_page_id=684766928267034. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NJ-Alliance-for-Immigrant-Justice-All-Facebook-Ads-5.23.2019.pdf
“Advertisement: New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.” Facebook. Aired January 9-16, 2019. Accessed May 23, 2019. Original URL: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&q=New%20Jersey%20Alliance%20for%20Immigrant%20Justice&view_all_page_id=684766928267034. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NJ-Alliance-for-Immigrant-Justice-Drivers-Licenses-Facebook-Ad.pdf
“For the Safety Donor Services Project to address threats to organizations that are engaging in frontline social justice work.” Ford Foundation – Our Grants. Accessed August 5, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/neo-philanthropy-inc-145032/
Melchior, Jillian Kay. “Inside Climate News: Journalism or Green PR?” National Review. December 22, 2015. Accessed April 13, 2017. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428878/environmental-activism-advocacy-journalism-insideclimate-news
“Public Interest Projects, Inc.” Gates Family Foundation. 2013. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://gatesfamilyfoundation.org/grant/public-interest-projects-inc/
“About.” Define American. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://defineamerican.com/about/
“It Was the Biggest Mystery.” San Diego Weekly. October 24, 2002. Accessed May 23, 2019. http://archives.sandiegoreader.com/2002/sdreader-20021024.pdf
“Advertisement: Lady Parts Justice League.” Facebook. Accessed May 23, 2019. Original URL: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&q=Lady%20Parts%20Justice%20League&view_all_page_id=764284030332485. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/Lady-Parts-Justice-NEO-Philanthropy-1630-Fund-Facebook-Ads-5.23.2019.pdf
Daniels, Alex. “As Election Nears, Four Freedoms Fund Seeks $5 Million to Support Immigrants.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. August 8, 2024. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/as-election-nears-four-freedoms-fund-seeks-5-million-to-support-immigrants.
Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) (multiple). NEO Philanthropy, NEO Philanthropy Action Fund. 2010-2018. Part I. Line 12 (Total Revenues).
Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) (multiple). NEO Philanthropy, NEO Philanthropy Action Fund. 2010-2018. Part I. Line 18 (Total Expenditures).
Callahan, David. “Inside NEO Philanthropy: An Unusual Funding Group Works to Unify the Social Justice World.” Inside Philanthropy. June 30, 2015. Accessed April 13, 2017. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/6/30/inside-neo-philanthropy-an-unusual-funding-group-works-to-un.html
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NEO Philanthropy. 2023.
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NEO Philanthropy. 2022.
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NEO Philanthropy. 2021.
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NEO Philanthropy. 2019.
Revenues from NEO Philanthropy, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Part I. Grants total from data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted April 13, 2017. Includes grants received by “Public Interest Projects,” a former name of NEO Philanthropy.
See New Venture Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Schedule I Part II; The Energy Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2011, Schedule I Part II; Greenpeace Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Schedule I Part II; United States Public Interest Research Group Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2009, Schedule I Part II; United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2013, Schedule I Part II.
“NEO Philanthropy.” The Atlantic Philanthropies. Accessed April 14, 2017. http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grantees/neo-philanthropy
“Public Interest Projects.” Knight Foundation. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://knightfoundation.org/grants/3772
Information provided by FoundationSearch: NEO Philanthropy. Accessed May 17, 2019. www.FoundationSearch.com
“Bauman Family Foundation Grants to NEO Philanthropy.” Accessed March 2, 2021. https://www.baumanfoundation.org/index.php/grantee/16
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) (multiple). NEO Philanthropy. 2002-2017. Schedule A, Part VII, Section B (Independent Contractors).
“The National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice Systems Report on 2012 Activities.” NEO Philanthropy. Accessed May 29, 2019. Original URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NEO-Philanthropy-2012-activities-report.pdf. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NEO-Philanthropy-2012-activities-report.pdf
“Public Interest Projects Action Fund, Inc.” Atlantic Philanthopies. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grantees/public-interest-projects-action-fund-inc
“Atlantic Advocacy Fund.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib_grants.php?id=208293674&cycle=2016
“Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” Issue One. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.issueone.org/dark-money-groups-planned-parenthood-action-fund/
“A Closer Look at 2011’s Record-Breaking $220M Lobbying Total.” New York Public Interest Research Group. 2012. Accessed May 22, 2019. Original URL: https://www.nypirg.org/pubs/goodgov/2012.04.05_NYPIRG_Lobbying_in_2011.pdf. Available here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/05/NYPIRG-New-York-Lobbying-2010-Report.pdf
“NEO Leadership.” NEO. Accessed April 14, 2017. http://www.theneodifference.org/home/neo-leadership
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NEO Philanthropy (2017). Part VII
Colin Moynihan. “El Museo del Barrio Fires Executive as New Director Faces More Challenges.” New York Times. May 26, 2017. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/arts/design/el-museo-del-barrio-fires-executive-as-new-director-faces-more-challenges.html
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). NEO Philanthropy (Public Interest Projects). 2001-2003. Schedule A, Part V.
“Our Leadership.” NEO. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/.
“Erin Ballard. NEO. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/erin-ballard/.
“Su Hyun Lim.” NEO. Accessed December 23, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/su-lim/.
“Erica Teasley Linnick.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/erica-teasley-linnick/
“Rini Chakraborty.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/rini-chakraborty/
“Our Leadership.” NEO Philanthropy. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/
“NEO Philanthropy Welcomes New Board Members, Alex-Handrah Aimé and Blake Strode, and Names Kerrien Suarez and Kristen Ruff as Co-Chairs.” NEO Philanthropy, July 29, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/neo-philanthropy-welcomes-new-board-members-alex-handrah-aime-and-blake-strode-and-names-kerrien-suarez-and-kristen-ruff-as-co-chairs/
“Cathy Albisa.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/cathy-albisa/
“Christina Schatz.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/christina-schatz/
“Christina Schatz.” LinkedIn, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-schatz-71936929
“John Gilroy.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 22, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy-b0082130/
“John Gilroy.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/john-gilroy/
“Glenn Harris.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/glenn-harris/
“Alex-Handrah Aimé.” NEO Philanthropy, Accessed August 19, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/team/alex-handrah-aime/
“NEO Philanthropy Announces Election of Kesi B. Foster as New Board Member.” NEO Philanthropy, October 16, 2024. https://neophilanthropy.org/neo-philanthropy-announces-election-of-kesi-b-foster-as-new-board-member/


25 posted on 02/03/2026 4:23:19 PM PST by Fedora
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To: Fedora

https://www.influencewatch.org/person/donald-ross/

. . .Ross worked as the founding executive director of New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) from 1973 to 1982, where he reportedly grew the organization to 180 staffers operating out of 31 offices. 7 Barack Obama, then a student at Columbia University, worked full-time for NYPIRG as a community organizer from February through May 1985. 8 Ross later worked as director of Ralph Nader’s group Citizen Action of New York. 9. . .


26 posted on 02/03/2026 4:27:31 PM PST by Fedora
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