Jennifer Siebel Newsom made headlines at a recent Planned Parenthood press conference, where she passionately addressed the media about the urgent issue of the ‘war on women.’ Her fervent advocacy seemed to overshadow the event’s main agenda.

However, new financial records have emerged, shedding light on the First Partner of California’s own financial dealings. Documents obtained by the Daily Mail reveal that Siebel Newsom has been directing a significant portion of her nonprofit’s income to herself and her business, Girls Club LLC, raising some eyebrows.

According to IRS filings from the past few years, Siebel Newsom has received over $3.7 million from the Representation Project, an organization she leads. This charity is dedicated to challenging ‘intersectional gender stereotypes’ and ‘harmful gender norms.’

The Representation Project reportedly generates between $1 million and $1.7 million annually through grants and donations. Of this amount, approximately $300,000 has recently been allocated to Siebel Newsom and her company, as per the financial documents.

Recent IRS filings, which cover up to March 2024, indicate that Siebel Newsom, who also benefits from a substantial family trust, earns a $150,000 salary from the Representation Project. Additionally, her company, Girls Club LLC, receives another $150,000 from the nonprofit’s funds.

The most recent IRS filings up to March 2024 show Siebel Newsom, who’s also the beneficiary of a multi-million-dollar trust from her wealthy family, receives a $150,000 annual salary from the Representation Project, and her company took another $150,000 from the charity’s funds. 

Her unusually high compensation to her and her company has recently sparked criticism from charity watchdogs – with a Daily Mail analysis showing Siebel Newsom and her nonprofit colleagues earn more than 95% of charities of a similar size. 

‘As [Governor Newsom] continues his national rebrand tour, the fact that he and his wife put one third of their “charity” revenues into their own pockets will undoubtedly raise red flags in the eyes of middle class Americans,’ Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of the conservative transparency nonprofit Americans for Public Trust, told the Daily Mail, referencing the $300,000 paid to Siebel Newsom and her firm.

There are around 23,000 charities in the US with revenues between $1 million and $2 million, in the IRS database of nonprofits. 

Fewer than 5% of them pay their executives more than the Representation Project, if Siebel Newsom’s salary and pay to her company is included, an analysis by the Daily Mail shows. 

The salary for the median executive at a nonprofit that size is just $31,945, according to figures from the IRS database. Siebel Newsom and her company earned almost ten times that.

Some executives at other nonprofits may also be paid by their organizations through their personal LLCs like Newsom, but that data was not included in the analysis. 

Siebel Newsom has been collecting a high compensation from her nonprofit for several years, filings reveal.

In its accounting year ending March 2021, the charity reported receiving $1,082,077 in donations and grants, before any expenses, and paid out a total $300,000 to Siebel and her company, or 28%.

The next year she paid herself and her company $302,500 from her charity’s $1,051,939 gross receipts, or 29%.

The Rep Project’s most recent filing, for the fiscal year ending March 2024, shows total pay of $300,000 to Siebel Newsom and her LLC out of $1,704,981 gross receipts.

The total bill for the charity’s compensation that year was just under $1 million. It spent $153,691 on fundraising.

The $150,000 paid to Siebel Newsom’s company, Girls Club LLC, each year by her charity is for a ‘writer/director/producer fee’ according to her charity’s filings.

The nonprofit said in its latest filing that Girls Club LLC owns the copyright to Newsom’s documentary Miss Representation ‘and has licensed the film to The Representation Project for a minimum 7-year period for the purpose of providing distribution rights and public performance rights to screening hosts.’

‘Costs incurred by GCE for production purposes, including the writer/director/producer fee, were reimbursed by The Representation Project,’ the nonprofit filing said.

The money may not all go to Newsom’s bank account, as the company may have overheads and production costs.

The former Mad Men actress earned the fee creating a string of documentaries about gender, including Miss Representation and The Mask You Live In.

Representation Project executive director Caroline Heldman also earned a $150,000 salary from the charity according to its 990 filings, and CFO Debra Garber earned $131,942.

Including the $150,000 paid to Newsom’s LLC, total pay to its executives and her company was $581,942 in the year ending March 2024.

The median nonprofit of a similar size paid its executives a total of $132,640, or less than a quarter of the Representation Project’s total compensation.

‘This isn’t the first time Siebel Newsom’s gender justice-focused nonprofit has made news concerning its financial data,’ said Sarah Lee, spokesperson for conservative charity watchdog the Capital Research Center.

‘In the wake of serious investigative efforts into how nonprofits are keeping their books and working with state officials, the question of very high salaries is likely going to be much harder for the Newsoms to wave away without explanation.’

Neither Jennifer Newsom nor her charity responded to the Daily Mail’s request for comment. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom is required to report his wife’s income in annual ethics filings.

In 2022, 2023, and 2024, Newsom noted income between $10,000 and $100,000 from the Rep Project, and gave the same income bracket for income from her LLC.

Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director, pointed out that transparency rules mean the governor ‘is required to report only his 50% portion of spousal income.’

Gardon added that the filings are ‘accurate and consistent with California law.’

The most recent filings for Siebel’s charity show it spent $216,274 on its annual gala ‘Flip the Script’ in 2023, and earned $598,948 from the event.

Ethics questions have been repeatedly raised over the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the charity by companies which then received millions in California taxpayer money.

Research by anti-corruption blog OpenTheBooks found telecoms firm AT&T donated $185,000 to the Rep Project from 2017 through 2020, and received $260,394,271 from the state of California in 2021.

The company also gave $100,000 to Newsom’s inauguration fund in 2019 and executive Ken McNeely gave $10,000 to the governor’s campaign in 2018.

Media firm Comcast donated $15,000 over the same period and received $20,627,409, while healthcare company Kaiser Permanente donated $20,000 in 2018 and 2019 and received $172,217,805.

Comcast gave $64,200 to Newsom’s political funds in 2018 and 2019. Senior Executive Vice President David Cohen gave $29,200 to Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018 while SVP Amy Banse gave $10,000.

PG&E, the utilities behemoth that has battled legal action over its alleged responsibility for several devastating wildfires in California, donated $358,000 to Siebel’s charity between 2011 and 2018 from its corporate foundation.

PG&E received $323,777,292 from the State of California in 2021.

Its corporate affairs director Brandon Hernandez even joined Rep Project’s board in 2017.

Amid recriminations over PG&E’s alleged involvement in wildfires, the charity said it would no longer accept donations from the utility giant in 2019.

‘It’s no surprise Gavin and Jennifer Newsom have leveraged their business and non-profit endeavors for personal and political gain,’ said transparency nonprofit chief Sutherland.

The governor and his wife did not respond to the allegation, but have always said there is no wrongdoing in their business and nonprofit dealings. 

‘The Governor has no role in the fundraising activities of The Representation Project, which is an independent nonprofit,’ Newsom’s spokeswoman said.

‘Any state funds are awarded through transparent, competitive processes — not based on charitable donations or influence. Any suggestion otherwise is categorically false.’

Executive director Caroline Heldman told the Sacramento Bee in 2021 that the charity publishes all donations over $5,000 on its website.

But there is no sign of a donor list today.

The Rep Project held its most recent Flip the Script gala in a swanky banquet hall at the One Sansome building in downtown San Francisco last November.

Daily Mail understands major donors to the event included AT&T, Comcast, and local philanthropist Roselyne Swig.

At past galas ‘VIP’ donors gave $25,000.

Ken McNeely, who had retired weeks before the gala as president of AT&T’s western region, was pictured at the event. He currently serves as board chair of Sutter Health.

McNeely has given $100,000 to support a redistricting campaign championed by Newsom.

Credit score agency FICO board director Joanna Rees gave a speech at the event. Seven months later she was appointed Chair of the California Workforce Development Board by Newsom.

Daily Mail has been unable to confirm whether those attendees donated at this gala, as the charity has not published individual donations.

Governor Newsom was fined $13,000 in November by California’s Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to timely report over $14.3 million of payments made by companies and organizations to nonprofits at his behest between 2019 and 2024.

The commission said it believed the late filings were ‘negligent’ rather than ‘an intent to conceal, deceive, mislead the public’.

‘As a career politician, Gavin Newsom should understand the importance of timely and accurate disclosures to the public,’ said Sutherland.

‘This is yet another red flag that raises serious questions about Gavin Newsom’s competence and accountability.’