The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation is a technology-focused private foundation founded by Patrick J. McGovern, a technology entrepreneur who founded the International Data Group (IDG), a market intelligence company that publishes several publications and data sources in the technology industry.

Ownership of IDG was transferred to the McGovern Foundation after McGovern’s death in 2014 and was sold by the foundation in 2016. The foundation holds over $1.6 billion in assets according to its 2021 tax documents and gives over $35 million in grants annually. The foundation’s funding priorities focus on providing grants to fund the implementation of data and software adoption and improvement projects. The foundation funds a variety of left-of-center organizations including many environmental groups and advocacy groups such as the New Venture Fund, the Tides Foundation, and the Conservation International Foundation. ^{1 2}

Background

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation was founded through a gift from the estate of Patrick McGovern, the founder of the Boston-based International Data Group (later known as IDG or IDG Incorporated), who died in 2014. Following McGovern’s death, ownership of IDG passed to the McGovern Foundation with the intention for proceeds of the eventual sale of the company to provide funding for the foundation. At the time of McGovern’s death, IDG Communications was a tech media giant that published PCWorld, ComputerWorld, and dozens of other titles and was one of three divisions of IDG Incorporated, which included venture capital and market research arms and was valued at $3.75 billion. The company had over 13,000 employees in 2016. ³

In 2017, the sale of IDG from the McGovern Foundation to China Oceanwide, a privately held international conglomerate, was announced with terms of the deal undisclosed. ⁴

Activities

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation focuses its grantmaking activity on advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and data solutions to nonprofit organizations. Most of the organizations’ grantmaking provides funds to left-of-center organizations to fund the adoption of new types of software, data systems, and artificial intelligence to fund racial equity and environmental-related organizations and projects. ⁵

The foundation has expressed its commitment to left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, stating that “The Foundation invests in activities that lead to greater inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in how AI and data are conceptualized, developed, applied, and deployed.” ⁶

Grantmaking

Examples of grants made by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation include $350,000 to Climate Change AI to “build community and increase collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and private sector stakeholders working on ML + climate,” and $300,000 to Black In AI to “provide general operating and capacity building support for AI programs.” ⁷

The foundation also gave $1.5 million to the left-of-center funding collective New Venture Fund to “support Public Interest Technology (PIT) Infrastructure Fund to build private and public infrastructure to develop and deploy technology that is equitable, accountable to the public, and responsive to society’s most pressing problems.” ⁸

Other grant recipients of the foundation include Climate Policy Radar, CarbonPlan, the Rocky Mountain Institute, Berkeley Earth, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the United Nations Foundation, and UNICEF. ^{9 10}

1. “Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF).” The Patrick J McGovern Foundation. 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/223021586/202243159349102914/full
2. “About.” Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.mcgovern.org/about/
3. Seave, Ava. “Tech Publisher IDG Transforming Itself From Within As It Braces For Sale Or Breakup.” Forbes. April 11, 2016. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2016/04/11/tech-publisher-idg-transforming-itself-from-within-as-it-braces-for-sale-or-breakup/?sh=42f126962b7d
4. Gross. Grant. “China Oceanwide completes its purchase of IDG.” ComputerWorld. March 29, 2017. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.computerworld.com/article/3186505/china-oceanwide-completes-its-purchase-of-idg.html
5. “Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.” World Economic Forum. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.weforum.org/organizations/patrick-j-mcgovern-foundation
6. “About.” Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.mcgovern.org/about/
7. “Grants.” Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.mcgovern.org/grants/
8. “Grants Page 3.” Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.mcgovern.org/grants/page/3/
9. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF).” The Patrick J Mcgovern Foundation Inc. 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/223021586/202243159349102914/full
10. “Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF).” The Patrick J McGovern Foundation. 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/223021586/202243159349102914/full