The Mellen Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation based in Connecticut. The foundation rewards grants to organizations that advocate for abortion access, ¹ increased funding for public defenders, ² and organizations with left-wing racial views. ³

The foundation’s director is David Zieff, a film director, producer, and editor. ⁴ The foundation’s President is Diane Mellen, a production executive for Pace Films who claims to be a humanitarian focused on social and environmental causes. ⁵

History

The Mellen Foundation was founded in 1987 by businessman Neil Mellen. Neil Mellen made his fortune by creating Town Fair Tire, a tire company with over 115 stores in the northeastern United States. Mellen created the foundation to help raise funds for philanthropic causes by offering a tax incentive to other philanthropists and wealthy individuals. Although Mellen made donations through his charity, he also gave personally, investing in areas such as medical care and food insecurity. Mellen was the bookkeeper and treasurer of the Mellen Foundation until he passed away in January 2024. The organization is run by his widow, Diane Mellen, and former associate, David Zieff. ^{6 7}

Notable Grants

Although the foundation is a grantmaking organization, it recorded no grants made during the 2022 fiscal year. However, in 2019 it gave grants to the Innocence Project, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood of Utah, and the Southern Center for Human Rights. ⁸

Innocence Project

The Innocence Project is a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for criminal justice reform by requiring interrogations to be recorded and increasing the funding and regulation of public defenders. It received a $25,000 grant from the Mellen Foundation in 2019. ^{9 10 11}

American Civil Liberties Union

The American Civil Liberties Union is a left-wing advocacy group that advocates for easier access to rights and liberties for immigrants ¹² and increased abortion access ¹³ among other civil liberties. ¹⁴ It received a $4,000 grant from the Mellen Foundation. ^{15 16}

Planned Parenthood of Utah

Planned Parenthood of Utah is the Utah branch of the larger Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). PPFA was founded by the socialist Margaret Sanger in 1946 and advocates for liberal access to abortion and birth control. ¹⁷ The Mellen Foundation donated $3,500 to the PPFA of Utah in 2019. ¹⁸

Southern Center for Human Rights

The Southern Center for Human Rights is a public interest law firm that focuses on incarceration, the death penalty, and poverty in the southern United States. The organization asserts that a lack of wealth and limited access to mental health resources is the cause of a large portion of criminality in the southern United States. ¹⁹ The organization received a $2,000 grant from the Mellen Foundation in 2019. ²⁰

1. Parenthood, Planned. “About Us.” About Us | Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-utah/about-us.
2. “Inadequate Defense.” Innocence Project, May 5, 2023. https://innocenceproject.org/inadequate-defense/.
3. “Racial Justice.” American Civil Liberties Union, September 19, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice.
4. IMDb. “David Zieff | Editor, Producer, Director.” IMDb. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0956051/.
5. IMDb. “Diane Mellen – Biography.” IMDb. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6775104/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm.
6. Staff. “Obituary: Neil Mellen.” ParkRecord.com, January 12, 2024. https://www.parkrecord.com/news/obituaries/obituary-neil-mellen/.
7. Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
8. Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
9. Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
10. “Inadequate Defense.” Innocence Project, May 5, 2023. https://innocenceproject.org/inadequate-defense/.
11. ^“False Confessions.” Innocence Project, May 1, 2023. https://innocenceproject.org/false-confessions/.
12.  “Immigrants’ Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union, July 3, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights.
13. “Reproductive Freedom.” American Civil Liberties Union, July 6, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/issues/reproductive-freedom.
14. “Human Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union, February 16, 2022. https://www.aclu.org/issues/human-rights.
15. ^[1] Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
16. “About the ACLU.” American Civil Liberties Union. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.aclu.org/about-aclu.
17. “Margaret H Sanger -.” Archives of Women’s Political Communication. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/margaret-h-sanger/#:~:text=Sanger’s%20experiences%20with%20slum%20mothers,could%20about%20birth%20control%20practices.
18. Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.
19. “Home.” Southern Center for Human Rights. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.schr.org/mass-incarceration/alternatives-to-incarceration/.
20. Grantmakers.io profile – mellen foundation inc. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/222778847-mellen-foundation-inc/.