John R. Taylor is the managing partner of the private philanthropy consulting firm Wellspring Advisors and the founder of its associated left-of-center foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. Taylor previously worked for Berger & Montague P.C. from 1989-1997 and as a litigator for Dechert LLP from 1986 to 1989. 1
Taylor was formerly a board member for the abortion clinic network and pro-abortion advocacy group Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a board member for the left-of-center Human Rights Watch. 2 3 4
Background
John R. Taylor and his brother Myles Taylor co-founded Wellspring Advisors in New York in 2000. 5
Taylor has sat on the board of directors at a number of social-liberal organizations, including the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, the Attic Youth Center, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Survivor Corps/Landmine Survivors Network, and Human Rights Watch. 5 Taylor also previously sat on the steering committee for the International Human Rights Funders Group. 5
A third Taylor brother, Fred Taylor, is a left-of-center philanthropist in California who donates to various human rights causes. 6
Wellspring Company and Philanthropy
Wellspring Advisors is a for-profit limited liability corporation created to manage the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, a major left-of-center nonprofit funding organization. 7
Philanthropy News Digest described Wellspring Advisers as a “consulting firm for anonymous donors.” 8 Wellspring Advisors was incorporated in Delaware in May of 2001. The Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, was incorporated in New Jersey in 1999. 7
The Wellspring Philanthropic Fund was previously called the Matan B’Seter Foundation. “Matan B’Seter” is a Hebrew phrase meaning “anonymous gift.” 9
The Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is a member of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation. The Funders Committee for Civic Participation is a project of NEO Philanthropy, a left-of-center pass-through funding organization. The Funders Committee is a donors’ roundtable for major left-wing funders interested in voter engagement and redistricting efforts. 10
Legal Career
Taylor graduated from Haverford College in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in history. 11 After graduating from Haverford, Taylor attended the University of Pennsylvania and received a law degree from Cornell University in 1986. 11 11
After law school, Taylor went to work for Dechert, Price & Rhoads, a Philadelphia law firm. While there, Taylor represented a corporate client in civil matters. 11
In 1989, Taylor moved to Berger & Montague, another Philadelphia law firm. There, Taylor represented plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits against companies that allegedly violated federal securities, anti-trust, and environmental laws. 11
In 1997, Taylor left Berger & Montague for the firm of Sandals, Langer & Taylor where he focused on plaintiff-side class-action litigation until he left the firm in 2000. 11
References
- “John R. Taylor.” ZoomInfo. Accessed August 27, 2019. Original URL: https://www.zoominfo.com/p/John-Taylor/1449159272. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/08/John-R.-Taylor.-ZoomInfo.-08.2019.pdf
- “Planned Parenthood Federation of America: Annual Report 2005-2006.” Planned Parenthood. Accessed August 27, 2019. Original URL: https://www.stopp.org/PPFAReports/PPFA200506001.pdf. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/08/Planned-Parenthood-Foundation-Annual-Report-2005-2006.-08.2019.pdf.
- “Search Results: John R. Taylor.” ProPublica. Accessed August 27, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/name_search/index?utf8=✓&q=John+R.+Taylor
- “Board of Directors (archived).” Human Rights Watch. Archived July 11, 2015. Accessed August 27, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20150711035720/https://www.hrw.org/about/people/board-directors
- About Us. Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. Accessed November 14, 2020. https://wpfund.org/about-us/
- Mider, Zachary. “The $13 Billion Mystery Angels.” Bloomberg News. May 14, 2014. Accessed November 14, 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-05-08/three-mysterious-philanthropists-fund-fourth-largest-u-dot-s-dot-charity
- “Wellspring Advisors, LLC – File No. L08493.” District of Columbia, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Accessed August 15, 2019. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2865739
- “Anonymous Donors of More Than $1 Billion Revealed.” Philanthropy News Digest. May 9, 2014. Accessed July 18, 2019.https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/anonymous-donors-of-more-than-1-billion-revealed
- Ghermezian, Shiryn. “Dozens of Jewish Charities Supported by Newly Revealed ‘$13 Billion Mystery Angels.’” The Algemeiner. May 27, 2014. Accessed July 18, 2019. https://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/27/jewish-charities-heavily-favored-by-newly-revealed-13-billion-mystery-angels/
- “Members.” Funders Committee for Civic Participation. Accessed August 26, 2019. Original URL: https://funderscommittee.org/about/#member-organizations. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/08/Funders-Committee.-Members-and-Staff.-08.2019.pdf.
- John Taylor. Spoke. Accessed November 14, 2020. https://www.spoke.com/people/john-taylor-3e1429c09e597c10080dcc5b