The Wexner Foundation is a private foundation founded in 1983 by Leslie Wexner, the creator of Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria Secret, PINK, and Bath and Body Works which attempts to support Jewish leaders in religion and government in the United States and Israel. The group advocates for LGBT interests, ¹ promotes environmentalist activities, ² and advocates that systemic racism exists in the United States. ³

History

The Wexner Foundation was founded in 1983 by Leslie Wexner, the creator of Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria Secret, PINK, and Bath & Body Works. The organization was founded to support Jewish people seeking positions of authority in business and advocate for Israeli public officials. The organization has offices in Ohio, New York, and Jerusalem. Its Fellowship Program, formed in 1988, is a grant making arm which invests in Jewish graduate students and in Jewish study programs at universities around the U.S. such as Harvard and Yale. ⁴

Its sister organization, Wexner Family Charitable Fund, is the foundation’s philanthropic arm which donates directly to Wexner Foundation and educational institutions. It was founded in 1991 and has regularly made donations to Ivy League universities such as Harvard and Yale. ⁵ According to the Charitable Fund’s 2020 tax return, it granted $9 million to the Wexner Foundation and $3 million to the President and Fellows of Harvard University. ⁶

Advocacy

Wexner Foundation publishes a blog which its members can use to discuss topics that align with the foundation’s ideologies. Some of the topics include LGBT groups, climate-change policy, and left-wing racial advocacy. ⁷

LGBT

Wexner published a blog post from Rachel Fried of Jewish Queer Youth (JQY). JQY is an organization that supports LGBT Orthodox Jewish youth from 13 to 23 meet with each other to help “heal or prevent” them from feeling alienated for going against traditionalist Jewish teachings on sexuality. ¹

Climate

Racheli Merhav, an Israeli human rights activist, wrote for the Wexner Foundation about climate change in which she blamed humanity for the climate being different today than it was before WWII. She claimed that humans are not superior to any other animal, and that a fundamental reconsideration of society was necessary to “fix” the planet. ²

Racism

The Wexner Foundation created a Racial Justice Task Force following the police-involved death of George Floyd. This group focuses on growing the number of Black, Middle Eastern, and Asian people involved in the Jewish community. The group started a program which used the days between Juneteenth and Independence Day to reflect on “where systematic racism is inhibiting freedom.” ³ The group claimed that white people have privileges over non-white people and that it was important for white people to “unlearn and reevaluate in order to operate in solidarity with marginalized groups of people.” ³

1. Katzner, Dara. “Aiming for Wistful.” The Wexner Foundation, August 17, 2022. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/aiming-for-wistful/.
2. Weinstein, Ze’ev. “To All It May Concern.” The Wexner Foundation, January 17, 2023. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/to-all-it-may-concern/.
3. Thomas, Becca. “Reflecting on a Year of Learning.” The Wexner Foundation, June 29, 2021. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/reflecting-on-a-year-of-learning/.
4. “Our Story.” The Wexner Foundation, January 11, 2022. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/our-story/.
5. “The Wexner Family Charitable Fund Profile: Commitments & Mandates.” PitchBook. Accessed June 20, 2023. https://pitchbook.com/profiles/limited-partner/466057-00.
6. Wexner Family Charitable Fund, Form 990-PF, 2020, Part XV Line 3 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/311318013/202123149349102007/full
7. “Blog.” The Wexner Foundation. Accessed August 4, 2023. https://www.wexnerfoundation.org/blog/.