CrossCurrents Foundation

CrossCurrents Foundation was founded by Ken Grossinger, a Democratic political consultant and director of the Impact Philanthropy and Donor Advising Division at Democracy Partners. ¹ The CrossCurrents Foundation provides grants to organizations which promote left-progressive policy through art and other left-of-center organizations.

Grantmaking Activity

In 2017, the CrossCurrents Foundation distributed $500,400 in grants. Of all grants dispersed that year, 61.3 percent of all funding went to art-focused organizations, especially those focused in the visual arts. ²

Arts

Most of the art projects and organizations funded by the Foundation have strong left-liberal overtones. ² The Foundation gave grants to groups like Documentary Educational Resources ($50,000), an organization which promotes left-of-center policies through filmmaking. ³

The CrossCurrents Foundation gave one of its largest grants in 2017 to The Nation Institute (now known as TYPE Media Center), a liberal media group associated with far-left magazine The Nation. ⁴

The CrossCurrents Foundation has also been involved in funding projects designed to smear right-of-center political groups and donors, such as the 2018 PBS documentary Dark Money. Produced to condemn the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that recognized speech rights for certain organizations, the film is designed to “expose” conservative donors and organizations. Ironically, the film is funded by several prominent liberal donors, including the CrossCurrents Foundation. ⁵

Environmentalism

While the CrossCurrents Foundation awarded most grants to arts organizations with political agendas, the Foundation also provided grants to major advocacy organizations, including several environmentalist groups. These grants include an $18,850 grant to the Environmental Grantmakers Association, a grantmaking organization with over 200 member organizations across North America and around the world. ⁶ A 2014 minority staff report from the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works listed the Environmental Grantmakers Association as one of the three “key facilitators” of the environmental movement. ⁷

The CrossCurrents Foundation also contributed $20,000 to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) in 2017. CCAN is a chapter of the US Climate Action Network known for its particularly aggressive, far-left environmentalist campaigns. CCAN has drawn criticism from within the environmentalist community as well, clashing with other environmentalists over wind power. ⁸ The notably blockaded the door of then-U.S. Representative Rick Boucher’s (D-VA) door to protest coal mining which led to the arrest of several CCAN members, including the group’s founder, Mike Tidwell. ⁹

Liberal Policy

Alongside art and environmentalism, the CrossCurrents Foundation provides funding to promote far-left policies across all areas of society. Notable grant recipients in 2017 include the Alliance for Justice, a liberal judicial advocacy group which received a $20,000 grant from the Foundation. ²

Demos, a far-left policy organization with close ties to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), also received a $10,000 grant from the Foundation in 2017. ²¹⁰

People’s Action Institute is also among the recipients of CrossCurrents Foundation grants, receiving $25,000 in general support from the Foundation in 2017. ¹¹ The People’s Action Institute is an aggressive left-wing advocacy organization with close ties to left-wing fundraising center Democracy Alliance. ¹²

Funding and Leadership

The CrossCurrents Foundation was founded by Ken Grossinger, who has served as chief operating officer of the Foundation since its beginning. ² Grossinger, a Principal at Democracy Partners, has worked as a political strategist for national labor unions, including Service Employees International Union and AFL-CIO. ¹³ Grossinger is also active on the boards of several left-wing nonprofits, serving as chair of the Alliance for Justice, vice chair of the D.C. Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and general board member of TYPE Media, the Environmental Grantmakers Association, and Grantmakers in the Arts. ¹ All of these organizations, except for the D.C. Housing Authority, have received sizable donations from the CrossCurrents Foundation. ²

Micheline Klagsbrun, Ken Grossinger’s wife, serves as president of the CrossCurrents Foundation. Klagsbrun is listed as the only officer who has contributed funding to the Foundation. ² Klagsbrun gave most of the initial funding for the organization with a $150,000 donation in 2006. ¹⁴ Funding has since been given by two holdings companies which share an address: Rosegg Holdings and Celerina Holdings. ¹⁵