Non-profit

Endeavor Foundation

Location:

New York, NY

Tax ID:

13-6147952

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $25,334,795
Expenses: $25,821,296
Assets: $365,349,113

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The Endeavor Foundation is a private foundation that funds liberal arts colleges and left-leaning policy advocacy groups, such as the Brennan Center, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, 350.org, the Climate Reality Project and the National Vote at Home Institute. As of 2023, Endeavor reported net assets of $407.8 million. 1

Endeavor has pledged or paid multiple five and six figure grants to Bennington College’s Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellowship Program, 2 3 and Bennington’s Beyond Plastics project. 4 Beyond Plastics promotes campaigns against plastic products in multiple states, and trains student activists.5 Beyond Plastics has opposed conventional plastic recycling,6 opposed recycling plastic into energy to produce electricity,6 opposed replacing traditional plastic products with supposedly biodegradable substitutes,7 opposed using plastic PVC pipes to replace lead water pipes,8 and opposed the continued production and use of hydrocarbon energy sources, such as oil, natural gas and coal.9 Beyond Plastics has supported bans on plastic shopping bags,10 laws that require reducing the use of paper shopping bags, 10 and lawsuits filed by Democratic state attorneys general against petroleum and plastic producers.11 12

Background

The Christian A. Johnson Foundation (subsequently renamed the Endeavor Foundation) was founded in New York City in 1952 by Christian A. Johnson, a Swedish immigrant, financier and former director of the American Natural Gas Company. Johnson passed away in 1964, and leadership of Endeavor passed to his daughter, Julie Johnson Kidd. As of 2023, Julie J. Kidd was the president and treasurer of the Endeavor and was paid total annual compensation of $356,000. Her daughter, Ashley B. Kidd, was the vice president and director of programs, and paid a total annual compensation of $208,000. 13 14 15

In 2014, Julie Kidd said that liberal education and liberal arts colleges were Endeavor’s “primary area of focus.” She also claimed that “Endeavor’s grantmaking has always emanated from the principles by which my father lived his life” and that “he was focused in his foundation work on providing high quality educational opportunities for young people; on the development of an organic farm, believing that the use of artificial chemicals would gradually poison our environment; on the development of public television, believing that commercial television had the potential to become a negative influence on our society; and on the development of young talent in the arts.” 16

A biography of Christian A. Johnson posted by Rollins College reported that he “maintained a lifelong interest in education, medical research, and youth development” and was “an advocate of the free enterprise system and the study of economics.” 13

As of 2023, Endeavor reported net assets of $407.8 million. 15

Grant Activity

Endeavor’s IRS filings, coving 2020 through 2023, show a cumulative total of $59.6 million in grants paid. The largest recipients were colleges and universities such as Middlebury College, Sterling College, Gettysburg College, Harvard University, Elon University and the Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts. 1

Left-leaning grant recipients

More than $5.9 million of the $59.6 million total paid during the four-year period was granted to 12 left leaning nonprofits, including the Brennan Center ($1,750,000 total), the Protect Democracy Project ($1.1 million), Free Speech for People ($653,000), Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors ($554,000), 350.org ($500,000), Make the Road New York ($310,000), the Climate Reality Project -formerly the Alliance for Climate Protection ($301,000), the New Economy Coalition ($275,000), Riverkeeper ($160,000), Freedom for Immigrants ($150,000), National Vote at Home Institute ($150,000) and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice ($50,000). 1

Beyond Plastics

Beyond Plastics is a project of Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action. The group promotes campaigns against plastic products in multiple states, and trains student activists.5 Beyond Plastics has opposed conventional plastic recycling,6 opposed recycling plastic into energy to produce electricity,6 opposed replacing traditional plastic products with supposedly biodegradable substitutes,7 opposed using plastic PVC pipes to replace lead water pipes,8 and opposed the continued production and use of hydrocarbon energy sources, such as oil, natural gas and coal.9 Beyond Plastics has supported bans on plastic shopping bags,10 laws that require reducing the use of paper shopping bags, 10 and lawsuits filed by Democratic state attorneys general against petroleum and plastic producers.11 12

The founder and first president of Beyond Plastics is Judith Enck, a former EPA official in the Obama administration. As of January 2025, she was a visiting fellow and instructor at the Center for the Advancement of Public Action. 17

In January 2020 Bennington College announced a $290,000 commitment from the Endeavor Foundation “to launch The Endeavor Foundation Environmental Changemaker Fellowship Program, which includes funded internships for Bennington students to work in nonprofits with a focus on environmental justice.” 18

“We are so pleased to launch this program and expand our fellowship model to include critically needed fellowships in environmental action,” said Isabel Roche of the grant from Endeavor. “They are a natural extension of Bennington’s distinctly experiential approach to learning and our commitment to empowering students in their pursuit of solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.” 18

Roche was credited in the 2020 news release as the interim president of Bennington. 18 In its 2021 IRS filing, Endeavor listed “Isabel Roche O’Brien” as the “executive director of special programs.” 2 In the 2023 IRS filing from Endeavor, Isabel Roche O’Brien’s salary and other compensation were reported at just shy of $270,000. 4

In the 2021 and 2022 IRS reports, Endeavor pledged $150,000 in future payments to Bennington’s Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellowship Program. 2 3 In the 2023 report Endeavor reported a $75,000 grant to Bennington’s Beyond Plastics project and $72,500 to Bennington’s Endeavor Foundation Environmental Action Fellowship Program. 4

An April 2024 news release from Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action promoted the policy activism engaged in by CAPA interns benefitting from the Endeavor Environmental Action Fellowships. The interns were working under the direction of Beyond Plastics president Judith Enck. The news release quoted Endeavor director of programs Ashley Kidd praising the students via a Zoom connection. 19

The April 2024 news release included a subsection titled “Pulling the Levers of Power” in which some of the Endeavor interns recounted their success in influencing policymakers. The release claimed the intern placed with New York Communities for Change “followed an influential lawmaker to a speaking engagement and held signs quietly to ensure the audience knew that he was falling short on a promise to divest from a major polluter.” 19

References

  1. Endeavor Foundation. EIN: 13-6147952. IRS Form 990s for 2020 (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202141169349100044/full), 2021 (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202231359349100308/full), 2022 (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202331319349102668/full) and 2023 (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202431219349100138/full)
  2. Endeavor Foundation Inc. 2021 IRS Form 990. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202231359349100308/full
  3. Endeavor Foundation Inc. 2022 IRS Form 990. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202331319349102668/full
  4. Endeavor Foundation Inc. 2023 IRS Form 990. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202431219349100138/full
  5. “About.” Beyond Plastics. Accessed January 28, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/about
  6. “New Report Reveals that U.S. Plastics Recycling Rate Has Fallen to 5%-6%.” Beyond Plastics. May 4, 2022. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/the-real-truth-about-plastics-recycling
  7. “New Report Reveals Challenges of ‘Biodegradable’ and ‘Compostable’ Plastic, Provides Guide to Choosing Best Products.” Beyond Plastics. July 11, 2024. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/report-bioplastics
  8. “EPA Must Go One Step Further in Replacing Lead Service Lines & Advise Against Using PVC Plastic Pipes.” Beyond Plastics. December 1, 2023. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/epa-must-go-further-lslr
  9. “NYC March to End Fossil Fuels.” Beyond Plastics. September 17, 2023
  10. “Environmental Leaders Cheer Gov. Murphy’s Signature on the Strongest Single-Use Waste Ban Bill in the Nation.” Beyond Plastics. November 4, 2020. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/nj-single-use-ban-bill
  11. “Beyond Plastics Praises NY State Attorney General Letitia James For Launching Major Plastic Pollution Lawsuit Against PepsiCo.” Beyond Plastics. November 15, 2023. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/ny-ag-lawsuit-pepsi
  12. “Beyond Plastics Praises California Attorney General for ‘Single Most Consequential Lawsuit Filed Against the Plastics Industry.’” Beyond Plastics. September 23, 2024. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/california-ag-exxon-lawsuit-9-23-24
  13. “About the Endeavor Center.” Rollins College. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://www.rollins.edu/endeavor/about/
  14. “Can Philanthropy Be a Profession? Should it Be?” HistPhil (History of Philanthropy). July 27, 2016. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://histphil.org/2016/07/27/can-philanthropy-be-a-profession-should-it-be/
  15. Endeavor Foundation Inc. 2023 IRS Form 990. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136147952/202431219349100138/full
  16. Kidd, Julie J. “Funder’s Forum: The Endeavor Foundation A conversation with Julie J. Kidd.” Candid Learning. September 15, 2014. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://learningforfunders.candid.org/content/foundation-center-features/funders-forum-the-endeavor-foundation/
  17. “Judith Enck, President.” Beyond Plastics. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.beyondplastics.org/staff/judith-enck-president
  18. “$290,000 Awarded to Launch Environmental Fellowship Program.” Bennington College. January 21, 2020. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.bennington.edu/news-and-features/290000-awarded-launch-environmental-fellowship-program
  19. “Learning to Take Public Action: Endeavor Environmental Action Fellowships 2024.” Bennington College. April 29, 2024. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.bennington.edu/news-and-features/learning-take-public-action-endeavor-environmental-action-fellowships-2024
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: January 1, 1954

  • 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
    2022 Dec Form PF $25,334,795 $25,821,296 $365,349,113 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2021 Dec Form PF $35,073,695 $14,842,031 $472,566,437 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2020 Dec Form PF $16,610,623 $11,413,417 $338,138,728 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $14,379,036 $9,062,825 $338,207,244 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form PF $19,160,750 $8,997,413 $199,970,406 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $14,417,178 $10,645,838 $219,722,774 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $29,871,852 $9,818,071 $214,030,415 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $6,202,744 $9,794,571 $177,585,874 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $8,157,958 $19,277,815 $184,461,163 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Endeavor Foundation

    1060 PARK AVE
    New York, NY 10128-1008