The Aaron and Martha Schecter Private Foundation (also known as SHIFT) makes grants to left-of-center organizations. The Foundation founded in June 1982 in Hollywood, Florida by the family of Aaron Schecter, a Florida property developer with left-of-center political leanings. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The Aaron and Martha Schecter Foundation has contributed to left-progressive think tank Demos, liberal magazine American Prospect, and left-of-center project incubator Tides Center, among other advocacy and public policy organizations. ^[4]

Leadership

The identified trustees of the Foundation are members of Aaron and Martha Schecter’s family: the couple’s daughters Laurie and Julie Schecter, Laurie and Julie’s cousin Carol Goloff (who passed away in 2017), and son-in-law Will Hapgood. ^{[5] [6][7]}

Laurie Schecter now owns and operates a lodging business . She is a substantial donor to liberal political candidates and the liberal campaign contribution platform ActBlue^[8] and also an active board member of left-of-center non-profits. ^[9]

Julie Schecter is the president of the Schecter Management Company. ^[10] Will Hapgood is currently the treasurer for the Schecter Management Company,^[11]

Financial Information

In the past 10 years, the Aaron and Martha Schecter Private Foundation contributed $1,765,000 to the Tides Center, an incubator of left-of-center advocacy projects. ^[12] The Foundation also gave to the left-wing think tank Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, to which the Foundation has granted $2,240,000since 2009. ^[13]  Further donation recipients include the anti-consumerist advocacy group Center for a New American Dream,^[14] the Pro-Choice Massachusetts Foundation, and various ACLU-affiliated entities.

The most recent financials available for the Foundation are for Fiscal Year 2017 and show total expenses and disbursements of $2,069,583 and total assets of $7,331,214. ^[15]

Additional Entities of the Schecter Family

In addition to the Aaron and Martha Schecter Private Foundation, the Schecter family owns and operates at least two additional entities. The Schecter Management Company filed as a for-profit Florida corporation in 2005, with the four main principals at the time being the same as for the Aaron and Martha Schecter Private Foundation: Carol Goloff, Will Hapgood, Julie Schecter, and Laurie Schecter. This organization is a property management company with offices in Florida and Massachusetts. ^[16]