The Levi Strauss Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking organization located in San Francisco California. It is the corporate philanthropic arm of Levi Strauss & Co., and it supports left-of-center groups who advocate for expanded immigration, LGBT interests, and other left-of-center social and advocacy causes. ¹

History

The Levi Strauss Foundation was founded in 1952 as an institution to house Levi Strauss & Co.’s charitable giving. ² It has provided funding to left-of-center groups and causes, to which it has granted over $378 million since its foundation. ³

Following the election of President Donald Trump, the foundation launched initiatives to support specific groups that it claimed were endangered by Trump administration policies, including LGBT people, immigrants, and Muslims. ^{4 5}

At a philanthropy summit in Australia held in 2017, then-executive director of the Levis Strauss Foundation Daniel Lee described holding a town hall meeting two days after the election of President Trump to address these concerns. According to Lee, the foundation’s board convened multiple times after the election and the beginning of the Trump administration to establish a strategy. Lee described a “war room” being set up the second week of the administration to deal with President Trump’s controversial executive orders restricting immigration. ⁶

Since then, the Levi Strauss Foundation has remained committed to left-of-center causes and organizations, most notably funding groups that advocate for abortion, legal status for illegal immigrants, and groups that claim voter integrity laws and political redistricting discriminate against racial minorities.  ⁷

Initiatives

Abortion Advocacy

The Levi Strauss Foundation began openly supporting abortion advocacy groups and the transgender movement in 2017 through its Worker Well-being initiative. This included providing grants to some of the world’s largest international abortion advocacy groups, such as International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International (MSI) Reproductive Choices, for apparel workers in other countries to have easier access to contraception and abortion. ⁸

In 2022, the Foundation expanded its work to include organizations in the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to regulate abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Levi Strauss Foundation claimed this work was to help “people of color, LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized women” have abortion access. ⁹

Since 2017, the Foundation has provided over $5.6 million in grant support to advance this initiative. ¹⁰

The Foundation previously gave HIV/AIDS grants, but it ended this program in 2023. ¹¹

Worker Advocacy

Since its inception, the Levi Strauss Foundation’s Worker Rights and Well-Being campaign has generated $25 million in support in 17 countries, reaching 219,000 workers across 113 suppliers to improve protections for workers in the garment industry. The Foundation’s partners for this campaign include Red de Mujeres Sindicalistas, ProDESC, and PCI India, each of which promote left-of-center perspectives on workers’ rights, feminism, and immigration. ¹²

Immigrant Advocacy

The Levi Strauss Foundation provided $5.8 million in grant support since 2016 to organizations advancing left-of-center perspectives on immigrants’ rights. The foundation also partners with organizations that represent illegal aliens, asylum seekers, and Black and LGBT migrants, such as Define American, a left-of-center, illegal immigration advocacy organization that works closely with entertainers and other influencers to shape public opinion regarding immigration. The Levi Strauss Foundation also partners with the Border Butterflies Project, which provides food, shelter, and other services to LGBT immigrants awaiting asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border. ¹³

Democracy

Since 2019, the Levi Strauss Foundation spent over $6 million on its democracy campaign, especially funding organizations that oppose voter integrity measures and Republican-aligned redistricting efforts, which they claim are racially discriminatory. Its partners include National Trust for Local News, the Black Male Initiative Georgia, and the Fair Representation in Redistricting Project. ¹⁴

As of June 2024, the company Levi Strauss & Co is part of a get out the vote (GOTV) initiative coalition intending to increase voter participation on community college campuses. According to Levi’s vice president of public affairs Anna Walker, the goal of the new coalition is to increase turnout by 500,000 college voters by 2028. The outreach coalition membership also includes MTV, Lyft, Students Learn Students Vote (SLSV) and the American Association of Community Colleges. The initiative is expected to launch in all 50 states while offering events during certain dates including National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week and Vote Early Day. While the coalition claims it will be nonpartisan, Walker admitted that it had reached out the office of First Lady Jill Biden. Walker claims that, “This, for us, has been about [voter] participation…It’s nonpartisan, every step of the way … the partners we choose to work with, and the companies we partner with to get that work done.” ¹⁵

Leadership

As of June 2024, Fatima Angeles was the Levi Strauss Foundation’s executive director. Angeles holds a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Public Health from the Columbia University School of Public Health. She is a board member for John Muir Hospital System, Sisters of St. Joseph Health Care Foundation, Carestar Foundation, and Confluence Philanthropy. Before joining the Levi Strauss Foundation, Angeles spent over 20 years as a leader and grantmaker at the California Wellness Foundation. ¹⁶

Michelle Gass is the president and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co. and sits on the Foundation’s board of directors. ¹⁷ Gass previously was CEO of Kohl’s, and spent over 16 years in leadership roles at Starbucks. She began her career with Procter & Gamble. She sits on the board of directors for PepsiCo and on the boards of the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation. ¹⁸

Funding

In 2022, the Levi Strauss Foundation reported $10,777,745 in revenue, $12,718,628 in expenses, and $68,979,615 in net assets, according to tax filings. ¹⁹

The Foundation makes grants to a organizations in the San Francisco area, the United States, and around the world. Following the election of President Donald Trump, the foundation launched a special $1 million initiative aimed at support for transgender people, Muslims and South Asian Americans, and immigrants, including illegal immigrants. ²⁰

Groups receiving grants under this new initiative included the San Francisco chapter of the controversial Muslim advocacy organization Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) and groups supporting illegal immigrants such as Define American, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and United We Dream. ²¹

In 2022, the Foundation gave to left-of-center groups, including $100,000 to the Abortion Care Network; $276,833 to the CAIR San Francisco Bay Area chapter; $507,211 to the Center for Reproductive Rights; $200,000 to One for Democracy, including $150,000 through its fiscal sponsor, the Goodnation Foundation and $50,000 through the Northern California Grantmakers; $226,833 to the National Center for Lesbian Rights; and $100,000 to the Transgender Law Center. ²²

1. Our Mission. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/
2. Our Mission. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/
3. Our Mission. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/
4. In Conversation with Daniel Lee (Levi Strauss Foundation). YouTube. October 15, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://youtu.be/HXmG7LVI4n0
5. “Levi Strauss Foundation Pledges $1 Million To Protect Marginalized Communities.” Levi Strauss & Co. May 17, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2024.  https://www.levistrauss.com/2017/05/17/foundation-1-million-marginalized-communities/
6. In Conversation with Daniel Lee (Levi Strauss Foundation). YouTube. October 15, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://youtu.be/HXmG7LVI4n0
7. Our Mission. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/
8. “LSF’s Work on Reproductive Justice.” Levi Strauss & Co. December 5, 2023. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2023/12/05/lsfs-work-on-reproductive-justice/
9. “LSF’s Work on Reproductive Justice.” Levi Strauss & Co. December 5, 2023. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2023/12/05/lsfs-work-on-reproductive-justice/
10. “LSF’s Work on Reproductive Justice.” Levi Strauss & Co. December 5, 2023. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2023/12/05/lsfs-work-on-reproductive-justice/
11. 2023 Year in Review. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Levi-Strauss-Foundation-2023-Year-in-Review.pdf
12. Worker Rights and Well-being. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/
13. “Championing Immigrant Rights With LSF.” Levi Strauss & Co. November 5, 2023. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2023/11/05/ championing-immigrant-rights-with-lsf/
14. Democracy. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/
15. Bordelon, Brendan and Caitlin Oprysko. “Politico Influence, June 28, 2024. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2024/06/28/k-street-cheers-scotus-chevron-ruling-00165876
16. “Levi Strauss Foundation Names New Executive Director.” Levi Strauss & Co. June 17, 2021. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/2021/06/17/levi-strauss- foundation-new-executive-director/
17. “Levi Strauss Foundation Board of Directors.” Levi Strauss & Co, May 2, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/board/.
18.  Board of Directors – Michelle Gass. Levi Strauss & Co. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/values-in-action/levi-strauss-foundation/board/
19. Levi Strauss Foundation – 2022 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/946064702/202312869349100516/full
20. In Conversation with Daniel Lee (Levi Strauss Foundation). YouTube. October 15, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://youtu.be/HXmG7LVI4n0
21. “Levi Strauss Foundation Pledges $1 Million To Protect Marginalized Communities.” Levi Strauss & Co. May 17, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2024.  https://www.levistrauss.com/2017/05/17/foundation-1-million-marginalized-communities/
22. Levi Strauss Foundation – 2022 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/946064702/202312869349100516/full