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Non-profit

Lynton Foundation

Location:

New York, NY
Tax ID:

13-3743511
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $4,429,061
Expenses: $2,633,781
Assets: $10,589,156
Formation:

1994
Latest Tax Form:

2021 990 Tax Form

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The Lynton Foundation is a private nonprofit organization that was founded in 1994 1 and is run by brother and sister 2 Michael Lynton and Carol “Lili” Lynton, 3 who are its two trustees. 4

Michael Lynton was the CEO of Sony Entertainment and is the chairman of the board of Snap, which owns the social media application Snapchat. 5 Carol Lynton is the operating partner of The Dynex Group, 6 which runs the restaurants operated by chef Daniel Boulud in New York City, Miami, Palm Beach, Montreal, Toronto, Dubai, Singapore, and the Bahamas. 7

The foundation supported bail and prison initiatives and voting registration efforts in 2020 and 2021. Over that period, the Lynton Foundation supported organizations focused on changing bail and prison policies such as Avenue For Justice, the left-progressive Prison Policy Initiative and Bail Project. 8 9 The foundation gave grants in 2020 and 2021 to the left-of-center Verified Voting Foundation, the left-of-center Vote.org and the left-of-center Voter Participation Center. 10 11

The Lynton Foundation has made more than $1 million in contributions to the RAND Corporation. 12

Finances

Lynton Foundation had total revenues of $1.79 million and total expenses of $1.64 million with $10.59 million in total assets in 2021. 13

Michael Lynton

Michael Lynton is a trustee of the Lynton Foundation. In January 2017, Lynton announced he was leaving his position as CEO of Sony Entertainment division to become the chairman of Snap, the company that owns the Snapchat social media application. 14

Lynton said in 2017 he took the position with Snap in part due to an email his wife sent to Snap’s customer service department. Lynton said that his wife, Jamie Alter Lynton, observed her children using Snapchat and sent a complimentary email to the company’s generic customer service email address. Evan Spiegel, the CEO of the company, personally responded to the email and within an hour was at the Lynton home. 15

Jamie Alter Lynton volunteered for Obama for America from January 2007 to November 2012. 16

Michael Lynton has a history of political donations to Democratic causes. Among his larger political donations in 2016 while he was with Sony, Lynton gave $28,000 to the DNC Services Corporation/Democratic National Committee, $33,400 to the Hillary Victory Fund, $12,700 to the Kamala Harris Victory Fund, $10,000 to the California Democratic Party. 17 Since joining the board of Snap, Lynton has made multiple smaller donations ranging from $2,800 to $5,800 to Democratic causes such as U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the presidential campaign of Cory Booker and the reelection campaign of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. 18

Carol Lynton

Carol “Lili” Lynton is also a trustee for the Lynton Foundation. 19 In addition, Lynton is a trustee for the Vera Institute of Justice, 20 a left-of-center advocacy group that works to end “mass incarceration” and focuses on immigration issues, such as working to ensure every immigrant in the U.S. has a federal right to legal representation. 21

Lynton has been the chief investment officer of HD American Trust since 1987. 22 She co-founded internet banking company Telebank in 1990 23 and sold it to E*Trade in 1999 for $1.8 billion. 24

Lynton has a history of making political donations to Democratic candidates. 25 In July 2020, she made three donations for a combined $25,600 in support of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign 26 and made another $14,400 donation to the DNC Services Corporation/Democratic National Committee. 27

Grantmaking

The Lynton Foundation handed out $1.6 million in grants in 2021. 28  The largest recipients included The Harvard Business School ($350,000), RAND Corporation ($200,000) and the Brookings Institution ($140,000). 29

Other 2021 grant recipients included $50,000 to the Propel Democracy Forward Fund, 30 an organization started to debunk “the baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen.” 31

Propel Democracy Forward Fund also supports Color of Change, 32 which was set up by Van Jones, the Obama administration’s former “green jobs czar.” 33

In 2020, the Lynton Foundation dispersed $2.6 million in grants. 34 Some of the 2020 grant recipients included the left-leaning grantmaking foundation Tides Foundation ($25,000), the Vera Institute of Justice ($98,334) and the Center on Budget Policy Priorities ($20,000). 35

References

  1. Cause IQ. The Lynton Foundation. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-lynton-foundation,133743511/
  2.  Kate Rankine. “Penguin Boss Pulls Off A £200m Thriller”; The Daily Telegraph. Nov. 30, 1996. Accessed June 26, 2023.
  3. Shelf Awareness. New Investment Company Makes First Purchase: Arcadia Publishing. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3241#m40330
  4. Lynton Foundation. 990 Form. 2021. Part VII. Information About Officers, Directors, Trustees, Foundation Managers, Highly Paid Employees, And Contractors. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-3743511
  5. Fergus Halliday. “Sony CEO Jumps Ship To Snapchat Ahead Of PIO”; Channel News. Jan. 16, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.channelnews.com.au/sony-ceo-jumps-ship-to-snapchat-ahead-of-ipo/
  6. El Pollo Loco. Biography. Carol Lynton. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://investor.elpolloloco.com/board-directors/lili-lynton
  7. Daniel Boulud. About. Accessed Jun 25, 2023. https://www.danielboulud.com/about/daniel-boulud
  8. Lynton Foundation. 900 Form. 2021. Part XIV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202243159349101729/full
  9. Lynton Foundation. 990 Form. 2020. Part XV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202133139349102143/full
  10. Lynton Foundation. 900 Form. 2021. Part XIV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202243159349101729/full
  11. Lynton Foundation. 990 Form. 2020. Part XV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202133139349102143/full
  12. Rand Corporation. “Rand Exceeds $300 Million Campaign Milestone”; May 18, 2023. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://campaign.rand.org/impact/rand-exceeds-300-million-campaign-milestone/
  13. Lynton Foundation. Form 990. 2021. Part I. Analysis Of Revenue And Expenses. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-3743511
  14. Fergus Halliday. “Sony CEO Jumps Ship To Snapchat Ahead Of PIO”; ChannelNews. Jan. 16, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.channelnews.com.au/sony-ceo-jumps-ship-to-snapchat-ahead-of-ipo/
  15. Michelle Castillo. “Sony Entertainment CEO Lynton Became Snap’s Chairman Because His Wife Emailed Customer Service”; CNBC. May 16, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/16/how-sony-entertainment-ceo-michael-lynton-became-snap-chairman.html
  16. Jamie Alter Lynton. LinkedIn. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiealterlynton/
  17. Federal Election Commission. Individual Contributions. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Michael+Lynton&max_date=12%2F31%2F2024
  18. Federal Election Commission. Individual Contributions. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Michael+Lynton&max_date=12%2F31%2F2024
  19. El Pollo Loco. Biography. Carol Lynton. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://investor.elpolloloco.com/board-directors/lili-lynton
  20. Vera Institute Of Justice. People. Lili Lynton. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.vera.org/people/lili-lynton
  21. Vera Institute Of Justice. “Advancing Universal Representative Initiative.” Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration/reducing-incarceration/detention-of-immigrants/advancing-universal-representation-initiative
  22. El Pollo Loco. Biography. Carol Lynton. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://investor.elpolloloco.com/board-directors/lili-lynton
  23. El Pollo Loco. Biography. Carol Lynton. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://investor.elpolloloco.com/board-directors/lili-lynton
  24. CNN Money. “E*Trade Buying Telebanc”; June 1, 1999. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://money.cnn.com/1999/06/01/technology/etrade/
  25. Federal Election Commission. Individual Contributions. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Carol+Lynton&max_date=12%2F31%2F2024
  26. Federal Election Commission. Individual Contributions. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Carol+Lynton&max_date=12%2F31%2F2024
  27. Federal Election Commission. Individual Contributions. Accessed June 24, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Carol+Lynton&max_date=12%2F31%2F2024
  28. Lynton Foundation. 900 Form. 2021. Part XIV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202243159349101729/full
  29. Lynton Foundation. 900 Form. 2021. Part XIV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202243159349101729/full
  30. Lynton Foundation. 900 Form. 2021. Part XIV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202243159349101729/full
  31.  Tovia Smith. “Why Is The ‘Big Lie’ Proving So Hard To Dispel”; NPR. Jan. 4, 2022. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/04/1070337968/why-is-the-big-lie-proving-so-hard-to-dispel
  32. Propel Democracy Forward Fund. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.propelcapital.org/democracy/pdff
  33. Alliance For Sustainability. “Inspiration: Van Jones And James Rucker Create Color Of Change And Systemic Shifts”; Feb. 14, 2023. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://afors.org/2023/02/14/inspiration-van-jones-and-james-rucker/
  34.  Lynton Foundation. 990 Form. 2020. Part XV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202133139349102143/full
  35. Lynton Foundation. 990 Form. 2020. Part XV. Supplemental Information. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133743511/202133139349102143/full
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: September 1, 1994

    • 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
    2020 Dec Form PF $4,429,061 $2,633,781 $10,589,156 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $1,956,296 $1,641,097 $5,796,553 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form PF $958,951 $1,999,570 $6,545,997 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $1,063,863 $850,568 $8,266,598 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $3,107,870 $660,385 $8,123,890 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $363,329 $275,225 $6,372,445 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $431,031 $242,087 $5,657,480 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Lynton Foundation

    CO CAROL LYNTON - 33 W 81ST STREET
    New York, NY 10024-0000