New Venture Fund

New Venture Fund
Formation2006; 18 years ago (2006)
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
AffiliationsArabella Advisors
Sixteen Thirty Fund
Hopewell Fund
Windward Fund
North Fund
Budget (2020)
$975,483,022 (revenue)
Websitenewventurefund.org

The New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization managed by Arabella Advisors, a for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a politically liberal "dark money" network in the United States.[1] The New Venture Fund serves as the fiscal sponsor for various left-leaning political projects.[2] The New Venture Fund has annual revenue of nearly $1 billion.

According to OpenSecrets, the New Venture Fund "has fiscally sponsored at least 80 groups and acted as a pass-through agency funneling millions of dollars in grants for wealthy donors to opaque groups with minimal disclosure."[3] According to Axios, the New Venture Fund has been "criticized for obscuring information about the scores of subsidiary groups they sponsor."[4]

Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is a major donor to the New Venture Fund.[5] The New Venture Fund has given money to Acronym, a partial owner of Courier Newsroom, which The New York Times described as "a network of news media outlets that was criticized by a nonpartisan disinformation watchdog for slanting coverage to favor Democrats."[6]

In October 2023, after a Washington Examiner investigation revealed that the New Venture Fund and the Windward Fund had given $473,000 between 2020 and 2021 to the Alliance for Global Justice, a group with Palestinian terrorism ties, the New Venture Fund and Windward Fund announced they would discontinue funding of the group.[7]

  1. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P.; Goldmacher, Shane (29 January 2022). "Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  2. ^ "The Inside Philanthropy Power List". Inside Philanthropy. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  3. ^ Massoglia, Anna (May 22, 2020). "'Dark money' networks hide political agendas behind fake news sites". OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. ^ Markay, Lachlan (May 13, 2021). "Progressive legal advocacy group spinning off from sponsor". Axios. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  5. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P. (3 May 2021). "Swiss Billionaire Quietly Becomes Influential Force Among Democrats". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  6. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P.; Robertson, Katie (13 April 2021). "Top Bidder for Tribune Newspapers Is an Influential Liberal Donor". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  7. ^ Kaminsky, Gabe (2023-10-30). "Left-wing Arabella Advisors dark money groups cut ties with Palestinian terror-tied charity". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2023-12-03.