The Trace is a left-of-center gun control news and journalism website created in 2015 with startup funding from Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a left-of-center gun control advocacy group, and the Joyce Foundation. The Trace is a project of Trace Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Funding

According to an archived copy of its website from December 2015, startup funding for the Trace came from Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and the Joyce Foundation. Additional early funding came from left-wing philanthropist and gun control advocate Nick Hanauer as well as Ken Lerer, owner of the Huffington Post and Buzzfeed. ¹

The Trace reports that its funders consist of: ²

• Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund
• F Three Foundation
• Foundation Beyond Belief
• Franklin Philanthropic Foundation
• George Lucas Family Foundation
• Leboff Weiner DAF
• Lerer Family Charitable Foundation
• Manaaki Foundation
• Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation
• The Aber D. Unger Foundation
• The Cleveland Family Charitable Fund
• The Conway Family Charitable Fund
• The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
• The Joyce Foundation
• The Kendeda Fund
• The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
• The New Venture Fund – Fund for a Safer Future Project
• The Yellow Chair Foundation

Financial Documents

The Trace’s 2016 and 2017 IRS Form 990 filings are available here:

• 2016 Form 990
• 2017 Form 990

1. “About the Trace.” The Trace. Archived December 8, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208165321/https://www.thetrace.org/about-the-trace/
2. “Donor and Financial Transparency.” The Trace. Accessed May 30, 2019. https://www.thetrace.org/donor-financial-transparency/