NEO Philanthropy

Foundation Watch
Omidyar’s Political Machine: From Tech Billionaire to Mega-Donor
Pierre Omidyar is hardly a household name, but he fits the typical mold of left-wing billionaire. He’s a tech mogul turned philanthropist, whose “charity” flows to hundreds of groups involved…
by Hayden Ludwig on June 30, 2022

Foundation Watch
Omidyar’s Political Machine: The Omidyar Nexus
For whatever reason, the Omidyar Family Foundation proved insufficient and was replaced in 2004 by the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm, and Omidyar Network Fund, a foundation. These were…
by Hayden Ludwig on June 30, 2022

Foundation Watch
Omidyar’s Political Machine: Funders Committee
Pierre Omidyar’s most political spending is channeled through the Democracy Fund and its “sister,” Democracy Fund Voice. The former is a member of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation, which…
by Hayden Ludwig on June 30, 2022

Foundation Watch
Omidyar’s Political Machine: Democracy Alliance
Since 2004, major liberal donors, foundations, and special interest groups have met regularly at Democracy Alliance conferences to develop and coordinate the “activities of a permanent ‘left[-wing] infrastructure,’” to quote…
by Hayden Ludwig on June 30, 2022

Foundation Watch
Omidyar’s Political Machine: Funding the Left
We’ve traced millions of dollars in grants flowing to other pass-through funders, including NEO Philanthropy, the Proteus Fund, and the Tides Foundation (including their (c)(4) arms). As with Arabella, these…
by Hayden Ludwig on June 30, 2022

Organization Trends
Conservatives, Meet Pierre Omidyar
Conservatives should add another mega-donor to their radar: Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay. Nonprofits that Omidyar funds and leads poured out over $1.1 billion between 2004 and 2020, most of…
by Hayden Ludwig on May 24, 2022

Deception & Misdirection
“Dark Money” Networks on the Left Pulled In $3.7 Billion in 2020
In 2020 alone, six networks raked in a stunning $3.7 billion in “dark money,” funds used largely for political activism whose donors are difficult—if not impossible—to trace. Some of these…
by Hayden Ludwig on May 12, 2022

Organization Trends
Grassroots Organizing Gone Corporate
America’s uber-rich have found a crafty alternative to creating grassroots activism from scratch: using their money to buy influence over local groups that already exist. During the 2020 election cycle,…
by Parker Thayer on November 4, 2021

Organization Trends
Senate Democrats’ Dark Money ATM
Majority Forward, the 501(c)(4) arm of the Democrats’ partisan Senate Majority PAC, is a “dark money” behemoth. You wouldn’t know it from the group’s nondescript website, but Majority Forward spent $515,000 backing Joe Biden…
by Hayden Ludwig on October 4, 2021

Philanthropy
Fiscal Sponsorship, the Left, and Beginning to Explore Reform
Most people have never heard of one of the Left’s potent weapons—“fiscal sponsorship”—yet it’s the secret to the legion of liberal activist groups flooding American politics today.
by Hayden Ludwig on July 27, 2021