The William J. and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation makes grants to left-of-center causes as well as educational institutions and the arts. The foundation has made sizeable donations to Yale University ¹ and Harvard University as well as supporting left-leaning voter registration efforts. ²

Grantmaking

The William J. and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation primarily donates to prestige academic and arts institutions, media outlets, and left-leaning advocacy groups in the northeastern United States. From at least 2019 to 2021, the foundation gave $2.5 million a year to Yale University. ^{3 4 5}

Other educational institutions receiving funds from the foundation include Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, which received $400,000 in 2020 ⁶ and $500,000 in 2021; ⁷ the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University, which received $2 million in 2019; ⁸ Phillips Academy Andover, a prep school that heavily feeds into Ivy League universities, which received $10,000 both 2019 ⁹ and 2020 ¹⁰ and $50,000 in 2021; ¹¹ and Wellesley College, which received $1 million in 2019. ¹²

The foundation also provides funding to media and the arts, including a $650,000 donation in 2021 to National Public Radio, ¹³ considered by many media watchdogs to have a left-of-center bias. ¹⁴ Other recipients of foundation grants include various fine art organizations in the greater Boston area, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. ¹⁵

Additionally, foundation finances pro-abortion organizations. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, a state affiliate of major pro-abortion advocacy organization NARAL Pro-Choice America, receives regular funding from the Foundation, including $10,000 donations in 2021 ¹⁶ and 2020 ¹⁷ and a $5,000 donation in 2019. ¹⁸ Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts — an affiliate of major abortion provider Planned Parenthood Federation of America — is another regular recipient of donations from the Foundation, receiving $20,000 both  2021 ¹⁹ and 2020 ²⁰ as well as $25,000 in 2019. ²¹

Voter Registration

In the leadup to the 2020 election, the William K. and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation provided funding to left-of-center voter registration efforts. In 2019, the foundation donated $25,000 to the Voter Participation Center, a left-leaning nonprofit organizing the registration of numerous Democratic-leaning voting population. ²² That same year, it gave $25,000 to the Voter Registration Project Education Fund, the education of the Voter Registration Project, a left-of-center group that mobilizes Democratic-leaning groups.

The next year, the foundation continued its support for pro-Democratic voter outreach efforts with  two $50,000 donations to Voter Participation Center and Voter Registration Project Education Fund, respectively. ²³

Funders

The William J. & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation receives most of its funding from investment income. ^{24 25}

People

The William J. and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation is run by the eponymous couple. William Poorvu graduated from Yale University and later received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He has worked as a partner in various real estate investment companies, including Baupost Group LLC. He teaches as an adjunct professor at the Harvard Business School. ²⁶

Lia G. Poorvu, the wife of William Poorvu, is a graduate of Wellesley College where she now acts as a trustee. She is also a lecturer in French at Tufts University. ²⁷

1. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019
2. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
3. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019.
4. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
5. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
6. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
7. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
8. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019.
9. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019.
10. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
11. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
12. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019.
13. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
14. Dvorkin, Jeffrey A. “Media Bias on NPR – It Seems Obvious to Some.” NPR. June 21, 2005. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2005/06/21/4712584/media-bias-on-npr-it-seems-obvious-to-some.
15. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
16. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
17. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
18. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019.
19. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
20. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
21. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019.
22. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2019.
23. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
24. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2020.
25. The William & Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). 2021.
26. “William J. Poorvu.” Harvard Business School. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6531.
27. “Lia G Poorvu.” LittleSis. Accessed June 16, 2023.