A nonprofit group funded by major Republican donor Peter Thiel appears to have donated $3 million to a group that has funded a number of left-leaning and progressive-aligned organizations element Democrats, according to tax documents first reviewed by CNBC.
The Thiel Foundation, a 501(c)(3) fund founded and fully self-funded by the tech investor, has given the money to the new Venture Capital Fund in 2021, according to a report. 990 tax forms.
New Ventures is a 501(c)(3) group based in Washington, D.C. that has for many years served as a major donor to several groups affiliated with the Democratic Party. It is also known as the “black money” organization because it does not publicly disclose the names of its donors. The new venture fund raised more than $950 million in 2021, according to team filings.
The listed donation to the New Venture Fund coincides with Thiel helping Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections. He has donated more than $35 million to the cause. of the GOP during a two-year election cycle, according to data from the nonpartisan OpenSecrets. Thiel since then speak he does not plan to financially support Republican candidates running in the 2024 election.
According to Anna Massoglia of OpenSecrets, Thiel’s listed donation to the New Venture Fund may have gone to a less partisan organization that the fund financially supports.
Massoglia suggested another scenario: the Thiel Foundation accountants may have filled out the wrong forms.
“While some of the New Venture Fund’s grant recipients lean left-leaning, others are not as prominently ideological,” says Massoglia, an investigative and editorial manager at OpenSecrets. know in an email. “Some nonprofits also use the New Venture Fund as a pass-through to fund other groups, so it’s not out of the question that Thiel’s fund is funding a specific group through through this fund.”
“I also leave open the possibility that the accountant or attorney who filled out the tax form may also have looked up the wrong organization,” Massoglia said.
New York Times report in 2022, Thiel is among a group of donors who are working to counter the advantage the Democrats have in the “black money” war. Thiel has an estimated net worth of over $9 billion.
open secret report that such organizations spent and donated more than $295 million in the 2022 midterm elections. One Nation, a 501(c)(4) group affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., poured more than $120 million into the 2022 midterm elections.
Thiel Foundation’s $3 million listing contribution to the New Venture Fund represents the second-largest contribution the organization has made in 2021. The largest donation, more than $4 million . . The Donors Trust often acts as a major donor to conservative-leaning nonprofit groups. It raised over $1 billion by 2021, according to taxes documents.
Brendan Fischer, deputy chief executive officer of watchdog Documented, told CNBC after reviewing the tax form: “You don’t usually see grants to Donors Trust and New Venture Fund on the same 990.” “And based on the address, the recipient of the $3 million Thiel Foundation grant appears to be the same New Venture Fund supporting progressive causes.”
The New Venture Fund donation address on Thiel’s fund forms is listed as 21828 L Street NW Suite 300-A Washington DC, 20036. The New Venture Fund 2021 tax form lists an address similar only is 1828 L Street NW Suite 300-A Washington DC, 20036. A Google Maps search turned up no results for 21828 L Street NW in Washington DC.
Tax records from 2013 show that the Thiel Foundation did not donate to the New Venture Fund before 2021. The filing does not indicate what the donation to the New Venture Fund was for. A spokesperson for Thiel and the foundation did not respond to requests for comment. Accountants listed on Thiel Foundation’s forms did not return requests for comment.
A representative for New Ventures did not return a request for comment.
In the same year as the Thiel donation, the New Venture Fund raised more than $7 million for America Votes, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit voting rights group focused on educating people voting by mail, according to other tax filings. a non-profit organization sponsored by by billionaire and major Democratic donor George Soros gave more than $16 million to American ballots during that same time period.
The new venture fund is part of a network of left-wing nonprofits led by philanthropic consulting firm Arabella Advisors. The company was paid nearly $30 million by the New Venture Fund in 2021 for administration, operations and management services, according to the nonprofit’s tax form.
Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4) institution with a similar address to the New Venture Fund, paid Arabella Advisors $5 million for their services in 2021, subject to a different tax stipulation. File. Records show that the Sixteen Thirty Fund received more than $27 million in grants from the New Venture Fund that year. According to the filing, the team has raised more than $180 million by 2021.
Like the New Venture Fund and Donors Trust, the Sixteen Thirty Fund does not publicly disclose its sponsors.
