Deer Creek Foundation

The Deer Creek Foundation is a grantmaking organization which funds left-of-center causes, especially those related to the environment and legal issues. 1 While the Deer Creek Foundation does not limit its giving geographically, it is especially focused on issues in and around St. Louis, Missouri, where it is headquartered. 1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Issue Areas: Environmental Policy
Location: Saint Louis, MO View on map
Tax ID: 43-6052774
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $53,260,886 Revenue: $2,704,226 Expenses: $3,403,260

Notable Grants

The Deer Creek Foundation is primarily focused on advocating left of center policy in the fields of law and the environment. 1 Although the Deer Creek Foundation has a secondary mission focused on grants for St. Louis artists who work with physical media, this is a minority focus, and does not comprise a significant number of grants. In filings from 2015, 2016, and 2017 no grants were provided to any individuals, including artists. 2 3 1

In 2017, the Deer Creek Foundation gave major grants, totaling $100,000 or more to the six organizations listed here in the fields of environmental and legal advocacy and to local public radio in St. Louis. 1

The Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC)

The goal of the Constitutional Accountability Center is to advance and enable a left of center view of the constitution and its associated law. 4 It does this through broad ranging advocacy efforts that include briefs and public commentary, as well as support for specific cases they believe will help create left-of-center precedents in American courts. 5

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

The NRDC is a left-wing environmentalist organization that campaigns against climate change and other environmental issues it deems important. 6 It has had a large effect on American law, litigating Chevron v. NRDC, one of the most cited legal cases in American legal history. The result of the ruling was to expand the administrative law powers of executive level federal agencies substantially. 7 In recent years, the NRDC has championed left-wing thinking on environmental issues, encouraging individuals to stop using streaming services like Netflix to avoid climate change. 8

Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)

AFR is a left of center organization that campaigns for increased regulation on the financial services industry. 9 It has championed legislation to limit the activities of private equity funds. 10 They are supported by a number of left-wing organizations including the AFL-CIO and National People’s Action, a left-wing activist organization with a wide focus. 11

Civil Rights Corps

Civil Rights corps is a left-of-center non-profit organization which focuses on criminal justice activism, with a nationwide focus. 12

St. Louis Public Radio (Friends of KWMU)

Money was donated by the Deer Creek Foundation for the benefit of KWMU’s We Live Here podcast which discusses the relations between different racial and ethnic groups in St. Louis. 13 The 2017 Deer Creek Foundation grant was earmarked to help finance season 3 of the podcast. 1

John Muir Project of the Earth Island Institute

The John Muir Project of the Earth Island Institute is a left-wing environmentalist project which opposes activities it deems harmful to the environment, with a special focus on opposition to logging in the Pacific Northwest. 14 It has been especially active in the areas of litigation, which the Deer Creek Foundation acknowledged in a 2017 grant summary. 1 They are also concerned with global warming, with Chad Hanson, a ecologist for the John Muir Project, writing that logging was exacerbating the problem. 15

Financial Statistics

Total Assets

Total Revenue

Total Expenses

YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
2024 $53,260,886 $2,704,226 $3,403,260 View
2023 $49,799,891 $1,129,359 $3,452,633 View
2022 $52,850,028 $2,499,960 $3,766,064 View
2021 $58,886,893 $6,196,102 $3,182,321 View
2020 $54,864,372 $1,513,245 $3,342,901 View

Prior year filings: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Expenses Detail

Employee Compensation

Highest Earning Employees

EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
Michael P FischerTRUSTEE/DIRECTOR$132,500

Grant Activity

All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

  • Total Grant Value: $38,810,598
  • Number of Grants: 290
  • Number of Recipients: 66

Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

AmountYearFunderSubject
$1,000,0002024 Archcity DefendersSUPPORT LITIGATION AGAINST ABUSES IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM
$375,0002022 EarthjusticeSUPPORT LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
$350,0002023 EarthjusticeSUPPORT LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
$325,0002023 Archcity DefendersSUPPORT LITIGATION AGAINST ABUSES IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM
$315,0002022 Archcity DefendersSUPPORT LITIGATION AGAINST ABUSES IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM
$300,0002021 Archcity DefendersSUPPORT LITIGATION AGAINST ABUSES IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM
$250,0002020 Archcity DefendersSUPPORT LITIGATION AGAINST ABUSES IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM
$225,0002023 Constitutional Accountability CenterSUPPORT LITIGATION AND EDUCATION EXPOSING COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
$225,0002023 Natural Resources Defense Council IncFOR ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION PROTECTING PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
$225,0002022 Constitutional Accountability CenterSUPPORT LITIGATION AND EDUCATION EXPOSING COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
$225,0002022 Natural Resources Defense Council IncFOR ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION PROTECTING PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
$225,0002021 Constitutional Accountability CenterSUPPORT LITIGATION AND EDUCATION EXPOSING COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
$200,0002024 Constitutional Accountability CenterSUPPORT LITIGATION AND EDUCATION EXPOSING COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
$200,0002024 EarthjusticeSUPPORT LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
$200,0002022 Americans United for Separation of Church and StateSUPPORT EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, AND LITIGATION AGAINST RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
$200,0002021 EarthjusticeSUPPORT LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
$200,0002021 Natural Resources Defense Council IncFOR ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION PROTECTING PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
$200,0002020 Constitutional Accountability CenterSUPPORT LITIGATION AND EDUCATION EXPOSING COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
$185,0002023 Public Justice FoundationFOR LITIGATION TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO COURTROOM JUSTICE BY FIGHTING AGAINST FORCED ARBITRATION, CLASS ACTION PROHIBITIONS, AND FEDERAL PREEMPTION.
$175,0002023 Americans United for Separation of Church and StateSUPPORT EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, AND LITIGATION AGAINST RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
$175,0002020 EarthjusticeSUPPORT LITIGATION AND ADVOCACY FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS
$170,0002020 Natural Resources Defense Council IncFOR ADVOCACY AND LITIGATION PROTECTING PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
$150,0002023 Center for Progressive Reform IncSUPPORT RESEARCH AND EDUCATION TO STRENGTHEN EVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
$150,0002022 Center for Progressive Reform IncSUPPORT RESEARCH AND EDUCATION TO STRENGTHEN EVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
$150,0002022 Civil Rights CorpsSUPPORT LITIGATION AGAINST ABUSES IN THE AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM

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Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

Mentioned in this Article

References

1. The Deer Creek Foundation, IRS 990, 2017
2. The Deer Creek Foundation, IRS 990, 2015
3. The Deer Creek Foundation, IRS 990, 2016
4. Mauro, Tony. “Liberals Launch Firm for Constitutional Fights.” Legal Times, June 6, 2008.
5. CAC. “Our Method.” Constitutional Accountability Center. Accessed November 3, 2019. https://www.theusconstitution.org/about-cac/method/.
6. NRDC. “About Us.” National Resource Defense Council. Accessed November 3, 2019. https://www.nrdc.org/about.
7. Braun, Eric M. “Coring the Seedless Grape: A Reinterpretation of Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. NRDC.” Columbia Law Review 87, no. 5 (1987): 986. https://doi.org/10.2307/1122723.
8. AFP. “Chill Your Netflix Habit, Climate Experts Say.” AsiaOne, October 25, 2019. https://www.asiaone.com/digital/chill-your-netflix-habit-climate-experts-say.
9. AFR. “About Us.” Americans for Financial Reform. Accessed November 3, 2019. http://ourfinancialsecurity.org/about/.
10. The Editorial Board. “Opinion | Elizabeth the Vampire Slayer.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, August 9, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/elizabeth-the-vampire-slayer-11565388500.
11. “Coalition Members.” Americans for Financial Reform. Accessed November 3, 2019. http://ourfinancialsecurity.org/about/coalition-members/.
12. CRC. “Challenging the Money Bail System.” Civil Rights Corps. Accessed November 3, 2019. https://www.civilrightscorps.org/work/wealth-based-detention.
13. Aldridge, Riley, and Jia Lian Yang. “Fifth Season Of We Live Here Explores Regional Divides In STL.” St. Louis Public Radio, October 24, 2019. https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/fifth-season-we-live-here-explores-regional-divides-stl#stream/0.
14. Hedlund, Patric. “Logging Industry Rips off the Mask–and the Gloves-in Tecuya Ridge Lawsuit.” The Mountain Enterprise, October 25, 2019. https://mountainenterprise.com/story/logging-industry-rips-off-the-mask-and-the-gloves-in-tecuya-ridge-lawsuit/.
15. Smith, Danna, Chad Hanson, and Matthew Koehler. “Logging Drives Carbon Emissions from U.S. Forests, Escalates Climate Crisis.” Missoula Current, October 2, 2019. https://missoulacurrent.com/opinion/2019/10/logging-carbon-emissions/.