The Mastercard Impact Fund is a grantmaking nonprofit founded in 2018 which donates to organizations advancing left-of-center concepts of diversity and inclusion. 1 he fund was originally named the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Fund, which was changed a few months after its founding. 2 Parent company Mastercard donated $100 million to the Mastercard Impact Fund in 2018 as part of a pledge to give $500 million. 3 The longtime financial services provider has increasingly promoted left-progressive social agendas, including designing a “pride plaza” in the metaverse and creating a carbon tracker for purchases to supposedly combat climate change. 4 5
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, which runs the Mastercard Impact Fund, is the independent social action wing of Mastercard. 6 It conducts research on the financial challenges that its “diverse” small and micro business clients have and administers grants and loans through the Mastercard Impact Fund. 7
Recipient Samples
The Mastercard Impact Fund gave $17 million to Gates Philanthropy Partners for its COVID-19 Therapeutic Accelerator in 2020, and has been approved for a future donation of $8 million. 8 Gates Philanthropy Partners is a donor platform run by the left-of-center Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, through which members of the public can independently donate to causes funded by the Gates Foundation. 9 The organization supports a wide variety of causes, including a fund to reduce women’s alleged gender inequality. 10
The New Venture Fund received three separate donations totaling $15.5 million from the Mastercard Impact Fund in 2020. It is approved for two future donations equaling $3.5 million. 11 The New Venture Fund is a nonprofit run by Arabella Advisors, a philanthropic company associated with the political left and dark money funds. 12 13 The New Venture Fund supports a large number of left-progressive organizations, including Abortion on Our Own Terms, the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, and Democracy Alliance‘s Youth Engagement Fund.
The Aspen Institute, a partner of the Mastercard Impact Fund, received $7.3 million in 2020. 14 The Aspen Institute promotes left-of-center narratives on social and environmental issues through international conferences, programs, and partnerships. 15 It receives funding from major left-of-center sources such as the Heising-Simons Foundation. 16
The Mastercard Impact Fund gave two separate donations totaling $5.6 million to Yourcase LLC, an SaaS platform for increasing employee engagement. It is approved for a future donation of $2.2 million. 17 Yourcase LLC promotes left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives. 18
Accion International received $3.6 million from the Mastercard Impact Fund for its financial security program. 19 Accion International is a financial nonprofit which provides loans to microbusinesses and invests in the development of new financial technologies. 20 On Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion website an article laments that “Investment flows continue to favor men, and along all stages of growth, men founders raise more than women founders.” 21
Datakind Inc, a data science company which provides pro bono data services to “mission-based organizations,” received $2.5 million from the Mastercard Impact Fund in 2020. 22 23
Leadership
Shamina Singh is the founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and has served in a wide variety of leadership positions for Mastercard since 2013. Singh has a history of working for Democratic politicians including then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Singh has previously worked for major banking corporation Citi, commerce giant Nike, and for organizations focused on labor policies, diversity, and consulting. She serves on the board of directors for the Anti-Defamation League, a nominally non-partisan Jewish civil rights organization which supports left-of-center causes including legalized abortion and Black Lives Matter. 24
Latoya Murphy is the chief operating officer for the Mastercard Impact Fund since 2022. From 2003 to 2008, Murphy worked as the manager of government relations at Verizon and then as vice-president and director of operations at Citi. She was appointed in 2009 by then-President Barack Obama to work for the Department of Commerce and later served at the Office of Storm Recovery for the New York State Governor. In 2016, she joined the left-of-center Care.com, where she held a variety of leadership positions before departing in 2019 to found her own consulting company. 25
Michael Froman is the vice chairman of the Mastercard Impact Fund and also serves as president of strategic growth. He previously worked at Citigroup in several high-level leadership positions. Like Singh and Murphy, he has had experience in Democratic presidential administrations, under former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, rising to the post of U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration. He is a distinguished fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. 26
Partner Organizations
Partners of the Mastercard Impact Fund include the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, both major donors which advance left-of-center causes including legalized abortion and LGBT interests. 27 28 29
Financials
The Mastercard Impact Fund’s revenue as of 2020 totaled over $96 million, with expenses nearly $69.8 million and assets valued at $207.3 million. 30
References
- Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “About Us.” Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/about-us
- Press Releases. “Mastercard Announces Initial Contribution to $500 Million Inclusive Growth Fund.” Mastercard. April 10, 2018. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-announces-initial-contribution-to-500-million-inclusive-growth-fund/
- Press Releases. “Mastercard Announces Initial Contribution to $500 Million Inclusive Growth Fund.” Mastercard. April 10, 2018. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-announces-initial-contribution-to-500-million-inclusive-growth-fund/
- Admin. “Mastercard unveils a ‘Pride Plaza’ in the metaverse.” Money Market Advisor. June 9, 2022. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://moneymarketadvisor.com/2022/06/09/mastercard-unveils-a-pride-plaza-in-the-metaverse/
- Mastercard. “Environmental Sustainability.” Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/vision/corp-responsibility/sustainability.html
- Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “About Us.” Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/about-us
- Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf
- Gates Philanthropy Partners. “About Us.” Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.gatesphilanthropypartners.org/about-us
- [1]Funds. “Empowerment.” Gates Philanthropy Partners. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.gatesphilanthropypartners.org/funds/empowerment
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf
- Arabella Advisors. “Fiscal Sponsorship.” Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.arabellaadvisors.com/expertise/fiscal-sponsorship/
- Hayden R. Ludwig. “Big Money in Dark Shadows: Arabella Advisors’ Half-billion-dollar ‘Dark Money’ Network.” Capital Research Center (DarkMoneyATM.org). August 2019. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://darkmoneyatm.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CRC_Arabella-Advisors-Dark-Money_small.pdf
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf
- The Aspen Institute. “Our Impact.” Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/about/#our-impact
- Heising-Simons Foundation. “Search Our Grants And Awards.” Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.hsfoundation.org/grants/search-our-grants/?keyword=aspen&program=127&amount-min=&amount-max=&year-min=From&year-max=To
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf
- Carmen Adamson. “Jumpstart to Incorporating ESG for Small and Mid-sized Businesses.” Yourcause LLC. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://solutions.yourcause.com/jumpstart-to-incorporating-esg-for-small-and-mid-sized-businesses/
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf
- 2020 Annual Report. “How we work.” Accion. June 3, 2021. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.accion.org/accion-2020-annual-report#how-we-work
- Ethan Loufield. “Driving Inclusivity on the Fintech Frontier: Let’s Make It Count.” June 23, 2022. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/driving-inclusivity-on-the-fintech-frontier-lets-make-it-count
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf
- Datakind, What We Do, Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.datakind.org/what-we-do
- LinkedIn. Shamina Singh. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaminasingh
- LinkedIn. Latoya Murphy. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/latoya-murphy-58390230
- Our Team. “Michael Froman.” Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Fund. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/our-team/michael-froman
- Darren Walker. “Our response to the reversal of Roe v. Wade.” Ford Foundation. June 24, 2022. Accessed June 26. 2022. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/posts/our-response-to-the-reversal-of-roe-v-wade/
- Ford Foundation. “Ford Foundation doubles investment for trans organizations, makes sweeping commitments to support LGBTQ+ communities.” PR Newswire. June 2, 2022. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ford-foundation-doubles-investment-for-trans-organizations-makes-sweeping-commitments-to-support-lgbtq-communities-301559357.html
- Rachel Korberg and Rob Garris. “Inclusive Economies, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity and Expression.” Rockefeller Foundation. August 15, 2014. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/inclusive-economies-sexual-orientation/
- Mastercard Impact Fund. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, 2020 Form 990. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.mastercardcenter.org/content/dam/public/mc-cig/uploads/mif/MIF-2020_Form_990-PF.pdf