The New Venture Fund (NVF) is a 501(c)(3) funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit that makes grants to left-of-center advocacy and organizing projects and provides incubation serves for other left-of-center organizations. The fund focuses primarily on social and environmental change, issuing grants for a variety of projects that include conservation, global health, disaster recovery, education, and the arts. ^[1] It is the largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the network of four nonprofits created and managed by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropy consulting company that caters to major foundations and organizations on the political Left. A January 2020 profile of Arabella Advisors’ network by Inside Philanthropy noted that the company “handles over $400 million in philanthropic investments and advises on several billion dollars in overall resources.” ^[2]

Critics argue that New Venture Fund is a “dark money” organization, serving as a way for left-leaning groups to anonymously funnel money toward various political advocacy issues, such as attacking vulnerable Republicans or pushing environmental restrictions. ^[3] However, NVF also sponsors a number of “philanthropic projects” that engage in charitable causes. ^[4]

NVF often operates alongside its 501(c)(4) “sister” nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Fund, which provides similar funding and fiscal sponsorship services to center-left advocacy organizations. Both groups are administered by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropy consulting firm that caters to left-leaning clients. New Venture Fund’s board of directors includes officers from Arabella Advisors, including the firm’s principal Eric Kessler.

The Hopewell Fund and Windward Fund are also 501(c)(3) nonprofits managed by Arabella Advisors that work closely with NVF and Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Background

Creation

Also see Eric Kessler

The New Venture Fund was created on October 25, 2006 in the District of Columbia as the Arabella Legacy Fund; the 501(c)(3) nonprofit received IRS recognition of its tax exemption in January 2007. In October 2009, the Arabella Legacy Fund was officially renamed the New Venture Fund. ^[5]

At the time of its formation, Eric Kessler served as president of the Fund. Kessler is the founder and senior managing partner of Arabella Advisors, a philanthropy consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Fund’s founding board of directors in 2006-2007 consisted of Kessler, then-Illinois Nature Conservancy executive director Bruce Boyd, and then-Western Conservation Foundation executive director Adam Eichberg. ^[6]

NVF was created with grants from an unknown source totaling $3.725 million. From the start, it also had an administrative services agreement with Arabella Advisors (then Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors) to provide management and consulting services to the NVF. According to its description of activities, the NVF was created to pursue two purposes: ^[7]

[F]irst, it will engage in a program dedicated to protecting and preserving the environment from the detrimental effects of off-road vehicle use; second, it will engage in a program dedicated to the American Christian Evangelical environmental community, building a grassroots movement of Evangelicals and educating the American public regarding the Evangelical environmental message.

The NVF’s founding document further quotes three Psalms from the Bible in support of advancing an environmentalist agenda. The NVF also explained in the document its intent to provide an “Environmental Toolkit for Pastors”: ^[8]

The Environmental Toolkit for Pastors will be designed to enable Pastors to integrate creation-care teaching into their ministry. An important part of [the] Pastor’s toolkit will be materials for worship services that will celebrate all of God’s creation and explore how mankind can be better stewards of the His [sic] creation, including suggestions for hymns (including processional, worship and offertory hymns and hymns of commitment), invocations, New and Old Testament lessons, responsive readings and sermon outlines (or “seeds” whereby Pastors can create their own sermons).

Worship materials will be created for various topics, including global warming, air and water pollution, endangered species and the environment’s effect on human health . . . . In addition, the Pastor’s toolkit will include materials . . . to educate Pastors regarding creation care’s basis in Scripture, as well as fact sheets for Pastors and their congregations on various environmental topics and suggestions for how congregations can take action to care for God’s creation.

“Fake” Groups

The New Venture Fund, like all four nonprofits managed by the for-profit consultancy Arabella Advisors, primarily exists to sponsor a number of “fake” groups: websites designed to look like standalone nonprofits. These “fake” groups rarely become fully-fledged nonprofits; instead, they typically exist to effect an issue advocacy campaign pushing left-wing policies and may disappear after the campaign is finished. The New Venture Fund the oldest of Arabella’s four nonprofits, and was founded as the Arabella Legacy Fund in 2006. The groups it sponsors encompass a wide range of issues and policy areas. ^[9]

The New Venture Fund describes its mission as “dedicated to supporting innovative and effective public interest projects” through fiscal sponsorship and grants. ^[10] According to its 2018 IRS Form 990 filing (archived here), NVF identified three program areas in which it spent money:

In 2018, NVF spent $90,387,850 on “civil rights, social action, and advocacy,” of which $44,453,476 was spent in grants to other nonprofits: ^[11]

NVF’s civil rights, social action, and advocacy portfolio spans a broad spectrum of projects, including those which seek to protect the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality; inspire and implement new ideas and processes for the betterment of society; and foster public participation in the debate on important social issues to ensure that communities have a voice in public policies that impact their lives.

In 2018, NVF spent $87,959,941 on “environmental programs,” of which $60,616,035 was spent in grants to other nonprofits: ^[12]

NVF’s environmental programs focus on a range of conservation, climate, river conservation, alternative energy sources and reduction of fossil fuels, protection of ocean life, wildlands conservation, ecological agriculture, and habitat restoration. Activities among these projects include grantmaking, communications, coordination among stakeholders, civic and media engagement, and public awareness campaigns.

In 2018, NVF spent $66,008,606 on “youth development and education-focused projects,” of which $36,037,962 was spent in grants to other nonprofits: ^[13]

NVF operates a variety of youth development and education-focused projects. These projects work in a range of areas to support the development of youth and improvement of education in the U.S., such as early learning in vulnerable populations, literacy, connected learning, support to teachers and other educational professionals, and advocacy for effective teaching practices and education reform. Our work primarily includes grantmaking, convenings, and strategic communications support.

In addition, NVF spent $108,608,263 on unnamed program services, of which $64,243,743 was paid out in grants to other groups. ^[14]

The New Venture Fund claims it has sponsored over 280 projects since its inception in 2006 touching a broad range of center-left issues. ^[15] The following are a handful of known NVF-sponsored projects or areas funded by the nonprofit; more of its projects are listed at the bottom of this profile (under “Child Organizations”).

Known New Venture Fund Projects

List also includes former NVF projects that have since become standalone nonprofits

• Abortion On Our Own Terms
• All Above All
• Allied Progress
• Avon Breast Cancer Crusade
• Black Civic Engagement Fund (Democracy Alliance)
• Center for Secure and Modern Elections
• Civic Engagement Fund
• Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund
• Climate Justice Resilience Fund (CJRF)
• Conservative Leaders for Education
• Constitutional Responsibility Education Project
• Demand Justice Initiative
• Demand Progress Education Fund
• Climate Fund (Democracy Alliance)
• Democracy Fund (Democracy Alliance)
• Election Security Project
• Employment Technology Fund
• Fix the Court (FTC)
• Fund for a Safer Future
• Hope and Heal Fund
• Inclusive Economy Fund (Democracy Alliance)
• Keep Birth Control Copay Free
• Latino Engagement Fund (Democracy Alliance)
• Latino Victory Fund
• Make It Work Campaign
• Media Democracy Fund (MDF) (former project of Proteus Fund)
• National Network of State Teachers of the Year
• New American Majority Fund (Democracy Alliance)
• PACENation
• Pluribus Project
• Research Collaborative Fund
• Restore Public Trust (RPT)
• SAGE Fund
• SalmonState
• Save My Care
• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
• Science Philanthropy Alliance
• Secure Elections for America Now (SEAN)
• The Enough Project
• TheDream.US
• UnRestrict Minnesota
• UpStream USA (former NVF project)
• Voter Engagement Fund
• Voter Rights Action
• We Mean Business Coalition
• Western Values Project
• Wild Rivers Project
• Women’s Equality Center
• Youth First Initiative
• Youth Engagement Fund (Democracy Alliance)

Allied Progress

Also see Allied Progress (Nonprofit)

In 2015, Allied Progress was formed using money from New Venture Fund to push for Congress not to overturn the country’s ban on crude oil exports. Allied Progress ran an advertisement campaign in Colorado, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, and New Mexico, urging voters to tell their senators they wanted to keep the ban. ^[16] Allied Progress Action is the sister to Allied Progress and a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Campaign for Accountability

Also see Campaign for Accountability (Nonprofit)

SiliconBeat reported that New Venture Fund was behind Campaign for Accountability, which did extensive research into Google’s relationship with the Obama White House and created the Google Accountability Project, a website that pointed out the tech giant’s heavy influence with the Obama administration. ^[17] The publication noted that New Venture Fund has received financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($94 million between 2014 and 2016) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($17 million during that period.)^[18]

Education

New Venture Fund gave about $4 million to a failed Mississippi initiative in 2015 that would have given state judges power over school issues, including increased education spending. ^[19]

In a report over the National Education Association’s $138 million in spending in the 2016 fiscal year, Dropout Nation, an education reform website, pointed out the national teachers union gave $62,657 to New Venture Fund and $550,000 to Sixteen Thirty Fund, an endowment developed by Arabella Advisors. ^[20] Eric Kessler, the president and board chairman of New Venture Fund, also founded Arabella Advisors. ^[21]

Leadership

President

Lee Bodner serves as New Venture Fund’s president, after previously serving as managing director of Arabella Advisors. ^[22] He was founding executive director of ecoAmerica, a nonprofit focusing on educating the American public on conservation issues. While there, Bodner helped launch the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which brought the climate change issue front and center in higher education. ^[23] Bodner received total compensation of $295,988 in 2018. ^[24]

Eric Kessler serves as chairman of the board of directors. He founded and serves as senior managing director of Arabella Advisors, a social venture firm working to increase the effectiveness of philanthropy that works in conjunction with New Venture Fund. ^[25] Kessler helped manage conservation issues around the globe for the Clinton administration. ^[26] Kessler was founding president of the NVF from 2006 to 2015. ^[27]

Board of Directors

The New Venture Fund’s board of directors consists of (including former board members): ^{[28] [29]}

• Eric Kessler (2017 board chair), founder and managing director of Arabella Advisors;
• Lee Bodner, president of New Venture Fund, who received total compensation of $295,988 in 2018;
• Adam Eichberg (2018 board chair), a Windward Fund board member and environmentalist consultant running the Denver based Headwater Strategies, a legislative advocacy organization that focuses mainly on environmental issues;
• Wilbur Priester, Arabella Advisors chief financial officer;
• Andrew Schulz, Arabella Advisors general counsel, who received compensation from NVF totaling $25,965 in 2018;
• Katherine Miller, senior director of food policy advocacy for the James Beard Foundation, the former managing director of Hattaway Communications, and a NARAL Pro-Choice America board member;
• Daryl Dodson, managing director for the private equity firm Illumen Capital and board director for Ben & Jerry’s;
• Harry Drucker, president of the real estate advisory firm Revere Corporation and a trustee for the Nature Conservancy;
• Thomas Gibian, head of school for Sandy Spring Friends School (in Sandy Spring, Maryland) and former COO for the AIG African Infrastructure Fund;
• Yanique Redwood (a former board member; listed as Yanique Gibian in NVF’s 2017 Form 990), president and CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation and a former senior associate for the Annie E. Casey Foundation; ^[30] and
• Vatsala Pathy, owner of the healthcare consultancy Rootstock Solutions, former State Innovation Model director for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D).

Key Staff

In 2018, NVF reported spending $49,728,842 on employee salaries and compensation. The following are key staffers for the NVF: ^[31]

The New Venture Fund’s highest-paid staffer in 2018 was Marc Kastner, an NVF project director and president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance (an NVF project). Kastner earned total compensation of $354,197.

Valerie Conn is an NVF project director and executive director of the Science Philanthropy Alliance; in 2018, she received total compensation of $336,862.

Heather Joseph is an NVF project director and head of SPARC (an NVF project); in 2018, she received total compensation of $337,134.

Arkadi Gerney is an NVF project director and head of the Hub Project (an NVF project); in 2018, he received total compensation of $339,517.

Candy Marshall is an NVF project director and president of TheDream.US (an NVF illegal immigration project); in 2018, she received total compensation of $317,073.

Lobbying

Between 2009 and 2019 (Quarter 3), the New Venture Fund spent $9.3 million in lobbying expenditures in the U.S. Congress (a version containing the bills lobbied for is available here): ^[32]

Funding

Financial Overview

The New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. In 2018, NVF reported total revenues of $405 million, total expenditures of $373 million (including grants paid totaling $205 million), and net assets of $372 million. ^[33]

An overview of NVF’s total revenues (including a percentage change from year to year), total expenditures, grants paid, and net assets from 2006 to 2018 is provided below: ^[34]

Donors to New Venture Fund

Between 2007 and 2018, the New Venture Fund received approximately $842 million in grants from 501(c)(3) public charities and private foundations. ^[35] While the IRS does not require NVF to report its donors, it is required to report its donation sums. In 2018, NVF’s biggest donations were for $63 million, $34 million, $24 million, $21 million, $18 million, $14 million, $11 million, $8.6 million, and $8.5 million. ^[36]

The following chart denotes grants made to the New Venture Fund over that period: ^[37]

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

In 2018, left-of-center nonprofit the Rockefeller Brothers Fund donated a series of grants to New Venture Fund projects which totaled $1,192,359: ^[38]

• $125,000 – For its project, PACENation
• $122,359 – For its project, Pluribus Project
• $65,000 – For the work of the President’s Council of its US Impact Investing Alliance
• $25,000 – For its 2020 Census Project
• $300,000 – For its Fossil-Fuel Reduction Campaign
• $200,000 – For its Fossil Fuel Reduction Project’s International Energy Initiative
• $55,000 – For its Redistricting Reform Project
• $50,000 – For the Rework America Task Force of its project, Skillful
• $50,000 – For its project, Media Democracy Fund
• $200,000 – For its project, The Partnership Fund

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

In 2018, private foundation the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation donated a series of grants to New Venture Fund projects which totaled $7,417,000:  ^[39]

• $1,500,000 – For support of the Vision First Project
• $1,550,000 – For the Moving Beyond Oil Project
• $100,000 – For the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign
• $510,000 – For the SalmonState Project
• $400,000 – For Climate Interactive’s Enroads Project
• $600,000 – For Climate and Clean Energy State Equity Fund
• $100,000 – For the Alaska Heritage Campaign
• $500,000 – For support of the 2020 Climate Education Fund
• $500,000 – For the Fund for a Safer Future
• $500,000 – For support of the Safety Net Defense Force
• $50,000 – For support of organizational diversity equity and inclusion capacity of Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
• $767,000 – For the OER Program at the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
• $40,000 – For a Funders Collaborative for Innovative Measurement
• $300,000 – For support of the Collaborative for Student Success

Approved for future payment – $2,183,000

• $383,000 – For the OER Program at SPARC
• $1,500,000 – For the Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy
• $300,000 – For support of the Collaborative for Student Success

Silicon Valley Communications Fund

In 2018, Silicon Valley Communications Fund donated $6,838,000 to New Venture Fund for general nonprofit support. ^[40]

Grants from New Venture Fund

The New Venture Fund paid out $205,351,216 in grants to other nonprofits in 2018; in 2017, it paid out $154,740,778 in grants. ^[41] It has consistently made grants to (unnamed) groups outside of the United States, including Central America and the Caribbean; South America; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Asia and the Pacific; Western Europe; Russia and Eastern Europe; and Mexico and Canada. These grants included support for, among other things, “advocacy,” “social action,” “civil rights,” and “environmental programs.” In 2018, NVF paid out $37,756,628 in foreign grants. ^[42]

In 2018, NVF reported that it paid out $14,566,321 in grants to other organizations that was used for lobbying purposes. ^[43]

Between 2008 and 2018, the New Venture Fund paid out $507 million in grants to other organizations: ^[44]