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Person

Anna Fink

Occupation:

Executive Director for Amalgamated Foundation
Nationality:

American
Board Memberships:

New Media Ventures, NELP

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Anna Fink is the executive director of the Amalgamated Foundation, the charitable arm of Amalgamated Bank. Amalgamated Bank is majority-owned and controlled by Workers United, a division of the SEIU labor union. Fink previously served as a senior advisor on philanthropic issues to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. 1 Fink also founded LIFT Fund, a left-of-center network of organizations that funds labor unions and labor advocacy organizations. She serves on the boards of directors for numerous labor-aligned organizations and has made sizeable donations to Democratic candidates for public office and to left-of-center PACs. 2

Board Positions

Fink formerly sat as a trustee for the Berger-Marks Foundation, a now-defunct organization that made grants to labor unions and labor-aligned organizations. 3 She sits on the board of directors for the Workers Lab, a labor issue advocacy organization; New Media Ventures, a grantmaking organization that funds left-of-center and liberal start-up organizations; and for NELP, a pro-union think tank based in New York City. She has worked as a research fellow for the Aspen Institute and the Neighborhood Funders Group, a grantmaking organization that funds left-of-center community organizing and agitation groups. 4

Amalgamated Bank

Fink was hired in 2016 by Amalgamated Bank to run its Division of Philanthropy, an arm of the bank that represents charitable foundations. 5 Amalgamated Bank has had a history of aligning itself with Democratic values such as environmentalism, race-issues, and feminist issues, and represents a number of left-of-center organizations. Among these organizations are the Donors of Color Network, a left-of-center network of organizations aimed at solving supposed “racial, economic, political, and social crises” in the U.S.; Thousand Currents, a grantmaking organization that funds left-of-center organizations in developing countries and formerly sponsored the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation; and the Environmental Grantmakers Association, a left-of-center grantmaking organization supporting Democratic environmentalist issues. 6

Democracy Reinvestment Fund

Following the January 6, 2021 Capitol Riot, Fink spearheaded a program through the Amalgamated Foundation which pressured organizations to halt donations to Republican elected officials, and donate instead to the Amalgamated Foundation. The project was backed by numerous left-of-center organizations including the Ford Foundation and Color of Change. The project also received large donations from George Soros’s Open Society Foundation. 7

“Hate is Not Charitable” Campaign

Fink and the Amalgamated Foundation launched a project titled “Hate is Not Charitable” in 2019. The mission of the project is to enact policies within donor-advised funds that would allow executives to reject donor recommendations toward organizations deemed as “hateful.” The organization utilizes the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center “Hate Map,” which tracks hundreds of organizations and in the United States defining them as “hate groups.” The project is supported by ideologically left-of-center and liberal grantmaking organizations including EDGE Funders Alliance, a left-of-center network of grantmaking organizations including the likes of Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation; the Tides Foundation, a large pass-through funder of numerous left-of-center organizations; and the Proteus Fund, a grantmaking organization that funds numerous leftists policy issues. 8

Labor Union Advocacy

Anna Fink served as a senior advisor on philanthropy and innovation under Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. 9 Fink currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a liberal thinktank that advocates for pro-labor-union legislation. 10

Labor Innovations for the 21st Century (Lift Fund)

Fink founded the Labor Innovations for the 21st Century (Lift Fund), a pro-labor network of organizations united in their advocacy for more union-friendly legislation. 11 The organization receives funding from large left-of-center and liberal grantmaking organizations such as Open Society Foundations, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the AFL-CIO, and the Ford Foundation. 12 The organization has made grants to many of the largest labor unions and workers centers in the United States. Most notable among these are the United Steelworkers, AFSCME, Unite Here, Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, CWA, and Workers Center for Racial Justice. 13

Frontline Workers Fund

Anna Fink and the Amalgamated Foundation organized an $85,000 series of grants to labor unions in 2020 to be directed toward “frontline workers” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fink said in a 2020 interview, Amalgamated Bank and Amalgamated Foundation are proud of our legacy rooted in the labor movement working on behalf of union members across the country, including this opportunity to provide resources to frontline workers.” 14

Political Contributions

Fink has made monetary contributions to numerous Democratic political candidates. In 2016, she donated $650 to Hillary Clinton for President, and Hillary Victory Fund, the two PACs associated with the failed 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. In 2020, she made donations totaling $250 to Biden for President, the PAC associated with President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. Since 2016, she has made donations totaling $4,053 to the Amalgamated Bank PAC, the political advocacy branch of Amalgamated Bank that funds the campaigns of Democratic candidates for public office. 15

References

  1. “Board of Directors: Anna Fink.” Women Effect Fund. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://womeneffectfund.org/about/our-team/
  2. “Individual Contributions: Anna Fink.” FEC.gov. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=anna%20fink
  3. “Berger-Marks Foundation closes, invests remaining funds into new WILL Empower women’s Labor leadership project.” Labor Tribune. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://labortribune.com/berger-marks-foundation-closes-invests-remaining-funds-into-new-will-empower-womens-labor-leadership-project/
  4. “Board of Directors: Anna Fink.” Women Effect Fund. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://womeneffectfund.org/about/our-team/
  5. “Amalgamated Bank launches new philanthropy division led by Anna Fink.” Amalgamated Bank. Accessed July 11, 2021. https://www.amalgamatedbank.com/news/amalgamated-bank-launches-new-philanthropy-division-led-anna-fink
  6. “Philanthropic Organizations.” Amalgamated Bank. Accessed July 11, 2021. https://www.amalgamatedbank.com/philanthropic-organizations 
  7. “Nonprofit tied to Amalgamated Bank looks to capture corporate donors through new fund following Capitol Hill Riot.” Brian Schwartz, CNBC. Accessed July 11, 2021. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/amalgamated-bank-nonprofit-looks-to-capture-corporate-donors-through-new-fund.html?&qsearchterm=amalgamated%20bank%20fund%20capital
  8. “Insights and Initiatives: Hate is not Charitable.” Amalgamated Foundation. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://www.amalgamatedfoundation.org/insights-and-initiatives/hate-is-not-charitable
  9. “Amalgamated Bank launches new philanthropy division led by Anna Fink.” Amalgamated Bank. Accessed July 11, 2021. https://www.amalgamatedbank.com/news/amalgamated-bank-launches-new-philanthropy-division-led-anna-fink
  10. “Board of Directors: Anna Fink.” NELP. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://www.nelp.org/board-of-directors/anna-levine-fink/
  11. “Board of Directors: Anna Fink.” NELP. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://www.nelp.org/board-of-directors/anna-levine-fink/
  12. “Donor Members.” LIFT Fund. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://theliftfund.org/donor-members/
  13. “Our Grantees.” LIFT Fund. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://theliftfund.org/our-grantees/
  14. “Amalgamated Foundation grant ‘right on time’ for hard-hit area workers.” Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO. Accessed July 13, 2021. http://www.dclabor.org/home/amalgamated-foundation-grant-right-on-time-for-hard-hit-area-workers
  15. “Individual Contributions: Anna Fink.” FEC.gov. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=anna%20fink
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