Joanie Bronfman is a longtime left-wing academic and philanthropic consultant. As a member of the board of directors of the Tides Foundation, she has had an enormous influence on left-wing philanthropy. ¹

Bronfman is currently based in Brookline, Massachusetts² and is a member of the Bronfman family, which made its fortune as the owners of the Seagram’s brand of distilled spirits. ³

Early Life and Seagram’s Fortune

Joanie Bronfman is a member of the Bronfman family, which made its fortune as the owners of the Seagram’s brand of distilled spirits. ⁴ A daughter of Gerald Bronfman, a cousin of heir Edgar Bronfman, she like many Bronfmans grew up with extravagant lifestyles. She has described her upbringing as “full of wealth” and expressing that she had “feelings of shame” that she said eventually led her to pursue academic research into the lives of the wealthy. In fact, members of the Bronfman family are among the top 20 wealthiest families in Canada, according to Forbes. ^{5 6}

Academic Career

In 1987, Joanie Bronfman earned a Ph.D. from Brandeis University writing a thesis titled, “The Experience of Inherited Wealth: A Social-Psychological Perspective.” Bronfman, in her thesis, coined the term “wealthism” to describe prejudice against the affluent for none other reason than their being affluent, and provided academic research for the theory. ⁷

Her academic research has been cited and featured by the Whitman Institute, Purposeful Planning Institute, Campden FB (formerly Family Business magazine), International Festival and Events Association and other organizations and publications. ^{8 9 10 11}

Philanthropic and Consulting Career

Along with being a board member and eventually chair of the Tides Foundation and Tides Canada, she has also been a board member of the Tides Network and an investor to the Working Assets Funding Service. ^{12 13}

Bronfman was also a founder of the Threshold Foundation’s Social Justice Committee, Women Donors Network, Jewish Funders Network. ¹⁴

During the early 2000s, Bronfman established a consulting firm that offered counseling and planning services to those who had recently inherited enormous estates. ¹⁵

Political Giving

In 2018, Joanie Bronfman contributed over $15,000 to various Democratic candidates and organizations. She contributed $5,000 to the pro-abortion Democratic PAC Emily’s List and U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL). ¹⁶

In 2016, Bronfman contributed over $150,000 to various Democratic candidates and organizations. She contributed the maximum amount of $5,400 to Hillary for America along with over $30,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund. She also contributed to over $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee and $5,000 each to Emily’s List and the J Street PAC, the political arm of the left-progressive Israel-policy group J Street. She also contributed to U.S. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ). ¹⁷

In 2014, Bronfman contributed over $75,000 to various Democratic candidates and organizations. She donated $5,000 to Women Vote and $2,000 to Emily’s List. She contributed to U.S. Representatives Sean Maloney (D-NY), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) and U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). ¹⁸

In 2012, Bronfman contributed over $120,000 to various Democratic candidates and organizations. She made a $5,000 dollar donation to Emily’s List.  She contributed over $65,000 dollars to the Obama Victory Fund after making the maximum $5,000 campaign donation to President Obama’s reelection campaign. She also made donations to U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) along with U.S. Representatives Mark Takano (D-CA), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Val Demings (D-FL).  ¹⁹

1. “Transformation: Tides Annual Report 2015.” Tides Foundation. 2015. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.tides.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Web_2015_Annual_Report.pdf
2. ”Consultants and Speakers: United States”. Family Firm Institute. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://my.ffi.org/page/consultantsus
3. Brink, Graham. “10 Things: Get to Know the Bronfman Family’s Rich and Storied History.” Tampa Bay Times, July 3, 2019. https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/07/03/10-things-get-to-know-the-bronfman-familys-rich-and-storied-history/.
4. Brink, Graham. “10 Things: Get to Know the Bronfman Family’s Rich and Storied History.” Tampa Bay Times, July 3, 2019. https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/07/03/10-things-get-to-know-the-bronfman-familys-rich-and-storied-history/.
5. “#908 Charles Bronfman”. Forbes. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-bronfman/#2316cb745542
6. Tkacik, Maureen. ”Poor Little Rich Girls: The Ballad of Sara and Clare Bronfman”. New York Observer. August 10, 2010. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://observer.com/2010/08/poor-little-rich-girls-the-ballad-of-sara-and-clare-bronfman/
7. Bronfman, Joanie. “The Experience of Inherited Wealth: A Social-Psychological Perspective,” Ph.D. diss, (Brandeis University, 1987)
8. Greenman, Katie. Wittkamper, Jonah. “Born to Give: A Human Approach to Catalyzing Philanthropy”. Nexus Youth Summit. Summer 2015. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://thewhitmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/born-to-give-report.pdf
9. ”Continuing the Conversation on Fiscal Inequality – Arranged Marriages, the Modern Pre-Nup, and the Civil Law System”. Purposeful Planning Institute. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://purposefulplanninginstitute.com/author/admin/page/40/
10. Bronfman, Joanie. ”True Wealth Management Success Requires More than Financial Skills”. Campden FB. January 1, 2002. Accessed August 1, 2020. http://www.campdenfb.com/article/true-wealth-management-success-requires-more-financial-skills
11. ”Debunking the Myth that If You Want to Have Children to Have Successful Lives- Don’t Tell Them About Their Family’s Wealth”. International Festival and Events Association. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://ifea.silkstart.com/events/ifea-presents-john-a-warnick-1
12. Tides Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2006, Statement 15, Part V-A http://www.foundationsearch.com/990/ARCHIVE/5/TIDES%20FOUNDATION%202006%20510198509.PDF
13. “Tides Foundation”. Ballotpedia. Accessed July 30, 2020 https://ballotpedia.org/Tides_Foundation
14. “Joanie Bronfman.” LittleSis. Accessed August 11, 2020. https://littlesis.org/person/59297-Joanie_Bronfman.
15. “Pathologies of the Idle Rich, Part 3”. Slate. March 12, 2001. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2001/03/pathologies-of-the-idle-rich-part-3.html
16. ”Individual Contributions: Joanie Bronfman”. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Joanie+Bronfman&two_year_transaction_period=2018
17. ”Individual Contributions: Joanie Bronfman”. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Joanie+Bronfman&two_year_transaction_period=2016
18. ”Individual Contributions: Joanie Bronfman”. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Joanie+Bronfman&two_year_transaction_period=2014
19. ”Individual Contributions: Joanie Bronfman”. Federal Elections Commission. Accessed August 1, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Joanie+Bronfman&two_year_transaction_period=2012