Natalie Orfalea Foundation (NOF)

In 2019, NOF contributed $50,000 to the left-of-center Voter Registration Project ⁶ and supported the documentary Knock Down the House, which covered the 2018 primary election campaigns of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). ³

History and Leadership

Natalie Orfalea Foundation was founded in 2016 ⁷ by Natalie Orfalea, an activist donor whose interests include the critical race theory-influenced concept of “social justice” as well as environmentalism, education, leadership, community health, and documentary films. ⁸

Marybeth Carty is the executive of NOF. ⁹ In her role, she has addressed left-wing education and social policy issues by interfacing with hundreds of different nonprofit organizations through her work on various boards. ⁸

Lou Buglioli co-funds NOF projects and is on the organization’s Education Finance Committee. ¹⁰

Activities and Funding

Natalie Orfalea Foundation is a private foundation ¹ whose grantmaking priorities include left-of-center issue advocacy, restrictions on gun ownership, ³ environmentalism, ⁴ health issues, and various education-related causes. ⁵ NOF pursues the critical race theory-influenced concept of “social equity” ² and considers its and grants both business and social decisions. ¹¹

NOF and NOF funder Lou Buglioli operate on an invitation-only grantmaking cycle. Organizations may be invited to submit a letter of inquiry prior to submitting a full grant application to the foundation. NOF conducts two major grant cycles each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. ¹²

NOF’s partners include the Audacious Foundation, James S. Bower Foundation, Santa Barbara Foundation, the Giving Pledge, Chicago Media Project, Impact Partners, Sundance Institute, UCSB Arts & Lectures, Kathleen Loehr of the Aspen Leadership Group, and Leading from Within. ¹¹ NOF has also worked with Doctors Without Borders. ¹³

In 2021, NOF gave grants of $195,000 to the Santa Barbara Foundation, $83,334 to the Community Environmental Council, $40,000 to Doctors without Walls, $28,942 to the Audacious Foundation, $25,000 to Equal Justice Initiative, $10,000 to the Indian Law Resource Center, and $5,000 to environmentalist law firm Earthjustice (formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund). That same year, NOF approved future grants of $166,666 to Community Environmental Council. ¹⁴

In 2020, NOF distributed grants of $10,000 to left-of-center America Votes, $75,000 to the Audacious Foundation, $12,500 to the Community Environmental Council, $40,000 to Doctors Without Walls, $50,000 to the Equal Justice Initiative, $182,875 to the Santa Barbara Foundation, $49,371 to the Tandana Foundation, and $155,000 to United Way. ¹⁵

In 2019, NOF contributed $50,000 to the left-of-center Voter Registration Project and $10,000 to Democracy Now. ⁶ Also in 2019, NOF supported films on gun control and Knock Down the House, a documentary film that covered the 2018 primary election campaigns of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). ³

The foundation has also partnered with environmentalist activist Paul Hawken to produce a film on climate change and worked with the Nature Preserve and the left-of-center Community Environmental Council on environmentalist causes. ¹⁶

Funding

Natalie Orfalea Foundation receives most of its funding through grants from Louis Buglioli ¹⁷ and from investment income. In 2021, NOF reported revenue of $1,886,021 and expenses of $1,650,966. ¹⁸

In 2020, Natalie Orfalea Foundation reported revenue of $977,557 and expenses of $1,411,397. ¹⁵