Person

Winsome McIntosh

Occupation:

President, McIntosh Foundation

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Winsome McIntosh is the president of the McIntosh Foundation, which primarily funds left-wing environmentalist groups. She helped to found ClientEarth, Rachel’s Network, and The Boat Company. McIntosh has also served on the boards of the League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife, and Alliance for Justice. 1

McIntosh Foundation

Winsome McIntosh leads the environmentalist grantmaker the McIntosh Foundation. Winsome’s late husband Michael was president of the McIntosh Foundation for decades; Winsome took over that role in 2015 when he died. The job of president has come with a six-figure income since at least 2001. Between 2001 and 2017, the McIntoshes’ income from the foundation totaled over $3,200,000. 2

The Boat Company was founded in 1979 by the McIntosh couple. The Boat Company hosts “eco-cruises” in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. 3 From 2001 through 2017, The Boat Company received over $7,000,000 from the McIntosh Foundation. 2 Hunter McIntosh, Winsome’s son, serves as the president of The Boat Company and receives a six-figure salary. Between 2015 and 2017, Hunter McIntosh received $462,706 in compensation for his role as president. 4 In 2015, the Boat Company joined Greenpeace in suing the U.S. Forest Service to prevent a logging project in the Tongass Forest. 5

Winsome McIntosh founded Rachel’s Network in 2000 with help from prominent left-wing figures including Barbra Streisand, Margery Tabankin, and Lynde Uihlein. 6 Rachel’s Network seeks to bring together women funders of environmentalist projects. In 2016, the network’s members donated over $59,000,000, with the majority of members allocating 75 percent or more to environmentalist causes. 7 The McIntosh Foundation has directed just over $1,000,000 to Rachel’s Network since 2001. 2

The McIntosh Foundation helped to found ClientEarth and provided the organization with its initial seed money. 8 McIntosh was the founding chair of ClientEarth and served in that role until 2018. 9 ClientEarth pushes an anti-coal agenda seeking to get money managers and pensions to shift away from investing in coal and has brought lawsuits that prevented 15 power plants from being built in Poland. 8 Since 2015, the McIntosh Foundation has provided $485,000 in funding to ClientEarth. 2

Roles with Other Organizations

McIntosh became an Earthjustice trustee in 2018 and has been a member of the organization for 40 years. 10 Earthjustice is an environmental law firm that uses lawsuits to achieve its policy goals. 11 The McIntosh Foundation began supporting Earthjustice in 1971 when it was called the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. 10 Between 2007 and 2017, the McIntosh Foundation has provided Earthjustice with $307,000 in donations2

Winsome McIntosh sat on the board of directors of Defenders of Wildlife from 1994 until 2018 and held the role of chair for part of that time. 12 13 The McIntosh Foundation has provided $410,000 in funding to Defenders of Wildlife between 2005 and 2017. 2

Winsome McIntosh served on the board of directors for the League of Conservation Voters and is still considered an honorary board member by the league. 14 15 Between 2001 and 2017, League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (LCVEF) received $135,000 from the McIntosh Foundation. LCVEF is the 501(c)3 educational arm of the left-wing League of Conservation Voters. 16

Winsome McIntosh is the former vice-chair of the board of directors of Alliance for Justice (AFJ). 14 AFJ is best known for its Judicial Selection Project which supports left-wing judges and opposes confirming conservatives to the courts. 17

Political Donations

Since 1990, McIntosh has donated $35,100 to political candidates. Just over 95 percent of that money went to Democratic candidates including Democratic presidential nominees Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Barack Obama. 18 The lone Republican to receive a donation was moderate former Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). 18 McIntosh has also given thousands to the political action committees of left-wing groups such as Emily’s List, League of Conservation Voters, and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. 18

References

  1. https://www.clientearth.org/people/mcintosh-winsome/
  2. “Mcintosh Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed May 20, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136096459.
  3. “About The Boat Company.” The Boat Company. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.theboatcompany.org/about-us/.
  4. “The Boat Company.” Guidestar.org. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/92-0074462.
  5. Edwards, Larry. “Greenpeace Sues US Forest Service, Big Thorne Logging Threatens Wolves.” Greenpeace USA. September 03, 2014. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/gp-sues-usfs-big-thorne-logging-threatens-wolves-3/.
  6. “About Us.” Rachel’s Network. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://rachelsnetwork.org/about/.
  7. “2016 Annual Report.” Rachel’s Network. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://rachelsnetwork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/RN_AR16_WEB2.pdf.
  8. “Ten Years of ClientEarth 2007–2017.” ClientEarth. Accessed May 21, 2019. https://www.documents.clientearth.org/wp-content/uploads/library/2018-04-23-ten-years-of-clientearth-2007-to-2017-ce-en.pdf.
  9. “Celebrating 12 Years of Winsome McIntosh’s Board Leadership at ClientEarth.” ClientEarth. December 7, 2018. Accessed May 21, 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/celebrating-12-years-of-winsome-mcintoshs-board-leadership-at-clientearth/.
  10. “Longtime Environmental Advocate Winsome McIntosh Becomes Earthjustice Trustee.” Earthjustice. November 19, 2018. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/longtime-environmental-advocate-winsome-mcintosh-becomes-earthjustice-trustee.
  11. “How We Work.” Earthjustice. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://earthjustice.org/about/how_we_work.
  12. “Winsome McIntosh.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/winsomemcintosh/.
  13. “Defenders of Wildlife Announces Board Officers.” Defenders of Wildlife. March 27, 2002. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://defenders.org/press-release/defenders-wildlife-announces-board-officers.
  14. “Winsome McIntosh Trustee.” ClientEarth. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/people/mcintosh-winsome/.
  15. “LCV Board of Directors.” League of Conservation Voters. Accessed May 23, 2019. http://www-stage.lcv.org/board/.
  16. “Non-partisan Voter Participation.” LCV Education Fund. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.lcvef.org/civic-engagement/non-partisan-voter-participation/.
  17. “Alliance for Justice.” Activist Facts. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/529-alliance-for-justice/.
  18. “Donor Lookup: Winsome McIntosh.” OpenSecrets. Accessed May 21, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Winsome McIntosh&order=desc&sort=A.
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