Cloud Mountain Foundation (CMF) is a New York City-based environmentalist organization led by Benjamin Friedman. The Foundation has given large donations to left-leaning civic and environmentalist organizations such as the Center for Media and Democracy, Democracy Now!, and the Proteus Fund. ¹

Funding

Cloud Mountain Foundation received a total of $133,678 in contributions in 2017, all of which came from Benjamin Friedman, president of the foundation. It operated with a total revenue of $7,386,057, and spent a total of $2,185,386. In 2017 CMF held total assets of more than $51 million. ²

Leadership

Benjamin Friedman is the president, founder, and sole listed officer or employee of CMF. ³

Sarah Stranahan serves as a consultant to the Cloud Mountain Foundation. She currently works as a senior editorial associate for the Democracy Collaborative, a left-leaning organization that, as she claims, “works to carry out a vision of a new economic system where shared ownership and control creates more equitable and inclusive outcomes.” She also served as co-chair on the board of advisors for New Economy Coalition, a left-leaning economic policy advocacy organization. ⁴

Organizations Funded

Left-Wing Media

Cloud Mountain Foundation made donations of $50,000 in 2017 and $200,000 in 2016 to the far-left Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). CMD operates the websites PRWatch and SourceWatch, two repositories for opposition research targeting business-aligned conservative groups. ⁵

CMF made a $40,000 donation to Truthout, ⁶ an online news outlet categorized as “strongly left-biased” by the online watchdog Media Bias Fact Check. According to the same organization, Truthout has a “mixed” record for factual reporting. ⁷

Cloud Mountain Foundation made a $5,000 donation to Democracy Now! in 2017. Democracy Now! is a left-leaning internet and TV news production company that broadcasts on stations such as NPR, PBS, and local college and university stations. ⁸

Environmentalist Radicals

In 2017 CMF made a $30,000 donation to the Ruckus Society, a left-wing organization that trains and supports protestors in the areas of environmentalism. ⁹ Other Cloud Mountain Foundation grantees include UnKoch My Campus, a far-left organization associated with the radical environmentalist group Greenpeace that aims to pressure schools not to take money from the Charles Koch Foundation and to harass scholars who have associated with the libertarian philanthropists Charles and David Koch. ¹⁰

CMF also made a $15,000 donation to Food and Water Watch, a radical environmental organization that advocates against natural gas exploration, bottled water, and genetically modified foods. ¹¹

Other Organizations

Cloud Mountain Foundation made a $50,000 donation to Proteus Fund, a large left-wing pass-through funding entity that funds left-wing organizations that advocate for LGBT interests, aim to reduce religious freedom to publicly dissent from liberal social policy, abolish capital punishment, reduce military spending, and limit electoral campaign advocacy. ¹²

Represent.Us lists Cloud Mountain Foundation as having donated between $10,000 and $99,999 in the organization’s lifetime. Represent.Us is a left-leaning organization that advocates for stricter regulations on political speech. ¹³

In 2017 CMF made a $20,000 donation to the Movement Strategy Center, a left-leaning organization based in Oakland, California which works with organizations that self-identify as socialist. ¹⁴

1. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization.
2. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part I: Analysis of Revenue and Expenses.
3. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part VIII: Information about Officers.
4. “User Profile: Sarah Stranahan.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-stranahan-61164a1a/.
5. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part XV: Supplemental Information: Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
6. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part XV: Supplemental Information: Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
7. “Truth Out.” Media Bias/Fact Check. April 7, 2019. Accessed May 15, 2019. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/truth-out/
8. Cloud Mountain Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV
9. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part XV: Supplemental Information: Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
10. Cloud Mountain Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV
11. Cloud Mountain Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV
12. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part XV: Supplemental Information: Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
13. “Donor List.” Represent.Us. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://represent.us/donor-list/.
14. 2017 IRS Form 990-PF: Return of Private Organization. Part XV: Supplemental Information: Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.