Franklin Education Forum is an activist organization that makes grants in support of left-of-center communications and advocacy campaigns. ¹ It is a fiscal sponsor of the 65 Project, a legal campaign with LawWorks, ² that took action against lawsuits issued by former President Donald Trump and his legal team disputing the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. ^{3 4}

According to its tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century Foundation founder David Brock is the chairman of Franklin Education Forum. ⁵

History and Leadership

Franklin Education Forum was founded in 2013. ⁶ According to its tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century Foundation founder David Brock is the chairman of Franklin Education Forum. ⁵

John Neffinger is the Franklin Education Forum’s president. As of April 2022, Pilar Martinez is the organization’s chief financial officer. President and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Federation of America Alexis McGill Johnson is the Forum’s treasurer, and its directors include former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D), Bill Smith, former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander (D), and Robert Mollineau. ⁵

The Franklin Education Forum is headquartered in Washington, D.C. ⁷

Activities and Funding

The Franklin Education Forum is an activist organization that makes grants in support of “progressive communications and programs.” ¹ The forum is the fiscal sponsor of the 65 Project, a legal campaign with LawWorks, ² that took action against lawsuits issued by former President Donald Trump and his legal team that disputed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. ^{3 4}

The Franklin Education Forum is also affiliated with the Bridge Together Foundation and the Rescue Project for Afghanistan. ⁸

In 2022, the forum spent $7,921,682 in support of “progressive communications and programs.” ¹ The organization also worked with the Bonner Group in support of $6,899,923 of fundraising efforts in 2022. ⁹

In 2022, the organization contracted with Lyons LLC, Teter Legal, Bonner Group Inc, Venio Inc, and NP Consulting for consulting, strategic consulting, and managing consulting. ⁵

Grantmaking

The Franklin Education Forum made $6,159,183 in grants in 2022. ⁵ These grants included $2,282,500 to the American Bridge 21st Century Foundation, $1,021,204 to the American Rescue Project, and $560,000 to the Alliance for Open Society International (Open Society Institute Baltimore). ⁵

In 2021, the Forum made $2,957,065 worth of grants. These grants included $350,000 to Inseparable, $300,000 to Saratoga Advisors Group, $286,150 to Nobis Group, $254,768 to the National Able Network, $200,000 to the American Independent, $200,000 to Bard College, and $182,500 to the American Bridge 21st Century Foundation. ¹⁰

Funding

The Franklin Education Forum receives its funding from individual contributions and grants. In 2022, the Franklin Education Forum reported revenues of $6,901,639 and expenses of $8,236,212. In 2021, the organization reported revenues of $4,912,426 and expenses of $3,463,478. ⁵

In 2024, the Franklin Education Forum received $50,000 from the left-of-center Park Foundation. ¹¹

In 2022, Franklin Education Forum received $1,810,000 from the Boston Foundation (TBF) for immigrant and refugee support, $1,025,000 from the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, ¹² $250,000 from the Morningstar Foundation, $250,000 from the Democracy Fund, ¹³ and $200,000 from the Isdell Foundation. ¹⁴

The Forum also received $50,000 from the Bessemer Giving Fund in 2021; ¹⁵ $89,950 from the Tides Foundation in 2020; ¹⁶ $229,000 from Media Matters for America in 2017; ¹⁷ and additional funding from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston in 2021. ¹⁸

1. “Franklin Education Forum.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part III. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463009324/202343199349322194/full.
2. “LawWorks.” Democracy Fund. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://democracyfund.org/grant/lawworks/.
3. “LawWorks.” Democracy Fund, Accessed February 21, 2023. https://democracyfund.org/grant/lawworks/
4. “Franklin Education Forum.” The Bauman Foundation, Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.baumanfoundation.org/grantee/223.
5.  “Franklin Education Forum.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463009324/202343199349322194/full.
6. “The Franklin Education Forum.” Cause IQ. Accessed November 11, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-franklin-education-forum,463009324/.
7. “Franklin Education Forum.” The Bauman Foundation. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://baumanfoundation.org/grantee/223.
8. “Franklin Education Forum.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule R. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463009324/202343199349322194/full.
9. “Franklin Education Forum.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule G. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463009324/202343199349322194/full.
10. “ The Franklin Education Forum.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Part I and Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463009324/202213199349323496/full.
11. “Franklin Education Forum.” Park Foundation. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.parkfoundation.org/grantees/franklin-education-forum/.
12. “Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule I. https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/content/dam/fc-public/docs/fc/fc-990-fy-2023-schedule-i.pdf.
13.  “Franklin Education Forum.” CauseIQ. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-franklin-education-forum,463009324/.
14. “Isdell Foundation.” CauseIQ. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/isdell-foundation,223341359/.
15. “Bessemer Giving Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/137111099/202243189349317619/IRS990ScheduleI.
16. “Tides Foundaiton.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Schedule I. https://web.archive.org/web/20240701050441/https://www.tides.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2020_Tides-Foundation_Form-990-Public-Disclosure-1.pdf.
17. “Media Matters for America.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/470928008/201833199349301723/full.
18. “Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule I. https://cdn.fedweb.org/fed-34/2/Form%2520990%2520-%25202021.pdf.