Ben & Jerry’s Foundation

History

The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation was created in 1985 after its parent company, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., funded the foundation with 50,000 shares from a public stock offering. The company’s board of directors also committed to supporting the Foundation by pledging 7.5% of Ben & Jerry’s annual pre-tax profits to the Foundation. ¹

In the early 1990s, the Foundation’s philanthropic strategy evolved to include employees in the decision-making and grantmaking process through the creation of employee-led Community Action Teams. In 1998, the Foundation also established a Matching Gift Program for Ben & Jerry’s employees. ¹

In 2000, Ben & Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever, an international conglomerate with hundreds of brands. Since the company’s acquisition, the Foundation has not received 7.5% of pretax profits. Instead, Ben & Jerry’s supports the Foundation with a fluctuating annual allocation that corresponds to Ben & Jerry’s overall ice cream sales. In 2015, this allocation allotted $2.8 million to the Foundation. ¹

Grant Programs

The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation supplies a number of grants each year to Vermont-based left-progressive organizations, as well as organizations that operate across the United States. The employee-led Vermont Community Action Team Grant Program allocates monthly general support grants that are typically under $2,000 to community-based nonprofits in Vermont. ²

The Vermont Economic Justice Grant Program supports organizations addressing the impact of poverty in the state. The program grants up to $20,000 to nonprofits based in Vermont. Grantees are chosen by a team made up of Ben & Jerry’s employees from across the company’s three sites in Vermont. ³

The Foundation’s Vermont Capacity Building Grant Program allocates a multi-year grant to one Vermont-based nonprofit each year. The grant allocates a maximum of $30,000 per year, for no more than three years, to an organization working to “further social justice, protect the environment, or support family farms and local food systems.” ⁴

The Grassroots Organizing for Social Change Grant Program awards a one-year grant up to $30,000 to organizations based outside of Vermont but within the United States. ⁵ The program has supported a number of left-of-center causes and organizations. In 2019, recipients included the left-of-center Dakota Rural Action; the Progressive Maryland Education Fund; and Rogue Climate, a left-progressive organization advocating for the passage of left-of-center energy legislation in Oregon. ⁶ Each of the recipients received over $15,000. ⁷ In 2018, the Workers Center for Racial Justice and the left-of-center Alliance of Families for Justice each received over $20,000. ⁸

COVID-19 Response

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation suspended new applicants for the Vermont Capacity Building Grant Program⁴ and the Grassroots Organizing for Social Change Grant Program to focus on addressing the emerging needs of the pandemic. ⁹

Grant requests for the Vermont Economic Justice and Vermont Community Action Team programs were not disrupted, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, though the Vermont Community Action Team guidelines specified that grants would address immediate community needs related to the pandemic, such as access to housing, food, and healthcare. ²

Finance

The organization’s tax return for 2018 lists more than $3.6 million in total revenue and more than $3.4 million in total expenses. ¹⁰ The Foundation has reported more than $3 million in total revenue each year since 2016, including $3.2 million in total revenue in 2016 and $3.4 million in 2017. ^{11 12}

Leadership

The Foundation is led by managing director Lisa Pendolino, who has worked for the Foundation since 1999. ¹