GreenLight Fund, Inc. is a left-of-center nonprofit that makes small grants to targeted local and regional charities in 13 cities in the United States. The group was founded in 2004 by Margaret Hall, a long-time nonprofit executive in Georgia and was originally funded by John Simon, a venture capitalist who has funded other left-of-center nonprofits. ^{1 2}

As of March 2024, the foundation has locations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities. ³

Race-Based Advocacy

According to its website, GreenLight Fund is “committed to intentionally and explicitly centering racial equity internally and in [its] program work.” The group further states on its website that minorities face “deep-rooted racism, poverty, health disparities and a lack of opportunities perpetuated over generations by unjust systems and policies. These are compounded when there are intersections with gender and sexual identities, disabilities, age, religious beliefs and other categories that can marginalize people.” ⁴

GreenLight Fund partners with Genesys Works, a nonprofit that deals with large companies to reserve positions for minority candidates. ⁵ From 2021 to March 2023, GreenLight Fund made donations totaling $60,000 to Compass Working Capital, a left-of-center non-profit funded primarily by Blackrock that makes emergency relief grants to minority groups in low-income areas of the US. ⁶ GreenLight Fund also donated $10,000 in 2022 to Narrative Nation, a non-profit that creates media campaigns and whose mission statement states: “statistical evidence, medical research and appeals to logic and reason…have failed to significantly narrow persistent health disparities, particularly among African American and Latino communities.” ^{7 8}

Leadership

Margaret Hall is the CEO and co-founder of GreenLight Fund. Hall was the highest compensated officer of the entity in 2022, earning $211,270. ⁹ She formerly worked as a fellow at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, a left-leaning survey and advisory organization. ¹⁰ She has donated to the election funds of Democratic politicians, including $750 to the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, $750 to the campaign of Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), $2,250 to the senatorial campaign of Michelle Nunn (D-GA), and $250 to the campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). ¹¹

Robert Mays is the vice president of people, equity, and culture for GreenLight Fund. ¹² He was one of the highest paid employees of the organization in 2022, receiving$196,357. ⁹ Mays formerly worked as a vice president of people and culture for Planned Parenthood. ¹³

Numerous left-of-center non-profit executives sit on the board of directors of GreenLight Fund. Some of the notable members include Kerry Sullivan, president of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation; Michelle Jolin, CEO and co-founder of Results for America; Carol Goss, former CEO of the Skillman Foundation, a prominent Detroit-based left-of-center grantmaking entity; and Paul Carttar, former director of the Obama administration-created Social Innovation Fund. ¹⁴

Financials

According to 2022 tax returns, GreenLight Fund received total contributions of $21,589,916. In the same year, the entity reported net assets of $52,283,215. ¹⁵

GreenLight Fund receives funding from many left-of-center groups. GreenLight Fund received $750,000 since 2017 from the Ford Foundation, one of the largest left-of-center grantmaking foundations in the US ¹⁶ $450,000 since 2022 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation¹⁷; and $235,000 since 2020 from the Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund, a grantmaking institution serving employees of Goldman Sachs. ¹⁸ GreenLight Fund also received $600,000 in 2022 from the Skillman Foundation, which was previously led by a long-time member of the board of directors for GreenLight Fund. ¹⁹

GreenLight Fund received a $2 million grant in 2012 from the Social Innovation Fund, a federal grantmaking entity formed under the Obama administration. ²⁰ GreenLight Fund used this grant to found its Philadelphia branch and expand its grantmaking in other markets. ²¹

1. Greenlight Fund: Our Founding Story. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/our-founding-story/
2. Sigma Prime Ventures: Team: John Simon. Accessed March 2, 2024. http://www.sigmaprime.com/team/john-simon
3. LinkedIn: GreenLight Fund: About. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/greenlight-fund/about/
4. GreenLight Fund: Centering Racial Equity. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/centering-racial-equity/
5. GreenLight Fund: Our Portfolio. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/portfolio/
6. IRS Form 990 2021-2022: Greenlight Fund. Schedule I: Grants made.
7. IRS Form 990 2022: Greenlight Fund. Schedule I: Grants made.
8. Narrative Nation: What We Do. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://wewriteus.org/what-we-do
9. IRS Form 990 2022: Greenlight Fund. Part VII: Compensation of Officers.
10. People: Margaret Hall: GreenLight Fund. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/people/margaret-hall/.
11. FEC.gov: individual contributions, Margaret Hall. Accessed February 22, 2024. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=margaret+hall&contributor_employer=greenlight
12. People: Robert Mays: GreenLight Fund. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/people/robert-mays/
13. User Profile: Robert Mays, LinkedIn. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-mays-shrm-scp-986b254/
14. ^[1] Board of Directors: GreenLight Fund. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/our-board/
15. ^[1] IRS Form 990 2022: Greenlight Fund. Part I, Summary.
16. Grants Database: GreenLight Fund, Ford Foundation, accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?search=greenlight+fund
17. IRS Form 990 2021 and 2022: Bank of America Charitable Foundation: Part XV, section 3, Grants Awarded
18. IRS Form 990 2020-2022: Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund: Part XV, section 3, Grants Awarded
19. Skillman Foundation: 2022 Grants: Greenlight Fund. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.skillman.org/grant/greenlight-fund-inc-279/
20. Philanthropy News Digest: “2012 Social Innovation Fund Grant Recipients Announced.” Accessed March 4, 2024. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/2012-social-innovation-fund-grant-recipients-announced
21. GreenLight Fund: Our Founding Story. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://greenlightfund.org/our-founding-story/