The Weissman Family Foundation is a grantmaking nonprofit based in New York state. It donates to organizations involved in left-of-center advocacy on issues relating to environmentalism, criminal justice, health care, housing, voting, immigration, media, and the arts. ¹

Grantmaking

Environmentalism

One of the largest organizations to which the Weissman Family Foundation has made donations for environmentalist advocacy is the Sierra Club Foundation. In 2019, the Weissman Family Foundation donated $5,000 in unrestricted funding to support the Sierra Club Foundation. ¹

Criminal Justice and Foreign Relations

One notable organization that the Weissman Family Foundation has made donations to is Amnesty International (AI). AI advocates for many left-of-center issues, but the organization was founded on, and continues to advocate for, issues relating to criminal justice. Specifically, it advocates for an end to the death penalty, ² increasing the power and influence of international justice systems, such as The International Criminal Court, ³ and strict regulations on arms trading around the globe. ⁴ In 2019, the Weissman Family Foundation granted AI $5,000 in unrestricted funding. ¹

Health Care and Social Issues

The Weissman Foundation has funded the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), an abortion, birth control, STD research, and contraception advocacy group. ⁵ In 2019, PPFA received an unrestricted grant of $5,000 from the Weissman Family Foundation. ¹

Housing

One of the largest donations the Weissman Family Foundation made in 2019 went towards the left-wing housing nonprofit National Alliance to End Homelessness. This group takes a legislation-based approach to solving homelessness and as a result advocates for free and permanent taxpayer-funded housing through grants from the federal government. ⁶ The Weissman Family Foundation gave the Alliance $100,000 in 2019. ¹

Voting

Another organization which received a large grant from the Weissman Family Foundation is a nonprofit called the Voter Participation Center (VPC). VPC focuses on increasing voter registration among young people, black people, and unmarried women. ⁷ The organization is run by a Democratic political operative, Tom Lopach,  who is the former executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. ⁸ As a result, VPC focuses mainly on helping democrats register to vote. In 2019, VPC received an unrestricted grant of $100,000 from the Weissman Family Foundation. ¹

Immigration

The Weissman Family Foundation has also donated to organizations concerned with immigration such as the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). IRAP is a nonprofit which advocates for changing immigration laws to allow greater numbers of immigrants to access the United States outside of traditional pathways. ⁹ In 2019, The Weissman Family Foundation gave IRAP $75,000 to help it expand its immigration advocacy programs. ¹

Media

One notable media outlet which the Weissman Family Foundation has donated to is the National Public Radio (NPR). In 2019, NPR received a $5,000 grant from the Weissman Family Foundation. ¹

People

Three members of the Weissman family, Daniel, Ellen, and Paul Weissman, constitute the foundation’s board. ¹⁰

1. Weissman Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019, Part XV Line 3 https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/133688122_201912_990PF_2021061118331295.pdf
2. “Death Penalty.” Amnesty International. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty.
3.  “International Justice.” Amnesty International. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/international-justice/.
4. “Arms Control.” Amnesty International. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/arms-control/.
5. Parenthood, Planned. “Official Site.” Planned Parenthood. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/.
6. “Policy.” National Alliance to End Homelessness. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://endhomelessness.org/ending-homelessness/policy/.
7. “About Us.” Voter Participation Center. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://www.voterparticipation.org/about-us/.
8. “Tom Lopach.” Ballotpedia. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Tom_Lopach.
9.  Person. “Protecting and Expanding U.S. Refugee Resettlement.” International Refugee Assistance Project. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/protecting-us-resettlement.
10. Weissman Family Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Part VII Box 1 https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/133688122_201912_990PF_2021061118331295.pdf