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Non-profit

BuildUS

Parent Organization: Amalgamated Charitable Foundation
Website:

www.build-us.org/
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Project of:

Amalgamated Charitable Foundation
Formation:

2023
Executive Director:

Justin Maxson

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BuildUS is a philanthropic collaborative designed to implement and support major federal legislation enacted during the Biden administration. BuildUS is fiscally sponsored by the left-of-center labor-union-aligned Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, 1 aims to “fundamentally reshape” how the American economy operates, supports the critical race theory-influenced concept of an “equitable economy,” and works closely with the left-of-center Invest in Our Future collaborative. 2

BuildUS was launched in September 2023 with initial commitments totaling $50 million from left-of-center organizations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Omidyar Network, liberal donor George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, 3 Skoll Foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 4 5

History and Leadership

BuildUS was launched in September 2023 to support the implementation of key Biden administration legislative priorities such as the American Rescue Plan, CHIPS and Science Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. The organization seeks to create what it calls a “worker-centered,” cleaner, and critical race theory-influenced “equitable economy” through its actions. 6

Justin Maxson has been the executive director of BuildUS since December 2023. Prior to joining BuildUS, Maxson worked in the Biden administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he launched the Rural Partners Network. Previously, Maxson worked at the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation and the left-of-center Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. 7 Representatives from the left-of-center Omidyar Network and liberal donor George Soros’s Open Society Foundations co-chaired the selection committee that chose Maxson for his role. 8

Jenifer Harris was the director of BuildUS from its launch until December 2023. 9 Prior to joining BuildUS, she worked at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and in various roles in the Biden administration White House National Economic Council and White House National Security Council. 10 Harris returned to the Hewlett Foundation after Maxon was named its new executive director in December 2023. Prior to joining the Biden administration, Harris held senior fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution, and the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute. 11

Activities and Funding

BuildUS is a pooled fund that is designed to “accelerate America’s transition toward a worker-centered, cleaner and more equitable economy.” 12 Fiscally sponsored by the left-of-center Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, 13 BuildUS aims to “fundamentally reshape” how the economy operates. It works closely with the left-of-center Invest in Our Future collaborative to increase public support for critical race theory-influenced “equitable economic” reforms and environmentalist clean energy policy by making additional investments in rural and minority communities. 14

The fund’s advocacy and grantmaking efforts are focused on four policy areas: acceleration of state and local efforts to utilize federal investments; environmentalist energy transition priorities; scaling what the group considers climate-focused solutions; and local, state, and federal-level outreach. 15 16 As of January 2024, the BuildUS’s private-sector investment work has been focused in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee. 17

BuildUS supports the implementation of Biden administration legislative priorities such as the CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 18 Its investing campaigns promote environmentalist priorities to “decarbonize” public buildings using union labor, creating more union agreements in the battery sector, creating apprenticeship programs, and retrofitting homes. 19

BuildUS stated that it expected left-of-center organizations like the Energy Foundation to become future partners, but as of January 2024 the organization has faced challenges establishing separate funds due to lack of collaboration among its existing partners and intermediaries. 20

Funding

BuildUS is a fiscally sponsored project of the left-of-center Amalgamated Charitable Foundation. When BuildUS launched in September 2023, the organization had initial commitments of more than $50 million for its first three years. 21

BuildUS’s initial financial supporters included the left-of-center Carnegie Corporation of New York, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Omidyar Network, 22 liberal donor George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, 23 Skoll Foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 24 and others. 25

In 2023, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation gave the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation $10 million for BuildUS’s initial funding. 26 Carnegie Corporation of New York also contributed $3 million to BuildUS’s initial funding campaign. 27

References

  1. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  2. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  3. “Tweet.” Open Society Foundations Twitter. Posted September 26, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://twitter.com/OpenSociety/status/1706742436406440225.
  4. Kathy Reincke and Bonnie Kwon. “BuildUS Fund to leverage public investments to promote equitable communities.” W.K. Kellogg Foundation. October 24, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://everychildthrives.com/buildus-fund-to-leverage-public-investments-to-promote-equitable-communities/.
  5. “Our Work.” BuildUS. Accessed January 13, 2024. https://www.build-us.org/our-work.
  6. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  7. “Our Team.” BuildUS. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://www.build-us.org/team.
  8.  “BuildUS Announces Justin Maxson Will Join Fund as Executive Director.” BuildUS. December 11, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.build-us.org/news-buildus/buildus-announces-justin-maxson-will-join-fund-as-executive-director.
  9. Forohar, Rana. “Jennifer Harris: ‘Everything costs something in foreign policy terms. There are no free lunches here either’.” Financial Times. November 2, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.ft.com/content/f52fb843-e419-4cd9-8e2d-b7485c5cda7d.
  10. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  11. “Jennifer Harris Rejoins Hewlett Foundation as Economy and Society Initiative Director.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. November 30, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/jennifer-harris-rejoins-hewlett-foundation-as-economy-and-society-initiative-director/.
  12. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  13. “Amalgamated Foundation.” Hewlett Foundation. Accessed January 13, 2024. https://hewlett.org/grants/amalgamated-foundation-for-the-buildus-fund-project/.
  14. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  15. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  16. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  17. Forohar, Rana. “Jennifer Harris: ‘Everything costs something in foreign policy terms. There are no free lunches here either’.” Financial Times. November 2, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.ft.com/content/f52fb843-e419-4cd9-8e2d-b7485c5cda7d.
  18. “Home.” BuildUS. Accessed January 14, 0224. https://www.build-us.org/.
  19. “Our Work.” BuildUS. Accessed January 14, 0224. https://www.build-us.org/our-work.
  20. Kavate, Michael. “Major Philanthropies Launch $50 Million Fund to Shepherd Federal Dollars on Jobs, Climate.”  Inside Philanthropy. September 26, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive January 14, 2024. https://archive.ph/DfjRm.
  21. “Major Philanthropies Launch “BuildUS” Fund to Accelerate Implementation of Historic Federal Investments.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. September 23, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/major-philanthropies-launch-buildus-fund-to-accelerate-implementation-of-historic-federal-investments/.
  22. Kavate, Michael. “New Climate Pledges Have Drawn in New Philanthropies. Will More Funding Follow?” Inside Philanthropy. October 12, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive January 14, 2024. https://archive.ph/i6fHV.
  23. “Tweet.” Open Society Foundations Twitter. Posted September 26, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://twitter.com/OpenSociety/status/1706742436406440225.
  24. Kathy Reincke and Bonnie Kwon. “BuildUS Fund to leverage public investments to promote equitable communities.” W.K. Kellogg Foundation. October 24, 2023. Accessed January 14, 2024. https://everychildthrives.com/buildus-fund-to-leverage-public-investments-to-promote-equitable-communities/.
  25. “Our Work.” BuildUS. Accessed January 13, 2024. https://www.build-us.org/our-work.
  26. “Amalgamated Foundation.” Hewlett Foundation. Accessed January 13, 2024. https://hewlett.org/grants/amalgamated-foundation-for-the-buildus-fund-project/.
  27. “Carnegie Corporation of New York Board Approves 72 Grants Totaling $47,597,500.” Carnegie Corporation of New York. September 21, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/carnegie-corporation-new-york-board-approves-72-grants-totaling-47597500/.
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