Randolph Foundation

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The Randolph Foundation is a New York City-based conservative foundation that has been tax exempt since 2003.[1] According to a report done by the Cincinatti chapter of the American Association of University Professors, "Prior to May 8, 2003, the H. Smith Richardson Charitable Trust was known as The Randolph Foundation. On that date, the former Randolph Foundation transferred all of its assets (with a fair market value of $49 million) to the new Randolph Foundation which is treated as a successor organization for tax purposes. After the transfer, the original Randolph Foundation was renamed the H. Smith Richardson Charitable Trust and received an initial grant of $48.5 million from the Smith Richardson Foundation."

In addition to the contributions to Ivy League universities, between 2007-2018, Radolph Foundation funded several conservative organizations, including over forty member organizations of the State Policy Network, a group of right-wing think tanks and other politically-active nonprofits.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

The Randolph Foundation has also contributed over $1.86 million to DonorsTrust, a donor-advised fund described as the "dark money ATM of the conservative movement" that "allows wealthy contributors who want to donate millions to the most important causes on the right to do so anonymously, essentially scrubbing the identity of those underwriting conservative and libertarian organizations."[12]

News and Controversies

In 2005, the Randolph Foundation sponsored a Students for Academic Freedom (SAF) study on faculty political affiliations meant to show the lack of intellectual diversity among the professors of elite journalism and law schools.[13] SAF is project of the SPLC-designated hate group[14] David Horowitz Freedom Center.

2003 Reorganization

According to a 2005 report, "Prior to May 8, 2003, the H. Smith Richardson Charitable Trust was known as The Randolph Foundation. On that date, the former Randolph Foundation transferred all of its assets (with a fair market value of $49 million) to the new Randolph Foundation which is treated as a successor organization for tax purposes. After the transfer, the original Randolph Foundation was renamed the H. Smith Richardson Charitable Trust and received an initial grant of $48.5 million from the Smith Richardson Foundation."[15]

Ties to the State Policy Network

The Randolph Foundation contributed over $6.75 million to members of the State Policy Network between 2007-2018, including over $1.86 million to DonorsTrust, over $1.5 million to the Independent Women's Forum, and $865,500 to the American Enterprise Institute.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of January 2022, SPN's membership totals 166. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2019 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $120 million.[16] Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[17]

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"[18]

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.[19]

Ties to the Koch Brothers

The Randolph Foundation contributed $235,000 to Americans for Prosperity between 2007-2008 and $25,000 to Cato Institute in 2016, both organizations founded and funded by the Koch Brothers.

Koch Wiki

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

The Randolph Foundation contributed $75,000 to the American Legislative Exchange Council in 2011.[6]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Ties to the Council for National Policy

The Randolph Foundation contributed $15,000 to the Council for National Policy (CNP) between 2014-2016.[7][9] Additionally, the foundation's president Heather R. Higgins is listed as a "Gold Circle Member" in CNP's 2020 member directory.[20]

Council for National Policy

The Council for National Policy (CNP) is a secretive, Christian Right organization of funders and activists founded in 1981 by activist Morton Blackwell, commentator Paul Weyrich, direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie, right-wing activist Phyllis Schlafly and Left Behind author Tim LaHaye. Anne Nelson's book about CNP, Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right, describes how the organization connects "the manpower and media of the Christian right with the finances of Western plutocrats and the strategy of right-wing Republican political operatives.”

CNP membership as of September 2020 is available here.

Grants Distributed

2019

The Randolph Foundation distributed $1,373,418 in grants in 2019, broken down as follows:[21]

  • 14 Plus Foundation: $2,300
  • 24 Hour Company: $500
  • 7-Figure Fundraising: $7,500
  • Acton Institute: $5,000
  • Advocates for Multi-Use of Public Lands: $1,500
  • Alzheimer's New Jersey: $500
  • Amazon Conservation Team: $6,500
  • American Council Energy-Efficiency: $6,500
  • American Reperatory Theater: $10,000
  • American Theatre Wing: $8,500
  • Americans for Tax Reform Foundation: $25,000
  • Aperture Foundation: $6,500
  • Art Association of Jackson Hole: $1,000
  • Art Partners: $1,000
  • Arts Empowering Life Foundation: $2,000
  • Bridge II Sports: $2,000
  • Brooklyn Prospect Charter School: $1,000
  • Bryant University: $1,000
  • Carolina Ballet: $3,000
  • City Lights and Co.: $6,500
  • Columbia University: $10,000
  • Committee to Reduce Infection: $5,000
  • Community Foundation of Jackson Hole: $26,000
  • Community of Jesus: $2,000
  • Connecticut Food Bank: $1,000
  • Connecticut River Conservancy: $6,500
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: $18,700
  • Dancers Workshop: $1,000
  • Diocese of Trenton: $1,000
  • Doctors Without Borders: $2,300
  • DonorsTrust: $10,000
  • Encounter Books: $5,000
  • Ethics and Public Policy Center: $25,000
  • Foundation for Cultural Review: $15,000
  • Freedom for All: $1,500
  • Greater Bridgeport OIC Inc.: $6,500
  • Green America: $6,500
  • Harvard University: $200,000
  • Hillsdale College: $2,500
  • Hoover Institute: $100,000
  • Hunter College Foundation: $1,000
  • Independent Women’s Forum: $182,918
  • Institute for Free Speech: $10,000
  • Jackson Hole Classical Academy: $5,000
  • Jackson Hole Lacrosse Club: $1,000
  • Jackson Hole Youth Basketball: $1,000
  • Judicial Watch: $2,000
  • Just Facts: $20,000
  • Korebel Foundation: $2,500
  • Lake Champlain Community Sailing: $6,500
  • Lantos Foundation: $1,000
  • Let Grow: $100,000
  • Lincoln Square Synagogue: $1,000
  • Little Britches Therapeutic Riding: $4,000
  • Living Arts International: $2,000
  • Love Beyond Walls: $1,500
  • Manhattan Institute: $5,000
  • Marist College: $5,500
  • MCC Theater: $1,500
  • Mount Tabor Ecumenical Centre: $7,500
  • Music Land: $1,000
  • National Audubon Society: $6,500
  • National Council of Young Israel: $4,000
  • National Review Institute: $25,000
  • New Civil Liberties Alliance: $5,000
  • New York Bully Crew: $3,000
  • New York Fellowship: $1,000
  • Nourish NC: $1,500
  • Ocean Conservancy: $3,300
  • Open Hand Atlanta: $2,000
  • Panthera Corporation: $2,300
  • Pasadena Conservatory of Music: $500
  • Patient Rights Advocate: $25,000
  • Pittielove Rescue: $2,500
  • Planned Parenthood: $3,300
  • Police Athletic League: $4,500
  • Prager University Foundation: $145,000
  • Presbyterian Church of Jackson: $3,500
  • Remembering NHU: $1,500
  • Rescue Dogs Rock: $1,500
  • Riverside Symphony: $5,000
  • Sacred Heart Academy: $5,000
  • Saint Vincent College: $5,000
  • Samaritan’s Purse: $1,000
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Art: $6,500
  • Soldier Strong: $5,000
  • Stratton Mountain School & Ski: $2,300
  • Stuyvesant HS Parents' Association: $1,000
  • Teneo: $25,000
  • The Benjamin Rush Foundation: $5,000
  • The Chapin School: $500
  • The Haven: $6,500
  • The Hope Hill Elementary Foundation: $1,000
  • The Wooster Group: $1,000
  • Troop 422: $2,500
  • United War Veterans Council: $5,000
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: $10,000
  • University of Chicago: $15,000
  • University of Saint Andrews: $20,000
  • Victory Programs: $50,500
  • Warrick Dunn Charities: $2,000
  • Warriors Education about Rescue: $1,500
  • Wayuu Taya Foundation: $2,500
  • Westchester Land Trust: $6,500
  • William F. Buckley Jr. Program: $5,000
  • Woodson Center: $25,000
  • Wyoming Stargazing: $1,000
  • Yale University: $10,000
  • Young Life: $1,000

2018

The Randolph Foundation distributed $1,156,471 in grants in 2018, broken down as follows:[11]

  • 14 Plus Foundation: $2,500
  • 88 5 WFDD: $1,500
  • A.C.E.: $5,000
  • Acton Institute: $5,000
  • Alliance Defending Freedom: $5,000
  • American Media Institute: $10,000
  • American Principles Project: $20,000
  • American Red Cross: $1,000
  • American Theatre Wing: $12,500
  • Americans for Limited Government: $20,000
  • Americans for Tax Reform: $25,000
  • APP Foundation: $15,000
  • Archbridge Institute: $20,000
  • Benjamin Rush Foundation: $10,000
  • Bethel High School: $2,000
  • Biblical Ministries Worldwide: $1,750
  • Boys and Girls Club of Cape Cod: $2,000
  • Bridge II Sports: $1,500
  • Brooklyn Prospect Charter School: $1,000
  • Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation: $5,000
  • CARE USA: $3,500
  • Carolina Ballet: $3,750
  • Charities Aid Foundation of America: $1,000
  • City Lights and Co.: $1,750
  • Claremont Institute: $17,250
  • Claremont McKenna College: $21,221
  • CO2 Coalition: $20,000
  • Committee to Reduce Infection: $5,000
  • Community Sailing Center: $6,750
  • Connecticut River Conservancy: $6,750
  • Crime Prevention Research Center: $20,000
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: $16,950
  • Danbury Animal Welfare Society: $4,750
  • DonorsTrust: $3,000
  • East Hampton Food Pantry: $1,100
  • Encounter Books: $5,000
  • Energy & Environment Legal Institute: $5,000
  • Ethics and Public Policy Center: $25,000
  • Foundation for Cultural Review: $5,000
  • Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $20,000
  • Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunities: $20,000
  • Franklin News Center: $10,000
  • Freedom for All: $2,000
  • Georgetown University Law Center: $25,000
  • Goodspeed Opera House Foundation: $1,500
  • Green America: $6,750
  • Harvard University: $200,000
  • Hoover Institute: $100,000
  • Independent Women’s Forum: $75,000
  • Jackson Hole Classical Academy: $10,000
  • James Wilson Institute: $5,000
  • Josiah Venture: $25,000
  • Judicial Watch: $2,000
  • Just Facts: $4,500
  • La Salle Academy: $1,000
  • Little Britches Therapeutic Riding: $6,725
  • Living Arts International: $2,000
  • London Center for Policy Research : $20,000
  • Love Beyond Walls: $1,500
  • Manhattan Institute: $35,000
  • Marist College: $6,750
  • MCC Theater: $1,500
  • McKenna Dempsey Memorial Fund: $1,000
  • Mount Tabor Ecumenical Centre: $6,750
  • Museum of Modern Art: $2,000
  • Navy Seal Foundation: $2,000
  • NC Museum of Art: $1,500
  • North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation: $1,500
  • Northwell Health: $6,750
  • Oceana: $3,375
  • On Course Foundation: $1,000
  • Parents Association of Stuyvesant High School: $4,200
  • Physicians for Human Rights: $1,000
  • Planned Parenthood: $6,750
  • Police Athletic League: $3,000
  • Rainforest Trust: $2,500
  • Reason Foundation: $5,000
  • Remembering NHU: $1,750
  • Rescue Dogs Rock: $1,000
  • Rotary Carousel, LLC: $6,750
  • Saint Vincent College: $5,000
  • Samaritan’s Purse: $1,000
  • Sandhills Children’s Center: $13,500
  • School Year Abroad: $1,000
  • Silvermine Arts Center: $5,000
  • Soho Repertory Theatre: $2,000
  • Stuyvesant High School Alumni: $7,250
  • Theatre for a New Audience: $1,000
  • Thomas B Fordham Institute: $15,000
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: $10,000
  • University of Saint Andrews American Foundation: $22,000
  • Victory Programs: $57,750
  • Wayuu Taya Foundation: $2,500
  • William F. Buckley Jr. Program: $10,000
  • William J. Gould Associates: $2,500
  • Women’s Prison Association: $6,750
  • Wounded Warrior Project: $1,100
  • Yaddo: $1,000
  • Young Adult Police Commission: $6,750
  • Zucker Hofstra School of Medicine: $6,750

2017

The Randolph Foundation distributed $1,164,200 in grants in 2017, broken down as follows:[10]

2016

The Randolph Foundation distributed $1,876,356 in grants in 2016, broken down as follows:[9]

2015

The Randolph Foundation distributed $1,862,600 in grants in 2015, broken down as follows:[8]

2014

The Randolph Foundation distributed $2,338,200 in grants in 2014, broken down as follows:[7]

2011

The Randolph Foundation distributed $2,111,450 in grants in 2011, broken down as follows:[6]

2010

The Randolph Foundation distributed $1,837,300 in grants in 2010, broken down as follows:[5]

2009

The Randolph Foundation distributed $2,407,900 in grants in 2009, broken down as follows:[4]

2008

The Randolph Foundation distributed $3,068,950 in grants in 2008, broken down as follows: [3]

2007

The Randolph Foundation distributed $2,965,100 in grants in 2007, broken down as follows:[2]

Core Financials

2019[21]

  • Total Revenue: $1,593,790
  • Total Expenses: $3,601,556
  • Net Assets: $51,988,072

2018[11]

  • Total Revenue: $4,329,973
  • Total Expenses: $3,982,597
  • Net Assets: $48,926,498

2017[10]

  • Total Revenue: $1,950,773
  • Total Expenses: $3,740,193
  • Net Assets: $56,486,988

2016[9]

  • Total Revenue: $1,309,665
  • Total Expenses: $4,540,720
  • Net Assets: $51,314,259

2015[8]

  • Total Revenue: $5,018,138
  • Total Expenses: $4,124,025
  • Net Assets: $43,025,384

2014[7]

  • Total Revenue: $2,973,464
  • Total Expenses: $5,082,719
  • Net Assets: $42,991,351

2011[6]

  • Total Revenue: $2,476,471
  • Total Expenses: $4,222,516
  • Net Assets: $49,586,134

2010[5]

  • Total Revenue: $3,747,946
  • Total Expenses: $3,937,571
  • Net Assets: $49,565,109

2009[4]

  • Total Revenue: -$266,999
  • Total Expenses: $4,244,132
  • Net Assets: $49,754,734

2008[3]

  • Total Revenue: -$4,418,215
  • Total Expenses: $5,289,286
  • Net Assets: $54,265,865

2007[2]

  • Total Revenue: $9,395,680
  • Total Expenses: $5,415,478
  • Net Assets: $63,973,366

Personnel

Staff

As of 2018[11]

Board of Trustees

As of 2019[21]

Former Trustees

Contact Information

Randolph Foundation
255 East 49th Street #23D
New York, NY 10017

EIN 47-0892971
Phone: (212) 752-7148

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch

IRS Form 990 Filings

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

References

  1. ↑ Guidestar, Randolph Foundation, organizational website, accessed February 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Randolph Foundation, 2007 Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 14, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Randolph Foundation, 2008 Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 20, 2009.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Randolph Foundation, 2009 Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 9, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Randolph Foundation, 2010 Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Randolph Foundation, 2011 Form 990, organizational tax filing, December 4, 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Randolf Foundation, 2014 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Randolf Foundation, 2015 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, date censored.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Randolf Foundation, 2016 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 10, 2017.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Randolf Foundation, 2017 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 8, 2018.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Randolf Foundation, 2018 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, October 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ Andy Kroll, "Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement", Mother Jones, February 5, 2013, accessed February 17, 2021.
  13. ↑ David Horowitz and Joseph Light, "New Study of 18 Elite Law and Journalism Faculties Shows that Democrats Outnumber Republicans by 7-1", Students for Academic Freedom Report, October 11, 2005, accessed February 17, 2021.
  14. ↑ Southern Poverty Law Center, Hate Map: California. organizational website, accessed February 17, 2021.
  15. ↑ Trent Douthett, "Horowitz Funding Sources", report sent to Senator Fedor, April 6, 2005. Archived on March 5, 2011, accessed February 17, 2021.
  16. ↑ David Armiak, Revenue for State Policy Network and State Affiliates Tops $120 Million, ExposedbyCMD, November 13, 2019.
  17. ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Center for Media and Democracy, EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
  18. ↑ Jane Mayer, Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?, The New Yorker, November 15, 2013.
  19. ↑ Ed Pilkington and Suzanne Goldenberg, State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax, The Guardian, December 5, 2013.
  20. ↑ Council for National Policy, [copy provided by Brent Allpress "September 2020 Membership Directory"], Council for National Policy, September 2020.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Randolf Foundation, 2019 IRS Form 990, organizational tax filing, November 10, 2020.
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