The Henry P. Kendall Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking organization. The foundation supports environmentalist organizations and other projects throughout the New England area. The foundation is also active in public school and university grantmaking. The children of industrial manager Henry P. Kendall founded the institution in 1957, focusing its activities on environmentalist and anti-nuclear grantmaking. ¹

Background

The Henry P. Kendall Foundation was founded by the children of the New England businessman Henry P. Kendall. Throughout the mid to late 20th century, the foundation supported a variety of left-of-center causes such as nuclear disarmament and environmentalism. ² In 2009, The foundation reorganized its mission, abandoning many of its previous grantees to double down on environmentalist-focused agriculture projects. ³

Assets and Income

The Henry P. Kendall Foundation does not solicit contributions and receives income through dividends and stocks. The organization also produces income through program-related investments and loans, such a $125,000 loan made to the Fair Food Fund, a left-of-center investment fund, that is expected to yield $132,000 for the Foundation in 2020. ⁴

Organizations Receiving Grants

In 2017, the Henry P. Kendall Foundation spent $3,174,764 on various left of center environmentalist groups and environmentalist businesses including Innovation Network for Communities, Conservation Law Foundation, and Health Care Without Harm. ⁵

The Kendall Foundation also supported Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), a left-leaning lobbying and activist organization. The organization spent $215,047 on lobbying in 2017 and hired two lobbyists in 2018⁶ targeting the Massachusetts State Legislature. ⁷ Claire Morenon, the organization’s director of communications, has penned several op-eds promoting drivers licenses for illegal immigrants⁸ and radical environmentalist climate change initiatives. ⁹

Influence Over Public Institutions

The Henry P Kendall Foundation has indirectly influenced public institutions throughout the New England Area. It awarded a $125,000 grant to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to “Support the Director of Food Strategy in Developing a Comprehensive Statewide Food System Plan” in 2017. ¹⁰

1. “About.” Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Accessed January 7, 2020. https://www.kendall.org/about/.
2. “About.” Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Accessed January 7, 2020. https://www.kendall.org/about/.   
3. Henry P Kendall Foundation (2008).  “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Massachusetts charitable Database. http://www.charities.ago.state.ma.us/charities/index.asp?charities_app_ctx=details&charities_sub_ctx=entry&origin=search&did=29293330&bod=1575386816
4. Henry P Kendall Foundation. 2017 “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Other Notes/Receivables Schedule line 3.
5. Henry P Kendall Foundation. 2017 “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed November 4, 2019, Part I, Line 25(a)
6. Community Involved in Sustainable Agriculture (2017). “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 18, 2019, Schedule C Part II-B Line 2a(d)
7. National Institute on Money In Politics. “Community involved in Sustaining Agriculture.” Accessed November 10, 2019, https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=47281654
   
8. “Columnist Claire Morenon: The next Generation of Farmers Needs Support.” Daily Hampshire Gazette, October 31, 2019. https://www.gazettenet.com/Columnist-Claire-Morenon-29790934
9. Morenon, Claire “Climate Change and Farming in Massachusetts.” Daily Hampshire Gazette, December 3, 2018. https://www.gazettenet.com/Morenon-column-21877211.
10. Henry P Kendall Foundation. 2017 “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed November 4, 2019, Part XV Line 3