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Non-profit

Christopher Reynolds Foundation

Location:

Boston, MA
Tax ID:

13-6129401
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2015):

Revenue: $880,545
Expenses: $1,720,112
Assets: $19,882,505
Formation:

1953
Executive Director:

Andrea Panaritis
Executive Director’s Compensation:

Gross Salary: $231,637

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Christopher Reynolds Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that has focused for many years on supporting normalizing U.S. relations with Communist-ruled Vietnam and Cuba. According to its website, the Foundation is going through a “period of transition in its grantmaking profile” following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba in 2015, the Foundation states that its new areas of focus are likely to include environmentalism, claiming it would support “sustainability, social economy, agroecology, and local development.” 1

The Christopher Reynolds Foundation is one of several left-of-center advocacy grantmaking institutions derived from the fortune of the Reynolds family that founded the R.J. Reynolds tobacco company; others include the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Arca Foundation, and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

History

The Christopher Reynolds Foundation was established by Libby Holman, in honor of her son Christopher “Topper” Reynolds, who died in a mountain climbing accident in August 1950, at the age of 17. 2

Holman’s first husband was the tobacco heir Zachary Smith Reynolds. After less than a year of marriage, her husband was shot to death at the Reynolds family estate. As Holman was in the room when her husband she was shot, she was initially charged with murder. The Reynolds’ family eventually dropped the murder charges and Holman and her son inherited $7 million. 3

In 1959, Holman helped sponsor a trip to India for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, through the Christopher Reynolds Foundation. 4 In India, the Kings learned more about Gandhi’s techniques for social change through nonviolence, and how to apply that to the American Civil Rights Movement. 5

Holman also contributed to the defense of Benjamin Spock for his opposition to the Vietnam War. 6 A well-known pediatrician and writer, Spock was one of “The Boston Five” who were federally indicted in 1968, accused of “conspiring to urge people to violate draft laws.” 7

After U.S. diplomatic relations with Vietnam normalized, the Foundation focused for many years on efforts to support the strengthening of diplomatic relations between U.S. and Cuba. 8

The Foundation is currently transitioning its grantmaking focus, and will likely begin to fund issues of “sustainability, social economy, agroecology, and local development.” 9

Board of Directors

Andrea Panaritis is the executive director and member of the board; she has been with the foundation since 1985. 10

John Roosevelt Boettiger, the grandson of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, has been the fresident and chairman of the board since 1975. 11 He is, and became a member of the advisory board of the Living New Deal in 2014. 12

Donation Recipients

References

  1. “About Us.” The Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Inc. Accessed November 16, 2019.  https://creynolds.org/about-us/.
  2. Cavanaugh, Jack. “Treetops: An Aura of Glamour, A Trail of Tragedies.” The New York Times, May 18, 1997. Accessed November 16, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/18/nyregion/treetops-an-aura-of-glamour-a-trail-of-tragedies.html.
  3. Cavanaugh, Jack. “Treetops: An Aura of Glamour, A Trail of Tragedies.” The New York Times, May 18, 1997. Accessed November 16, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/18/nyregion/treetops-an-aura-of-glamour-a-trail-of-tragedies.html.
  4. Cavanaugh, Jack. “Treetops: An Aura of Glamour, A Trail of Tragedies.” The New York Times, May 18, 1997. Accessed November 16, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/18/nyregion/treetops-an-aura-of-glamour-a-trail-of-tragedies.html.
  5. “India Trip.” Stanford University Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Accessed November 16, 2019. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/india-trip.
  6. Cavanaugh, Jack. “Treetops: An Aura of Glamour, A Trail of Tragedies.” The New York Times, May 18, 1997. Accessed November 16, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/18/nyregion/treetops-an-aura-of-glamour-a-trail-of-tragedies.html.
  7. Shapira, Ian. “He Was America’s Most Famous Pediatrician. Then Dr. Spock Attacked the Vietnam Draft.” The Washington Post, January 5, 2018. Accessed November 16, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/01/05/he-was-americas-most-famous-pediatrician-then-dr-spock-attacked-the-vietnam-draft/.
  8. “About Us.” The Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Inc. Accessed November 16, 2019.  https://creynolds.org/about-us/.
  9. “About Us.” The Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Inc. Accessed November 16, 2019.  https://creynolds.org/about-us/.
  10. “Andrea Panaritis.” Schumacher Center for a New Economics. Accessed November 10, 2019. http://69.167.148.157/people/andrea-panaritis.
  11. “John Roosevelt Boettiger.” LinkedIn. Accessed November 10, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-roosevelt-boettiger-b4548843/.
  12. “Welcome to Our New Advisors.” Living New Deal, January 29, 2014. Accessed November 10, 2019. https://livingnewdeal.org/welcome-new-advisors/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: April 1, 1953

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2015 Dec Form PF $880,545 $1,720,112 $19,882,505 $37,316 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $1,412,646 $1,543,479 $20,697,446 $23,935 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $1,716,830 $2,364,582 $20,849,255 $83,425 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $1,734,281 $1,901,896 $21,715,959 $302,377 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $833,927 $2,115,334 $21,793,752 $484,755 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2010 Dec Form PF $1,220,342 $1,908,900 $22,868,282 $297,241 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Christopher Reynolds Foundation

    2 Liberty Square
    Boston, MA 02110-1006