Carroll Petrie Foundation

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 1} Carroll and Milton Petrie also started the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, a private foundation focused primarily on education grantmaking. ^{3 4}

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. ¹ 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. ⁵

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. ^{6 7}

Grantmaking

According to its website, the Carroll Petrie Foundation provides four categories of grantmaking: “Animal Protection,” “Cats and Dogs,” “Pollinators,” and “Wildlife.” ⁸

The Carroll Petrie Foundation’s activities in “Animal Protection” include countering animal cruelty and medical research on live animals. ⁹ The Foundation’s activities in “Wildlife” include reducing the use of pesticides and promoting organic farming methods. ¹⁰

According to its grantmaking guidelines, the Foundation claims to not provide grants for endowments, energy-related programs, or environmental/social justice purposes. ⁸

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. ²

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. ^{11 12 13}

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. ¹¹

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. ¹¹

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.¹⁴

Leadership

As of December 2022, Theodora Portago, a granddaughter of Carroll Petrie, was listed as the president of the Carroll Petrie Foundation. ^{15 16}

Carolina Portago, also a granddaughter of Carroll Petrie, was listed as the vice president of the Carroll Petrie Foundation. ^{15 16}

Camille Manning, a niece of Carroll Petrie, was listed as the treasurer of the Carroll Petrie Foundation. ^{15 16}