Sagner Family Foundation

The Sagner Family Foundation is a private foundation located in New York City. The organization was established in 2017, though it had charitable trust status as early as 1961. 12 The Foundation supports left-progressive advocacy groups that advance social, economic, and racial issues,2 including the Tides Foundation, the ACLU, and Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. 3

At-A-Glance

Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Formation:

1961

Location: New York, NY View on map
Tax ID: 22-1711646
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $20,703,329 Revenue: $3,592,641 Expenses: $2,325,803

Contents

    Foundation president Deborah Sagner, the daughter of former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey commissioner and Clinton administration-era Corporation for Public Broadcasting Chair Alan Sagner, is a prominent donor to left-progressive racial advocacy associated with the Black Lives Matter movement and the radical-left Movement for Black Lives organization that purports to lead it. 4

    Leadership

    Deborah Sagner is the president of the Sagner Family Foundation. 4 She is the daughter of the late Alan Sagner, the former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting during the Clinton administration. 4 She earns $99,640 in her role as president of the family foundation. 5

    She has made several donations to the Movement for Black Lives, a radical-left-aligned6 organization within the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2020, she gave $50,000 to the organization. 4 Also in 2020, she signed a letter asking for a congressional mandate for nonprofits to give at least 10 percent of their assets to charitable causes, rather than the current 5 percent requirement, as a temporary condition during the COVID-19 pandemic. 4

    As of summer 2020, individuals listing the Sagner Family Foundation as their employer had given thousands of dollars in disclosed contributions to Democratic political candidates and left-leaning candidates. The contributions to candidates include U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), according to Open Secrets, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics that tracks campaign contributions. 7

    Funding Projects

    The Sagner Family Foundation helped fund a $5.5 million donation to the Newark Museum in 2017 for opening the front entrance that had been closed for two decades. 8

    In 2018, the Foundation made substantial grants to the illegal immigrant advocacy group Movimiento Cosecha (through ActBlue Charities), liberal grantmaker North Star Fund, left-progressive organizing group Public Policy and Education Fund, LGBT advocacy group Southerners on New Ground, and the pass-through funding entity Tides Foundation. 3

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $20,703,329 $3,592,641 $2,325,803 View
    2023 $21,132,604 $378,081 $1,330,325 View
    2022 $20,154,075 $619,901 $1,486,365 View
    2021 $23,636,382 $1,322,631 $1,404,072 View
    2020 $22,471,630 $821,084 $2,200,891 View

    Prior year filings: 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $214,400
    • Number of Grants: 2
    • Number of Funders: 2

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $20,0002023 W W Smith Charitable TrustFood, Clothing & Shelter

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $6,675,381
    • Number of Grants: 512
    • Number of Recipients: 264

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $750,0002024 Amalgamated Charitable Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $500,0002024 Center for Constitutional RightsGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002024 Indian Law Resource CenterGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002024 PROTEUS FUND INCGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002024 Possibility LabsGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002024 Tides CenterGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002024 We Are Purposeful IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $7,5002024 National Kidney Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $2,0002024 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Inc.GENERAL SUPPORT
    $1,0502024 Association for Women's Rights in DevelopmentGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1,0002024 Jewish Voice for Peace Leadership and Culture LabGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1,0002024 North Star FundGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1,0002024 Peoples Kitchen PhillyGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1752024 The Franklin InstituteGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1502024 Berkshire Garden Center IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1062024 Planting Fields FoundationGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1022024 New York Historical SocietyGENERAL SUPPORT
    $702024 Mass AudubonGENERAL SUPPORT
    $602024 Thirteen WnetGENERAL SUPPORT
    $532024 Edith Wharton Restoration IncGENERAL SUPPORT

    References

    1. “Sagner Family Foundation: A Nonprofit Corporation.” Manta. Accessed July 4, 2020. https://www.manta.com/c/mkx3rtd/sagner-family-foundation-a-non-profit-corporation
    2. “Sagner Family Foundation.” Big Data Base. Accessed July 4, 2020. http://www.bigdatabase.com/Big-DB/USFoundation-profiles/THE%20SAGNER%20FAMILY%20FOUNDATION-221711646.HTML
    3. Sagner Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV Line 3
    4. Daniels, Alex. “The Movement for Black Lives Calls On Philanthropy to Provide $50 Million.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. June 10, 2020. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/The-Movement-for-Black-Lives/248960
    5. “Sagner Family Foundation.” Grantmakers. Accessed July 4, 2020. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/221711646-sagner-family-foundation/
    6. French, David. “Black Lives Matter Keeps Getting More Radical – Will the Media Care?” National Review. National Review, August 9, 2016. https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/08/black-lives-matter-media-left-radical/.
    7. “Sagner Family Foundation.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed July 4, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary?id=D000037330
    8. Strunsky, Steve. “After 20 Years, Newark Museum to Reopen its Main Entrance.” Newark Star-Ledger. May 31, 2017. Accessed July 4, 2020. https://www.nj.com/essex/2017/05/after_20_years_newark_museum_to_reopen_its_main_en.html