This organization has merged into the Center for Cultural Power. For information on its activities after the merger, see that profile.

Founded in 2011, Citizen Engagement Lab (CEL) Education Fund is a left-of-center California-based nonprofit that specializes in creating subsidiary left-of-center advocacy and coalition interest groups through a practice known as fiscal sponsorship. CEL Education Fund is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of Citizen Engagement Laboratory and provides fiscal sponsorship and organizational management training to far-left organizations, including 18 Million Rising, CultureStrike, and Sierra Club Foundation’s Climate Parents Action Fund. ¹²

In 2019, Citizen Engagement Lab Education Fund merged with CultureStrike to form the Center for Cultural Power.³

Background

Established in 2011, CEL Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor that assists and works alongside its 501(c)(4) affiliate, Citizen Engagement Laboratory, to incubate far-left advocacy organizations. It provides fiscal sponsorship and training to politically-aligned “tech-savvy” organizations, to turn them into political change agents. ⁴ In early 2019, it was announced that CEL Education Fund and CultureStrike would soon merge into a single organization, known as the Center for Cultural Power. ⁵⁶

Activities

Through its self-proclaimed “Powerful Communities” initiative, the CEL Education Fund bestows direct financial support and organizational leadership training to progressive organizations of all sizes—but with a particular focus on start-ups. ⁷ As a financial contributor to Citizen Engagement Laboratory and other groups that “align” with its far-left agenda, the organization pumps out millions of dollars each year. According to the group’s 2016 tax filing, it gave its affiliated Citizen Engagement Laboratory more than $1 million during 2016. ⁸ The Citizen Engagement Laboratory, in turn, uses this money to cover administrative expenses, including all salaries and benefits afforded to its employees. ⁹

There are at least three other groups currently sponsored by CEL Education Fund, they include 18MillionRising, CultureStrike, and Climate Parents Education Fund, a project of left-wing environmental group Sierra Club Foundation. ¹⁰ In 2016, CEL Education Fund gave almost $100,000 to Sierra Club Foundation, in support of the Climate Parents Education Fund. ¹¹ the radical feminist and pro-abortion group UltraViolet Education Fund received the largest sum from CEL Education Fund in 2016 at over $2.6 million. ¹²

Funding

During the 2016 calendar year, CEL Education Fund reported over $8.5 million in total revenue. Program service fees were responsible for approximately 80 percent of its total revenue, while grants and contributions accounted for the remaining 20 percent. ¹³

Since 2011, it has received substantial sums of money from the following organizations: ¹⁴

Leadership

Although CEL Education Fund claims to be independently operated, its leadership is appointed by Citizen Engagement Laboratory. ¹⁵ Sitting on the board of directors is board treasurer William Wimsatt and Jenifer Fernandez Ancona. ¹⁶ Prior to serving on the board of directors, Ancona worked at the Citizen Engagement Laboratory. ¹⁷

According to its latest tax filing, CEL Education Fund has 79 paid employees. Jacqueline “Jackie” Mahendra is president of the organization, taking over for Ian Inaba in May 2016. ¹⁸ CEL Education Fund executives and top-level managers are paid more than $100,000 per year, with Mahendra earning approximately $200,000. ¹⁹

Affiliated Organizations

CEL Education Fund is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of Citizen Engagement Laboratory, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit founded in 2008. ²⁰

1. “Who We Work With.” CEL Education Fund. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.celeducationfund.org/who-we-work-with/.
2. “Partners.” CultureStrike. February 20, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://culturestrike.org/partners.
3.  “The Center for Cultural Power.” Idealist. Accessed May 29, 2019. https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/c24ec479f4694944826b61bcac7c30c9-the-center-for-cultural-power-oakland.
4. “What We Do.” CEL Education Fund. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.celeducationfund.org/what-we-do/.
5. “Writing Their Own Story: Two Undocumented Artists on Their New TV Pilot.” Pop Culture Collaborative. March 19, 2019. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://popcollab.org/writing-their-own-story/.
6. “The Center for Cultural Power.” Idealist. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/c24ec479f4694944826b61bcac7c30c9-the-center-for-cultural-power-oakland.
7. “Who We Work With.” CEL Education Fund. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.celeducationfund.org/who-we-work-with/.
8. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
9. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
10. “Who We Work With.” CEL Education Fund. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.celeducationfund.org/who-we-work-with/.
11. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
12. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
13. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
14. Torres, Alec. “Citizen Engagement Laboratory.” Capital Research Center. November 18, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/citizen-engagement-laboratory/.

    “CEL Education Fund.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.macfound.org/grantees/1590/.

    Torres, Alec. “Citizen Engagement Laboratory.” Capital Research Center. November 18, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/citizen-engagement-laboratory/.

    “The Schmidt Family Foundation.” BIG Online: US Foundation Summary. December 2017. Accessed April 16, 2019. http://www.bigdatabase.com/Big-DB/USFoundation-profiles/THE SCHMIDT FAMILY FOUNDATION-204170342.HTML.

    “Grants Seach.” Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.rbf.org/grants-search.

    “Citizen Engagement Lab Education Fund.” Silicon Valley Community Foundation. March 03, 2017. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/citizen-engagement-lab-education-fund.

    “Grants.” Hewlett Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2019. https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22cel%20education%20fund%22&sort=relevance&current_page=1

    “CEL Education Fund.” The James Irvine Foundation. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.irvine.org/grants?utf8=✓&q[project_title_or_legal_name_or_primary_address_city_contains]=cel educationfund&q[program_area_eq]=&q[approval_year_eq]=&q[geographic_area_served_contains]=&q[adjusted_amount_dollars_gt]=&q[adjusted_amount_dollars_lt]=&commit=Search.

    “CEL Education Fund.” Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.ddcf.org/grants/Grant-Recipients/cel-education-fund/.

15. Citizen Engagement Laboratory, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
16. “Board.” CEL Education Fund. Archived from the original September 3, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180903131419/https://www.celeducationfund.org/who-we-are/.

17. “Board.” CEL Education Fund. Archived from the original September 3, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180903131419/https://www.celeducationfund.org/who-we-are/.
18. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
19. CEL Education Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016.
20. “Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL).” Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL). Accessed April 17, 2019. https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/citizen-engagement-laboratory/.