Bill Gates has quietly stopped providing funds from his $77 billion foundation to a group that supports woke causes and Democratic candidates.
In late June, the Gates Foundation announced it would cease funding grants for nonprofits run by Arabella Advisors, a consulting firm based in Washington DC, as reported by the New York Times in an internal memo.
Foundation leaders, who typically back global health projects, stated they would neither make new investments in Arabella-related groups, nor extend current funding, and would even seek to withdraw early from some long-standing investments.
They cited a desire to engage more directly with grant recipients and cut back on the use of intermediaries as the reason for the change.
The June 24 memo highlighted that teams are now prioritizing working directly with program-focused partners—those deeply engaged with the communities served and closely sharing the foundation’s objectives.
Looking forward, the foundation aims to foster stronger, lasting partnerships with these organizations to enhance the legacy they intend to leave.
A representative of the Gates Foundation informed the Times that ending the relationship with Arabella was ‘a business decision during our routine strategic evaluations and partnerships.’
This decision aligns with heightened scrutiny on Arabella for its ‘dark money’ contributions to Democratic and progressive efforts, coinciding with Gates’ commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the charity he established and managed for almost 30 years.
Bill Gates has quietly stopped providing funds to a $77 billion foundation that supports woke causes and Democratic candidates
The Gates Foundation was one of the earliest and largest backers of Washington DC-based Arabella Advisors, dispersing or pledging about $450 million to its nonprofit funds over the last 16 years
The billionaire has become increasingly preoccupied with protecting the Gates Foundation as President Donald Trump threatens philanthropists with ties to Democratic policies and the tax-exempt status of specific nonprofits, according to the Times.
He has already de-emphasized diversity, equity and inclusion causes to insulate his charity – and it now seems he is trying to distance himself from Arabella Advisors as part of his efforts to insulate the foundation.
It was one of the earliest and largest backers of Arabella, dispersing or pledging about $450 million to its nonprofit funds over the last 16 years.
The funds then finance nonprofit organizations active in fields like gender equality and education, helping them run their back-office operations like payroll.
The funds that Arabella manages play a similar role for nonprofits that functionally have a politically objective through civic engagement work, and administers explicitly political funds such as those that donate to Democratic super PACs.
One of its largest funds, the New Venture Fund has even donated money to another Arabella-managed group called the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has donated $97 million to super PACs that seek to elect Democrats and defeat Republicans since 2016.
Arabella Advisors was also recently found to be managing several funds – including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund and New Venture Fund – which have all given to Community Change and Community Change Action since 2020, the New York Post reports.
Community Change and Community Change Action, in turn, are bankrolling Free DC’s activism campaign protesting President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in the nation’s capital.
Arabella’s political activism has now drawn the ire of several conservatives, with Elon Musk calling for an investigation into Arabella’s entities and White House officials briefed on its actions.
Arabella Advisors was recently found to be running several funds that are bankrolling Free DC’s activism campaign protesting President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in the nation’s capital. Protesters are seen carrying signs and shout slogans as they walk down U Street during an ‘End the DC Occupation’ rally on August 23
Arabella Advisors manages funds that finance nonprofit organizations active in fields like gender equality and education, helping them run their back-office operations like payroll
‘It is ironic that a protest to ostensibly “Free DC” was hosted by Community Change, a group funded by massive amounts of outside dark-money to push a pro-crime agenda,’ Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of nonprofit watchdog Americans for Public Trust, told the Post.
‘DC is facing shootings, carjackings and assaults and yet progressive groups like The Pritzker Foundation, George Soros and the Arabella Network all spend millions of dollars to manufacture protests that weaken our communities.’
But executives at Arabella claim that its critics vastly overstate its political influence, with Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Megan Cartier saying Arabella merely ‘provides operational support to hundreds of philanthropic clients pursuing social change.
‘We do not have donors, make grants or engage in political activity,’ she explained.
Lee Bodner, the president of the New Venture Fund, added that its ‘grants are restricted for only nonpartisan purposes.’
He told the Times that money from Gates Foundation accounted for just two percent of its funding last year.
‘Gates has been an important partner since the beginning of [the] New Venture Fund and we continue working with them today,’ Bodner said.
‘Today, our work continues to expand in varied ways and our partners recognize the high-quality work we do is more important than ever.’
Some of the funds are more explicitly political, donating to Democratic super PACs. Bill Gates is pictured with former President Bill Clinton in 2010
The Gates Foundation most recently awarded a grant to the New Venture Fund in November – $41 million over a period of about five years to support women’s health around the world.
As the foundation now seeks to recoup its funds, some nonprofits that work with Arabella are trying to distance themselves from the firm in order to preserve their relationship with The Gates Foundation.
Others were already looking into ways to depend less on Arabella’s service before the Gates Foundation’s announcement, out of fear that Trump could freeze their assets or order investigations into their operations.
Those conversations reportedly accelerated Gates’ decision to cut ties with the consulting firm.
Several other groups have also taken steps this summer to leave New Venture Funds and find a new fiscal sponsor.
Daily Mail has reached out to the Gates Foundation for comment.
