The Carroll Petrie Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that provides funding for environmentalist policies within the state of New Mexico including animal protection and wildlife habitat preservation. ¹

Background

The Carroll Petrie Foundation was founded by Carroll Petrie, the wife of retail businessman and philanthropist Milton Petrie. Following his death in 1994, Milton left his wife Carroll a $150 million inheritance. ^{2 3} Carroll and Milton Petrie also started the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, a private foundation focused primarily on education grantmaking. ^{4 5}

Carroll Petrie started the Foundation in 1996, with its original focus included grantmaking areas such as animal welfare, civic and social institutions, and the arts. ⁶ Carroll Petrie funded the Foundation’s endowment up to her death in 2015, at which point the Foundation shifted focus to providing grants for environmentalist and animal welfare causes. ⁷

Finances

As of 2022, Carroll Petrie Foundation held net assets worth $305 million. The Foundation’s revenue totaled $191,653, and its expenses totaled $21 million. ^{8 9}

Grantmaking

According to its website, the Carroll Petrie Foundation provides four categories of grantmaking: “Animal Protection,” “Cats and Dogs,” “Pollinators,” and “Wildlife.” ¹⁰

The Carroll Petrie Foundation’s activities in “Animal Protection” include countering animal cruelty and medical research on live animals. ¹¹ The Foundation’s activities in “Wildlife” include reducing the use of pesticides and promoting organic farming methods. ¹²

According to its grantmaking guidelines, the Foundation claims to not provide grants for endowments, energy-related programs, or environmental/social justice purposes. ¹³

In 2012, the Carroll Petrie Foundation partnered with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to start the Dog Rescue Project, which paid $1 million to move dogs out of overcrowded animal shelters. ¹⁴

Grantees

The Foundation has given grants to the Xerxes Society, an environmental organization that focuses on the conservation of invertebrates. In 2022, the Foundation granted $75,000 to the Conservation Voters New Mexico Education Fund, a member of the New Mexico Civic Engagement Table and state affiliate of the League of Conservation Voters; $75,000 to Earth Island Institute, a left-of-center environmentalist organization that supports the preservation of federal forests and animals inhabiting federal forests; $425,000 to WildEarth Guardians, a group that lobbies and litigates for environmental policies across several western states; and $225,000 to the Humane Society of the United States, an animal liberation and vegetarianism-advocacy nonprofit. ^{15 16 17}

The Foundation granted $1,000,000 to the White Coat Waste Project, an animal rights group that investigates and reports on government-funded animal-based medical experiments. ¹⁸

Additionally, the Foundation has provided grants to socially and civically oriented institutions, including No Left Turn in Education and the Center for American Liberty. In 2022, the Foundation gave $75,000 to the Independent Women’s Forum, a right-of-center organization that advocates on matters relating to the U.S. Supreme Court and in support of free-market policies regarding taxation, the federal budget, and the education system. ¹⁹

From 2019 through 2022, the Carroll Petrie Foundation gave a total of $2,650,000 to the Center for Biological Diversity, a left-wing environmental activist group.²⁰

Leadership

As of December 2022, Theodora Portago, a granddaughter of Carroll Petrie, was listed as the president of the Carroll Petrie Foundation. ^{21 22}

Carolina Portago, also a granddaughter of Carroll Petrie, was listed as the vice president of the Carroll Petrie Foundation. ^{23 24}

Camille Manning, a niece of Carroll Petrie, was listed as the treasurer of the Carroll Petrie Foundation. ^{25 26}

1. “The Foundation.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.carrollpetrie.org/the-foundation.
2.  Slotnik, Daniel E. “Carroll Petrie, a New York Philanthropist, Dies at 90.” The New York Times, February 4, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170627224448/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/nyregion/carroll-petrie-a-new-york-philanthropist-dies-at-90.html.
3. “The Foundation.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.carrollpetrie.org/the-foundation.
4. “The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, New York.” Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.petrie.org/.
5. “Our History.” Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.petrie.org/our-history.
6. “The Foundation.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.carrollpetrie.org/the-foundation.
7.  “The Foundation.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.Carrolllpetrie.org/the-foundation.
8. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Part I.
9. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Part II.
10. “Grantmaking Guidelines.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ed660760054b11cb9843306/t/63eaa9db7a0f2e0be2a1e9d8/1676323291275/Grant+Guidelines.pdf
11. “Wildlife.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.carrollpetrie.org/wildlife.
12. “Environment Program Overview.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.carrollpetrie.org/environment-program.
13. “Grantmaking Guidelines.” Carroll Petrie Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ed660760054b11cb9843306/t/63eaa9db7a0f2e0be2a1e9d8/1676323291275/Grant+Guidelines.pdf
14. Slotnik, Daniel E. “Carroll Petrie, a New York Philanthropist, Dies at 90.” The New York Times, February 4, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170627224448/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/nyregion/carroll-petrie-a-new-york-philanthropist-dies-at-90.html
15. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV.
16. “About the Center for Civic Policy.” Center for Civic Policy, August 9, 2023. https://civicpolicy.com/about/#partners.
17. “Building Power in the States.” League of Conservation Voters, April 3, 2023. https://www.lcv.org/building-power-in-the-states/.
18. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV.
19. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 11 Part XIV.
20. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Carroll Petrie Foundation. 2019-2022. Part XV.
21. “Paid Notice: Deaths Petrie, Mrs.” The New York Times, January 30, 2015. https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9404E2D8173AF933A05752C0A9639D8B63.html.
22. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 6 Part VII.
23. “Paid Notice: Deaths Petrie, Mrs.” The New York Times, January 30, 2015. https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9404E2D8173AF933A05752C0A9639D8B63.html.
24. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 6 Part VII.
25. “Paid Notice: Deaths Petrie, Mrs.” The New York Times, January 30, 2015. https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9404E2D8173AF933A05752C0A9639D8B63.html.
26. “Carroll Petrie Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022. Page 6 Part VII.