Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Non-profit

Kohlberg Foundation

Website:

kohlbergfoundation.org/
Location:

MOUNT KISCO, NY
Tax ID:

13-3496263
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)-PF

Budget (2015):

Revenue: $11,931,123
Expenses: $23,049,438
Assets: $254,655,734
Formation:

1989
President:

Nancy Kohlberg
Executive Vice President:

Nancy McCabe
Executive Vice President‘s Compensation:

Gross Salary: $438,583 [11]

The Kohlberg Foundation is a private family foundation founded by private equity billionaire Jerome Kohlberg and his wife Nancy in 1989, based in Mt. Kisco, New York. The foundation provides grants to numerous left-of-center organizations, focused on legal policy related to health programs, the environment, and education. [1] In 2017, the Kohlberg Foundation granted nearly $80 million. [2]

Background

Jerome Kohlberg, the cofounder of the private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts, and Company (KKR) and a pioneer of the leveraged buyout, formed the Kohlberg Foundation with his wife in 1989. [3].

At the age of 80, Kohlberg had a net worth of $1.2 billion. [4] Kohlberg died in 2015. [5]

Grantmaking Activity

While many of the Kohlberg Foundation’s grants go to local organizations in Westchester, New York, the foundation supports many left-of-center organizations affecting policy on a national level.

The Kohlberg Foundation contributes millions of dollars to the William J. Brennan Center for Justice, a major liberal legal policy advocacy group, providing $3 million in support in 2017. [6] The foundation has also supported the Alliance for Justice, a legal policy organization that advocates against the nomination of conservative and Republican-appointed judges and in favor of left-wing and Democratic-appointed ones. [7]

Environmental Advocacy

The Kohlberg Foundation is a regular funder of local and national environmental groups concerned with global warming and environmentalist energy policies. Environmentalist groups receiving contributions from the foundation include the Environmental Defense Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity. [8]

Other Left-of-Center Policy

The Kohlberg Foundation makes grants to a number of general left-of-center advocacy organizations. In 2017, the Indivisible Fund, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ProPublica, the Marshall Project, and Young Invincibles received support from Kohlberg Foundation. [9] In past years, it has provided seven-figure contributions to the assisted-dying advocacy group Compassion and Choices. [10]

Donation Recipients

References

  1. kohlbergfoundation.org. Accesssed August 15, 2019. http://kohlbergfoundation.org/files/2018/11/ar-fs-2017.pdf ^
  2. Kohlberg Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV Line 3 ^
  3. “Kohlberg Foundation.” Inside Philanthropy. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/fundraising-in-new-york-city/kohlberg-foundation ^
  4. “#645 Jerome Kohlberg, Jr.” Forbes.com, February 13, 2006. Accesssed August 15, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/1CAW.html ^
  5. De La Merced, Michael  J. “Jerome Kohlberg Jr., Pioneer of the Private Equity Industry, Dies at 90.” The New York Times, August 1, 2015. www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/business/dealbook/jerome-kohlberg-jr-90-a-pioneer-of-the-private-equity-industry-dies.html. ^
  6. Kohlberg Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV Line 3 ^
  7. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the IRS. Queries conducted September 23, 2019. ^
  8. Kohlberg Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV Line 3 ^
  9. Kohlberg Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV Line 3 ^
  10. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of MetaSoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the IRS. Queries conducted September 23, 2019. ^
  11. Kohlberg Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part VIII Line 1 ^

Donation Recipients

  1. Alliance for Justice (AFJ) (Non-profit)
  2. Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) (Non-profit)
  3. Center for Political Accountability (Non-profit)
  4. Chewonki Foundation (Non-profit)
  5. Compassion and Choices (Non-profit)
  6. Council on Foundations (Non-profit)
  7. Earth Island Institute (Non-profit)
  8. Earthjustice (formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) (Non-profit)
  9. EcoAmerica (Non-profit)
  10. Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (Non-profit)
  11. Endangered Habitats League (Non-profit)
  12. Energy Foundation (Non-profit)
  13. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) (Non-profit)
  14. Environmental Grantmakers Association (Non-profit)
  15. Fractured Atlas Productions (Non-profit)
  16. Free Speech for People (Non-profit)
  17. Global Greengrants Fund (Non-profit)
  18. Heifer Foundation (Non-profit)
  19. Hope Enterprise Corporation (Non-profit)
  20. Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (Non-profit)
  21. Human Rights First (Non-profit)
  22. Indivisible Civics (Non-profit)
  23. JustLeadershipUSA (Non-profit)
  24. Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Non-profit)
  25. NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation (Non-profit)
  26. National Parks Conservation Association (Non-profit)
  27. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (Non-profit)
  28. Open Space Institute (Non-profit)
  29. Oxfam America (Non-profit)
  30. Partners in Health (Non-profit)
  31. ProPublica (Non-profit)
  32. Proteus Fund (Non-profit)
  33. Rocky Mountain Institute (Non-profit)
  34. Schwab Charitable Fund (Non-profit)
  35. Second Nature (Non-profit)
  36. Slow Food USA (Non-profit)
  37. Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (Non-profit)
  38. Surfrider Foundation (Non-profit)
  39. Tides Center (Non-profit)
  40. Trust for Public Land (Non-profit)
  41. U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (Non-profit)
  42. Waterkeeper Alliance (Non-profit)
  43. William J. Brennan Center for Justice (Non-profit)
  44. Young Invincibles (Non-profit)
  See an error? Let us know!

Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November

    • 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
    2015 Dec Form PF $11,931,123 $23,049,438 $254,655,734 $57 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $21,966,634 $27,669,606 $266,804,766 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $14,775,387 $26,390,111 $272,966,282 $290 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $31,292,934 $20,150,570 $283,892,287 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $11,174,232 $20,087,162 $272,142,812 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Map image for Kohlberg Foundation

    Kohlberg Foundation

    111 RADIO CIRCLE DR
    MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549-2609