The Gates Foundation quietly halted supporting a major left-wing dark money network with ties to the Democratic Party earlier this summer, the New York Times (NYT) reported Tuesday.
A June 24 internal foundation announcement obtained by the NYT shows that the Gates Foundation chose to stop making grants to nonprofit funds administered by Arabella Advisors. The foundation’s June announcement, which was sent to some employees who supervise grant programs, did not directly bring up politics, according to the NYT.
Gates Foundation officials instead mentioned wanting to build “deeper” relationships with the foundation’s partners in the announcement, the NYT reported.
“Teams are increasingly working directly with programmatic partners — organizations that are deeply embedded in the communities we serve and closely aligned with our mission,” the internal announcement states, according to the NYT. “As we look ahead, this is a chance to build deeper, more durable relationships with those partners — and to reinforce the kind of legacy we want to leave behind.”
Arabella notably manages a variety of dark money funds that funnel hundreds of millions of difficult-to-trace dollars into left-of-center political organizations and advocacy groups. In 2022, Arabella raised over $1 billion and poured millions into liberal causes nationwide, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported in November 2023.
The Gates Foundation said in a statement provided to the NYT that its decision to sever ties with Arabella was “a business decision that reflects our regular strategic assessments of partnerships and operating models.”
The foundation said in the aforementioned internal announcement that it would not create new investments with “Arabella-related entities,” such as the Redstone Strategy Group, a consulting firm acquired by Arabella in 2023, the NYT reported. Moreover, the nonprofit said it would not extend the duration of current grants and would also attempt to “pursue early exits” from certain long-term investments, according to the NYT.
Arabella was founded in 2005 by Eric Kessler, a veteran of the Clinton administration and a longtime staffer at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). The LCV is an American environmental advocacy group which has staunchly opposed the Trump administration and whose related super PAC frequently supports Democratic Party candidates for office. Additionally, nonprofit groups managed by Arabella shelled out over $4 million into voter engagement and registration groups across several battleground states in 2022.
Billionaire Elon Musk alleged in March that Arabella’s groups and major Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue were part of a “left-wing NGO [non-governmental organization] cabal” that was coordinating and helping fund anti-Teslaprotests. Musk has also called for Arabella Advisors’ entities to be investigated, the NYT reported.
Five anonymous sources told the NYT that some Arabella clients who are concerned that President Donald Trump could potentially investigate their operations have weighed potential ways to become less reliant on Arabella’s services this year.
“We are proud of the work we’ve done and continue to do with the Gates Foundation and the impact we’ve helped support through their giving to the New Venture Fund,” an Arabella Advisors spokesperson said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “Arabella Advisors provides operational support to hundreds of philanthropic clients pursuing social change and we remain committed to providing this support. We do not have donors, make grants, or engage in political activity.”
The Gates Foundation did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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