The 128 Collective Foundation is the private foundation of GitHub cofounder Thomas Preston-Werner and his wife, Theresa. It makes grants to environmentalist groups seeking to lower carbon emissions, groups providing or advocating for abortion access, LGBT advocacy groups, and other left-of-center advocacy groups, including the Hopewell Fund and the New Venture Fund within the Arabella Advisors-managed network of liberal “dark money.” ^{1 2}

128 Collective Foundation advocates for state-owned public utilities to fully transition to environmentalist energy sources and be available as alternative options in the event privately owned utilities do not commit to using environmentalist energy sources. ²

Background

128 Collective Foundation is the private grantmaking foundation of Thomas Preston-Werner, co-founder of the software company GitHub, and his wife, Theresa. It was founded in 2019 to donate to environmentalist and “progressive politics” initiatives and is an offshoot of Preston-Werner Ventures, an angel investing company led by Thomas. ^{3 2}

In 2023, The Preston-Werners signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donating the majority of their wealth through Preston-Werner Ventures and 128 Collective Foundation. ⁴ In their Giving Pledge commitment letter, Theresa described herself as a “Marxist academic”, and the letter condemned capitalism for allowing their fortune. The letter further stated the couple felt an “urgency to redistribute” their wealth. ⁵

Advocacy

128 Collective Foundation’s website states that it supports environmentalist initiatives that align with the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal to prevent temperatures from increasing above 1.5 degrees Celsius. It also argues that market approaches are ineffective and instead funds government-controlled environmentalist energy initiatives. ²

128 Collective Foundation has funded campaigns in opposition of natural gas projects, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline. ²

128 Collective was among the first funders of Public Power New York, a campaign supporting New York’s Build Public Renewables Act. The bill was passed in 2023 and requires the state’s electricity provider, New York Power Authority (NYPA), to generate all power for state-owned properties from weather-dependent energy sources. It will also require NYPA to offer lower utility rates for individuals who qualify as having low to moderate income and for all individuals working on utility developments under the Build Public Renewables Act to be employed under a union contract. ^{2 6}

Grantmaking

In 2022, 128 Collective Foundation made $9.9 million in grants. It grants to pro-abortion organizations included $50,000 to Abortion Freedom Partnership, $50,000 to FemHealth USA, $100,000 to If When How, $50,000 to International Youth Alliance for Family Planning, $25,000 to the National Women’s Health Network abortion hotline, $117,700 to Panorama Global, and $50,000 to White Ribbon Alliance. ¹

In addition to grants supporting abortion services and advocacy, 128 Collective Foundation funded environmentalist groups that focus on lowering carbon emissions and increasing reliance on environmentalist energy sources, LGBT advocacy groups, and major left-of-center advocacy groups, including the Hopewell Fund and the New Venture Fund within the Arabella Advisors-managed network of liberal “dark money.” ¹

Financials

In 2022, 128 Collective Foundation reported $2.5 million in total revenue. ⁷ It also reported $10.4 million in total expenses, including $9.9 million in contributions and grants paid. ⁸

People

Thomas Preston-Werner is a cofounder of 128 Collective Foundation, its parent organization Preston-Werner Ventures, and the software company GitHub. ⁵ He served as CEO of GitHub until April 2014 when he resigned after allegations were made of sexism by Preston-Werner and his wife, Theresa. After review from a third-party investigator, GitHub published a report stating that its investigation found Preston-Werner “acted inappropriately,” engaged in “confrontational conduct,” disregarded workplace complaints, and failed to enforce an agreement where his wife, Theresa, would not work in their office. ^{9 10}

Theresa Preston-Werner is a cofounder of 128 Collective Foundation and serves as its board chair. From 2016 to 2018, she worked as an affiliate director for the Bixby Center for Population, Health, and Sustainability at the University of California Berkeley’s Global Family Planning Project. She also served as director of evaluations for Women Work Together. ¹¹

1. Return of Organization Exempt form Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 128 Collective Foundation. 2022. Part XIV.
2. “Home.” 128collective.org. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://128collective.org/.
3. “Preston-Werner Ventures.” Preston-Werner Ventures. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://prestonwernerventures.com/.
4. “About.” Giving Pledge. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://givingpledge.org/about.
5. “Tom and Theresa Preston-Werner.” Giving Pledge. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=457.
6. “New York Takes Big Step toward Renewable Energy in ‘historic’ Climate Win.” The Guardian, May 3, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/03/new-york-renewable-energy-public-utilities.
7. Return of Organization Exempt form Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 128 Collective Foundation. 2022. Part I, Line 12.
8. Return of Organization Exempt form Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 128 Collective Foundation. 2022. Part I, Lines 25-26.
9. Miller, Claire Cain. “GitHub Founder Resigns after Investigation.” The New York Times, April 21, 2014. https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/github-founder-resigns-after-investigation/.
10. Wanstrath, Chris. “Follow up to the Investigation Results.” The GitHub Blog, April 28, 2014. https://github.blog/2014-04-28-follow-up-to-the-investigation-results/.
11. Theresa Preston-Werner. LinkedIn. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-preston-werner-3bab5788/.