Dwoskin Family Foundation

The Dwoskin Family Foundation is the personal private foundation of Democratic Party donors Albert Dwoskin and his wife, Claire. In addition to funding left-of-center organizations, the Dwoskin Family Foundation is a prominent financer of anti-vaccine groups, including the National Vaccine Information Center, which CNN calls “the loudest voice” in the anti-vaccine movement. 1 It also supports an anti-vaccine research nonprofit founded by Claire Dwoskin known as The Children’s Medical Safety Research Institute, which funds research into vaccines, autism, and other controversial public health issues such as the safety of “aluminum-tainted everyday products.” 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Formation:

2001

Primary Funders:

Albert and Claire Dwoskin

Location: Reston, VA View on map
Tax ID: 54-2060115
Most Recent Filing: 2023
Budget (2023): Assets: $3,179,218 Revenue: $1,108,175 Expenses: $458,441

Contents

    The Dwoskin Family Foundation was established in 2001 and reported just under $5 million in assets in 2017. 3

    Albert and Claire Dwoskin

    The Dwoskin Family Foundation is funded entirely by Albert and Claire Dwoskin of McLean, Virginia, with typical annual contributions from the couple of around $1.5 million.

    The Dwoskins are contributors to numerous Democratic political causes and campaigns, including those related to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who have each personally attended fundraisers at the Dwoskin’s home in Virginia. 4 5

    Albert Dwoskin attained wealth through real estate development. He continues to serve as President and CEO of A.J. Dwoskin & Associates, Inc., which develops retail centers and residential rental properties in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia. 6

    He is the chairman of Catalist, a for-profit corporation originally funded by George Soros that specializes in microtargeting for Democratic political campaigns. 7 He is also chairman emeritus of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-wing advocacy and agitation group. 8

    Claire Dwoskin formerly served as a finance vice-chair for the Democratic National Committee, and has been active in Democratic political efforts. She has been a prominent activist in the anti-vaccine movement over the past decade.9 She once referred to vaccines as “a holocaust of poison on our children’s brains and immune systems.”10

    Anti-Vaccine Research and Advocacy

    The Dwoskin Family Foundation is a prominent contributor to anti-vaccine groups and causes. It has donated more than $260,000 to the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), for which Claire Dwoskin serves as a board director. Specifically, it has funded NVIC campaigns about the supposed dangers of vaccination, and sponsored the 2009 NVIC “Show us the Science and Give us the Choice” conference on vaccines.9

    The Foundation provided seed funding and guidance for the 2011 documentary The Greater Good,11 which the New York Times called an “emotionally manipulative, heavily partial look at the purported link between autism and childhood immunization.” 12

    Claire Dwoskin also founded and co-chaired the Vaccine Safety Conference in Jamaica, a controversial gathering of vaccine skeptics. 13

    Political and Religious Grantmaking

    The Dwoskin Family Foundation is a contributor to the Institute for New Economic Thinking,14 a liberal economic think tank founded by George Soros to promote left-wing economic theories. 15 The Foundation also funds Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which does left-leaning legal advocacy work, and Media Matters for America, critic of conservative media, two organizations associated with controversial Clinton family-associated Democratic operative David Brock. 16

    The Dwoskin Family Foundation has also provided regular support to Aish Seminars of Rockville, Maryland, a series of seminars on parenting and marriage in Judaism. 17

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2023 $3,179,218 $1,108,175 $458,441 View
    2022 $2,529,484 $3,945 $464,523 View
    2021 $2,990,062 $2,040 $432,477 View
    2020 $3,420,499 $3,814 $432,325 View
    2019 $3,847,267 $31,744 $518,379 View

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

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $6,952,533
    • Number of Grants: 152
    • Number of Recipients: 82

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

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $200,0002023 Vet Voice Foundation IncEMPOWERS MILITARY VETERANS TO BECOME CIVIC LEADERS AND POLICY ADVOCATES BY PROVIDING THE SUPPORT, TRAINING, AND TOOLS THEY NEED TO CONTINUE
    $180,0002022 Counteract FoundationCOUNTERING MISINFORMATION AND PROVIDED UNBIASED INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
    $180,0002021 VOTO LATINO FOUNDATION, INCEMPOWERING LATINX VOTERS
    $150,0002020 The American IndependentSUPPORT LIBERAL INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM EFFORTS
    $100,0002023 Virginia Commonwealth UniversitySUPPORT A VIBRANT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS STUDENTS
    $100,0002022 Franklin Education ForumTO PROVIDE GRANTS FOR MEDIA TRAINING AND ONGOING COACHING IN ORDER TO IMPROVE AND DEVELOP THE CAPABILITIES OF PROGRESSIVE MESSENGERS.
    $100,0002020 When We All VoteFUEL THE VOTE PROGRAM
    $55,0002021 State Leadership ProjectTHE CHALLENGES OF POLLING AND AN OVERVIEW OF A PILOT PROJECT WE ARE PLANNING IN VIRGINIA
    $50,0002022 Inova Health FoundationICAMS (DR CHEIFETZ)
    $50,0002021 Inova Health FoundationMEDICAL STUDENT EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FUND
    $42,5002020 Inova Health Foundation$30,000 COVID 19 RELIEF FUND$2,500 INOVA HONORS$10,000 PROVIDED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES
    $40,0002023 Inova Health FoundationICAMS (DR CHEIFETZ)
    $32,5002023 The American Friends of Jamaica, Inc.ASSIST JAMAICAN CHARITIES IN THE AREAS OF EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE AND, HUMAN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
    $32,0002022 Media Matters for AmericaCOMPREHENSIVELY MONITORING, ANALYZING, AND CORRECTING CONSERVATIVE MISINFORMATION IN THE U.S. MEDIA
    $32,0002021 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington IncSUPPORT NONPARTISAN U.S. GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY WATCHDOG ORGANIZATION
    $32,0002021 Media Matters for AmericaCOMPREHENSIVELY MONITORING, ANALYZING, AND CORRECTING CONSERVATIVE MISINFORMATION IN THE U.S. MEDIA
    $32,0002020 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington IncSUPPORT NONPARTISAN U.S. GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY WATCHDOG ORGANIZATION
    $32,0002020 Media Matters for AmericaCOMPREHENSIVELY MONITORING, ANALYZING, AND CORRECTING CONSERVATIVE MISINFORMATION IN THE U.S. MEDIA
    $25,0002022 Howard UniversityGRACE GRANT
    $25,0002022 NEO PhilanthropyCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PAC TO FEDERAL CANDIDATES
    $25,0002021 NEO PhilanthropyCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PACCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PAC TO FEDERAL CANDIDATESCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PAC TO FEDERAL CANDIDATESCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PAC TO FEDERAL CANDIDATESCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PACCONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS PAC
    $25,0002020 People for the American Way FoundationPROGRESSIVE ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS FOUNDED TO FIGHT RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM AND BUILD A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
    $10,0002023 INOVA – Kellar CenterKEVIN REYNOLDS/DR LEICHTWEIS
    $10,0002023 Virginia Public Access ProjectELEVATES PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF POLITICS AND MORE.
    $10,0002022 Cystic Fibrosis FoundationPROVIDE THE MEANS TO CURE CYSTIC FIBROSIS AND ENSURE THAT THOSE LIVING WITH CF LIVE LONG AND PRODUCTIVE LIVES.

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

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “The Money Behind The Vaccine Skeptics.” CNN Money. Accessed March 10, 2019, https://money.cnn.com/video/news/2015/02/05/the-money-behind-the-vaccine-medical-myth.cnnmoney/
    2. “Home – Our Story”. Accessed March 10, 2019, https://www.cmsri.org/
    3. “Profile for Dwoskin Family Foundation.” CharityNavigator.org. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=542060115
    4. Kucinich, J. “These Anti-Vaxxers Are Funding ‘Ready for Hillary’” The Daily Beast. February 4, 2015. Accessed March 10, 2019, https://www.thedailybeast.com/these-anti-vaxxers-are-funding-ready-for-hillary
    5. Center for Responsive Politics. “Search Results for Albert Dwoskin.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/
    6. Governing Board – Albert Dwoskin Biography. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.cmsri.org/about/governing-board/
    7. Knight, R. “Catalist, The Left’s Secret Electoral Weapon, Outguns GOP.” Washington Times. September 19, 2014. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/19/knight-the-lefts-mighty-catalist/
    8. Our Board. CREW. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.citizensforethics.org/who-we-are/our-team/crew-board/
    9. Governing Board – Claire Dwoskin Biography. CMSRI. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://www.cmsri.org/about/governing-board/
    10. Stossel, J. “Holocaust of Poison”? FOX Business. October 30, 2010. Accessed March 10, 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20110606043826/http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/blog/2010/10/30/holocaust-of-poison
    11. “Profile for Dwoskin Family Foundation.” CrunchBase.com. Accessed March 10, 2019, https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/dwoskin-family-foundation#section-related-hubs
    12. Catsoulis, J. “’The Greater Good’ – Review.” New York Times. November 17, 2011. Accessed March 10, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/movies/the-greater-good-review.html
    13. “The 2011 ‘Vaccine Safety Conference’ in Jamaica.” Left Brain Right Brain. October 6, 2011. Accessed March 10, 2019. https://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2011/10/06/the-2011-vaccine-safety-conference-in-jamaica/
    14. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Dwoskin Family Foundation (2067). Pg. 14.
    15. “Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) Announces Major Fund-Raising Initiatives.” Institute for New Economic Thinking. April 13, 2012. Accessed June 27, 2017. https://www.ineteconomics.org/about/news/2012/institute-for-new-economic-thinking-inet-announces-major-fund-raising-initiatives.
    16. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Dwoskin Family Foundation (2017). Pg. 15.
    17. Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Dwoskin Family Foundation (2017). Pg. 22.