Wallace Global Fund

The Wallace Global Fund is a major private foundation controlled by the family of former U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace that funds left-of-center “activities and movements that are global or national in scope.” 1 Areas in which the Wallace Global Fund highlights its funding include divesting from traditional energy sources,2 supporting left-wing media projects,3 and government regulation of the internet. 4 Left-of-center organizations that the fund has given to include Planned Parenthood Federation of America,5 As You Sow,6 and People for the American Way Foundation. 7

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Location: Washington, DC View on map
Tax ID: 80-0424607
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $54,624,934 Revenue: $4,508,739 Expenses: $21,890,720

Contents

    History

    The Wallace Global Fund is named after Henry A. Wallace, a politician who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States under Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 8 During his time in office, Wallace was a champion of the progressive New Deal, 8 gaining a reputation as a left-wing firebrand. He was removed from the Democratic ticket in 1944 for being too far left,9 and in 1948, he challenged President Harry Truman as the nominee of the far-left Progressive Party.

    Environmentalist Grants

    The Wallace Global Fund has given $605,000 to the environmentalist group 350.org since 2013. 10 350.org opposes the use of traditional energy sources such as coal, oil, and gas. 11 The funds from the Wallace Global Fund were earmarked for campaigns demanding action to fight global warming and divestment from fossil fuels. 10 350.org partnered with Bold Alliance, CREDO Mobile, and Oil Change International for the “Solar XL” project which opposes the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. 12

    The environmentalist law firm ClientEarth received $225,000 from the Wallace Global Fund since 2014. 13 In 2017, “ClientEarth was named the most effective environmental organization in the UK.” 14 ClientEarth pushes an anti-coal agenda seeking to get money managers and pensions to shift away from investing in coal and has brought lawsuits that prevented 15 powerplants from being built in Poland. 14

    Other environmental organizations to receive funding from the Wallace Global Fund include Oil Change International,15 Oregon Environmental Council,16 Rachel’s Network, Rainforest Action Network,17 Sierra Club,18 Greenpeace USA,19 and Union of Concerned Scientists. 20

    In May 2019, the Wallace Global Fund pledged to commit $1 million to groups supporting the Green New Deal, including $250,000 to the Sunrise Movement. 21

    Left-of-Center Judicial Policy

    The Wallace Global Fund gave the left-of-center judicial policy organization Alliance for Justice (AFJ) $225,000. 22 The fund has given $175,000 to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP). 23 The Wallace Global Fund has supported the Brennan Center for Justice with $315,000 in donations. 24

    Left-Wing Funders

    The Wallace Global Fund has provided the New Venture Fund (NVF) and projects it backs with $818,000 in funding. 25 NVF is a funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit that caters to left-of-center clients. Two of Wallace Global Fund’s donations to NVF were earmarked for the Youth Engagement Fund, a project of NVF that was created by Democracy Alliance, a network of highly influential funders within the Democratic Party and the political left. 26 Another donation went to Guns Down to back gun control. 25 27

    The Tides Center received $745,000 from the Wallace Global Fund since 2013. 28 The Tides Center is a subsidiary entity of the Tides Foundation, a donor-advised fund for left-of-center causes. Three of the grants from the fund that went through the Tides Center went to Open MIC, which uses “shareholder engagement” to pressure companies to support net neutrality and reject mergers. 28

    Other Left-of-Center Organizations

    The Institute for Policy Studies, a far-left D.C. think tank, has received over $500,000 from the Wallace Global Fund. 29 The institute’s connection to left-wing causes date back to when its founders left the Democratic Kennedy Administration and supported the anti-war movement in the 1960s. 30

    Color of Change received $220,000 from the Wallace Global Fund. 31 Color of Change was the brainchild of Van Jones and James Rucker and was supposed to be “MoveOn for black people.” 32 Color of Change pushes a left-wing agenda of higher taxes,33 socialized healthcare,34 and gun control. 35

    The Wallace Global Fund has backed left-wing media outlets. Mother Jones, a left-of-center bi-monthly magazine published by Foundation for National Progress, received $120,000 from the fund between 2013 and 2015. 36 The Media Consortium, a project of Foundation for National Progress which brings together a network of left-of-center media outlets, collected $210,000 from the Wallace Global Fund. 37 The fund also gave $225,000 to Media Matters for America, which attacks right-of-center media outlets. 38

    Between 2022 and 2023, the Wallace Global Fund gave $510,000 to As You Sow, a left-of-center advocacy organization that engages in shareholder action to pressure companies to adopt various left-of-center positions under the banner of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.39 

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $54,624,934 $4,508,739 $21,890,720 View
    2023 $72,262,898 $8,677,993 $23,315,235 View
    2022 $87,895,301 $4,739,943 $22,515,777 View
    2021 $136,169,792 $23,961,855 $21,935,778 View
    2020 $134,675,174 $11,064,230 $32,581,016 View

    Prior year filings: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Allison BarlowPROGRAM DIRECTOR$338,939
    Robby RodriguezEXECUTIVE DIR. (STARTED 01/24/24)$308,721
    Heather ColemanPROGRAM DIRECTOR$244,134
    Susan GibbsPROGRAM DIRECTOR$209,492
    Bettina Kroll-GuerchADMINISTRATIVE DIREC$148,874
    Ellen DorseyEXECUTIVE DIR. (LEFT 01/23/24)$143,753
    Isabel SalasPR. ASSOC, WOMENS RI$75,519

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $188,037,819
    • Number of Grants: 2,481
    • Number of Recipients: 819

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

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $6,060,0002021 TIDES FOUNDATIONFINAL PAYMENT TO THE WALLACE ACTION FUND DONOR-ADVISED FUND
    $1,000,0002020 Safe Voting FundSafe Voting Fund
    $500,0002023 Windward Fund
    $500,0002022 NEO Philanthropy
    $500,0002022 Windward Fund
    $500,0002020 Movement for Black LivesThe Movement for Black Lives
    $450,0002022 Stand.earth
    $400,0002023 Youth Engagement Fund
    $400,0002020 Trusted Elections FundTRUSTED ELECTIONS FUND
    $360,0002022 Institute for Policy Studies
    $350,0002022 Carbon Tracker Initiative Limited
    $350,0002020 Global Poverty Project IncJust Vote: A Nonpartisan Civic Engagement Initiative to Increase Voter Participation and Turnout in Primary and Mid-Term Elections
    $350,0002020 Windward FundHeartland Fund 2020 General Support Proposal
    $314,0002023 GreenFaith
    $300,0002024 American Economic Liberties ProjectSUPPORT FOR WORK ON GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
    $300,0002024 Windward FundSUPPORT TO PROTECT AND EXPAND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS
    $300,0002023 AS YOU SOW
    $300,0002023 GoodPower Education Fund
    $300,0002023 GreenFaith
    $300,0002023 Trustafrica
    $300,0002022 Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
    $300,0002022 International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
    $300,0002022 International Trade Union Confederation
    $300,0002022 Media Democracy Fund
    $300,0002022 US CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

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    References

    1. “Grants.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/.
    2. “Imagine a Fossil-Free Future.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/divest-invest/.
    3. “New Media Is Driving New Advocacy.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/new-media/.
    4. “Net Neutrality.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/net-neutrality/.
    5. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/45/.
    6. “Search: As You Sow.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/?=”As You Sow”.
    7. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/44/.
    8. “Henry A. Wallace.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/henry-wallace/.
    9. “Henry A. Wallace.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/henry-wallace/.
    10. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/.
    11. “350 — About.” 350. Accessed June 2, 2019. https://350.org/about/.
    12. “Nebraskans Install First Solar Panels Inside the Keystone XL Pipeline Route.” 350.org. July 31, 2017. Accessed June 4, 2019. https://350.org/press-release/nebraskans-install-solar-panels-inside-keystone-xl-route/.
    13. “Search: ClientEarth.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/?s=”ClientEarth“.
    14. “Ten Years of ClientEarth 2007–2017.” ClientEarth. Accessed June 2, 2019. https://www.documents.clientearth.org/wp-content/uploads/library/2018-04-23-ten-years-of-clientearth-2007-to-2017-ce-en.pdf.
    15. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/42/.
    16. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/43/.
    17. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/48/.
    18. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/51/.
    19. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/30/.
    20. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/57/.
    21. Kroll-Guerch, Tina. “Wallace Global Fund Presents the Henry A. Wallace Awared to the Sunrise Movement.” Wallace Global Fund. May 6, 2019. Accessed May 23, 2019. Available at: http://wgf.org/wallace-global-fund-presents-the-henry-a-wallace-award-to-the-sunrise-movement/
    22. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/3/.
    23. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/40/.
    24. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/7/.
    25. “Search: New Venture Fund.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/?s=NEW+VENTURE+FUND.
    26. “Democracy Alliance 2020 Investment Portfolio.” Democracy Alliance. Published Fall 2016. Accessed May 1, 2019. Available: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/04/Democracy-Alliance-2020-Investment-Portfolio-Report.pdf 
    27. “Gun Safety Bill of Rights.” NoRA. Accessed June 4, 2019. https://noranow.org/gun-safety-bill-of-rights/.
    28. “Search: Tides Center.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/?s=”Tides Center”.
    29. “Search: Institute for Policy Studies.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/?s=”Institute for Policy Studies”.
    30. “Our History.” Institute for Policy Studies. Accessed June 2, 2019. https://ips-dc.org/about/history/.
    31. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/15/.
    32. Hinton, Eric L. “Color Of Change: Pursuing an “Unapologetically Black” Agenda.” Accessed June 2, 2019. https://www.africanamerica.org/topic/color-of-change-pursuing-an-unapologetically-black-agenda.
    33. “Fairness in Taxation Act: make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share.” Color of Change Petition. Undated. Accessed June 2, 2019. https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/taxes
    34. “Tell Undecided House Democrats to support #MedicareForAll!” Color of Change Petition. Undated. Accessed June 2, 2019. https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/medicare-forall 
    35. Nichols, John. “Outrage Is Rising Against Stand Your Ground.” The Nation. July 17, 2013. Accessed June 2, 2019. https://www.thenation.com/article/outrage-rising-florida-and-nationally-against-stand-your-ground/
    36. “Search: Mother Jones.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 05, 2019. http://wgf.org/?s=MOTHER JONES.
    37. “Search: Media Consortium.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/?s=”Media Consortium”.
    38. “Grantee Database.” Wallace Global Fund. Accessed June 4, 2019. http://wgf.org/grants/grantee-database-2/page/37/.
    39. Stilson, Robert. “ESG Shareholder Activism in Proxy Preview 2025.” Capital Research Center, April 15, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/esg-shareholder-activism-in-proxy-preview-2025/.