Hoffman Brouse Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation founded by Mark Brouse and Lynn Hoffman-Brouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2022, the foundation distributed $67,000 in grants. The largest donations went to organizations focused on the environment and abortion access. ¹

Background

Hoffman Brouse Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that was registered in the state of Utah by Mark Brouse in December 2004. ²

Founders

Mark Brouse is president of Hoffman Brouse Foundation. Brouse began his career in pharmaceutical sales then founded Vista Staffing, ³ a healthcare staffing company. ⁴ He was a board member of TruClinic, a web-based telemedicine provider based in Salt Lake City; ⁵ the University of Utah; and the YMCA of Northern Utah. In 2011, he became a member of the Ashoka Support Network. He is president of Marlyn LLC, president of EARTH University Foundation, and a board member of Alterna Foundation and Ashoka. ⁶ He is also vice chair of EARTH University board of directors. ⁷

Alterna Foundation invests in social impact business startups, many focused on the environment. ⁸  Ashoka provides grants and support to “social entrepreneurs” who it believes will be “changemakers” for left-of-center issues. ⁹ EARTH University offers a 4-year undergraduate program in agriculture and natural resource management and is located in Costa Rica. It is a private, nonprofit, international university funded by the Cost Rican government, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation focused on educating young people on environmental issues and sustainable development. EARTH University Foundation was formed as a nonprofit charity that supports EARTH University and is located in Atlanta, Georgia. ¹⁰

Lynn Hoffman-Brouse is secretary, treasurer, and trustee of Hoffman Brouse Foundation. ¹¹ She is a professional photographer that specializes in environmental photography. In 2012, she founded the Documentary Project Fund to support photographers with a focus on their communities. ¹² She was previously a board member of EARTH University Foundation. ¹³ Hoffman-Brouse has contributed to several Democratic candidates, including Utah State Senator Kathleen Riebe (D) in 2023; U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in 2022, and Joe Biden for President in 2020. ¹⁴

Brouse and Hoffman-Brouse live in Salt Lake City, Utah. ¹⁵

Grantmaking

In 2022, Hoffman Brouse Foundation granted $67,000. Its largest donations were $30,000 to EARTH University Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia and $18,000 to Planned Parenthood of Utah. ¹⁶ Donations were also awarded to Educate2Envision in San Leandro, California; the Young Men’s Christian Association of Northern Utah (YMCA) in Salt Lake City, Utah; Vital Impacts in Missoula, Montana; Girls Who Click in Petaluma, California; and Educational Opportunities for Utah’s Children in Salt Lake City, Utah. ¹⁷

Planned Parenthood of Utah provides sexual healthcare and abortions to Utahns and advocates for policies that expand abortion access. ¹⁸

Educate2Envision is a nonprofit organization that brings secondary school education (beyond the 6^th grade) and leadership training to the poor rural areas of Honduras. It partners with Ashoka and 1% for the Planet. ¹⁹

The YMCA of Northern Utah provides a variety of programs to the local community including pre-school and afterschool programs and summer camps. ²⁰ It focuses on “social responsibility,” with an emphasis on inclusion for “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)” and LGBT people. ²¹ The YMCA advocates for the far-left Black Lives Matter movement and partners with People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond to provide “anti-racism” training to staff. ²²

Girls Who Click invests in workshops for female nature photographers, encouraging them to support environmentalist issues through their photography. ²³

1. Hoffman-Brouse Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part XIII). 2022.
2.  “Hoffman Brouse Foundation.” Utah.gov. – Business Search. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://secure.utah.gov/bes/displayDetails.html
3. “Mark Brouse.” Alterna. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://alterna.pro/en/mark-brouse/
4. Vista Staffing website. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.vistastaff.com/
5. “InTouch Health to Acquire TruClinic, Entering Direct-To-Consumer Telehealth.” Teladoc Health. January 4, 2018. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://business.teladochealth.com/newsroom/intouch-health/agreement-to-acquire-truclinic/
6. LinkedIn – Mark Brouse. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-brouse-b336b710/details/experience/
7. “Board of Directors.” EARTH University – About EARTH. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.earth.ac.cr/en/about-earth/nuestra-gente/consejos/board-of-directors/
8. Alterna website. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.alterna.pro/
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10.  “Support EARTH.” EARTH University. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.earth.ac.cr/en/support-earth/fundacion-universidad-earth/
11. Hoffman-Brouse Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2022.
12. “What We Do.” TheDocumentaryProjectFund. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.thedocumentaryprojectfund.org/what-we-do
13. “EARTH community honors the Zaglul family.” EARTH University – EARTH News. October 28, 2016. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.earth.ac.cr/en/2016/10/28/community-zaglul-family/
14. “Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission – Lynn Hoffman-Brouse. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?data_type=processed&contributor_name=lynn+hoffman-brouse&contributor_name=mark+brouse
15. “Hoffman Brouse Foundation.” Bizapedia. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.bizapedia.com/ut/hoffman-brouse-foundation.html
16. Hoffman-Brouse Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part XIII). 2022.
17. Hoffman-Brouse Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part XIII). 2022.
18. “About Us.” Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-utah/about-us
19. E2E Educate2Envision website. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://www.educate2envision.org/
20. “Programs.” YMCA of Northern Utah. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://ymcautah.org/
21. “Social Responsibility.” YMCA of Northern Utah – About Us. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://ymcautah.org/our-y/social-responsibility/
22. “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.” The YMCA – Who We Are. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://www.ymca.org/who-we-are/diversity
23. Girls Who Click website. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://girlswhoclick.org/