The MWC Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaker in Boston associated with the law firm Nutter, McClennan, and Fish LLP. The organization has no website and almost no public presence despite possessing over $36 million in assets.

Nutter, McClennan, and Fish LLP

Nutter is a prestigious law firm nationally ranked in 14 practice areas, including white-collar criminal defense, patent law, and environmental litigation. ¹ MWC Foundation’s three executives, president Thomas Jalkut, treasurer Melissa McMorrow, and clerk Aimee Bryant, are all Nutter partners and employees.

Nutter associates donate $10,000-20,000 per congressional election cycle to almost exclusively Democratic politicians, candidates, and PACs. ² In the 2020 election cycle through January 2020, Nutter employees had donated $9,322 to Democratic candidates and causes, including presidential candidates Joe Biden (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Kamala Harris (D-CA). ³

MWC paid Nutter $528,171 in fees for “management, legal, and tax preparation” in 2018. ⁴

Grant Recipients

MWC gives grants to a wide variety of charitable causes, including environmental protection and environmentalist advocacy, civil rights and left-of-center social policy, and local community-building in Boston. Many of their charitable recipients are left-of-center organizations, including:

• People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a left-wing animal rights advocacy group noted for its extreme activism and advertisements, received $10,000 from the MCW in 1999. ⁵
• ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts chapter of the left-of-center social policy organization, received $10,000 from MWC in 2017. ⁶
• National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a left-of-center environmentalist organization, received $20,000 in 2005. ⁷

MWC disbursed $6.5 million in grants in 2017. ⁸

1. “US News & World Report/Best Lawyers Rank Nutter as a Top National Law Firm in 2020 ‘Best Law Firms’ Survey.” Nutter. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://www.nutter.com/trending-newsroom-news-us-news-best-lawyers-nutter-top-national-law-firm-2020-survey.
2. “Nutter, McClellan, and Fish.” Open Secrets. January 30, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/congcmtes.php?id=D000036300&cycle=2018.
3. “Profile for 2020 Election Cycle.” Open Secrets. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000036300.
4. “Return on Organization Exempt from Taxes 2017 (Form 990).” ProPublica. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/222914691/12_2018_prefixes_20-22%2F222914691_201712_990PF_2018122116035458.
5. “MWC Foundation.” Activist Facts. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://www.activistfacts.com/foundation/1539-MWCFoundation/.
6. “Return on Organization Exempt from Taxes 2017 (Form 990).” ProPublica. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/222914691/12_2018_prefixes_20-22%2F222914691_201712_990PF_2018122116035458.
7. “MWC Foundation.” Activist Facts. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://www.activistfacts.com/foundation/1539-MWCFoundation/.
8. “Return on Organization Exempt from Taxes 2017 (Form 990).” ProPublica. Accessed January 30, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/222914691/12_2018_prefixes_20-22%2F222914691_201712_990PF_2018122116035458.