What donor-advised funds are known for funding right-wing youth organizations?
Executive summary
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) used by conservative networks—most prominently DonorsTrust—have channeled substantial sums to right-leaning organizations, including youth-focused groups: CMD’s analysis says DonorsTrust distributed about $195.3 million to more than 300 conservative organizations in 2024 and sent $8.2 million to 16 groups described as focused on “indoctrinating young people,” with a single $2.5 million grant to Passages America Israel [1]. Multiple investigations and analysts also name mainstream DAF sponsors (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust) as sources of large grants to conservative institutions that funded projects like Project 2025 and voter-suppression efforts [2] [3].
1. DonorsTrust: the repeatedly cited conservative conduit
Journalists and watchdogs single out DonorsTrust as a DAF explicitly aligned with libertarian and conservative donors; its mission statement and reporting show it was created to “safeguard the intent of libertarian and conservative donors,” and watchdog analysis found it distributed roughly $195.3 million to more than 300 right‑wing influence groups in 2024, including millions to organizations working with young people [4] [1]. CMD’s filing analysis highlights $8.2 million to 16 youth-focused recipients and names a $2.5 million grant to Passages America Israel as the largest among them [1].
2. Large national DAF sponsors also appear in investigations
Beyond DonorsTrust, reporting and analyses link mainstream DAF sponsors—Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust and others—to grants that supported conservative institutes and political projects. The American Prospect identifies those sponsors among public charities that routed “hundreds of millions” to organizations the piece associates with anti‑voter activities and Project 2025–adjacent work [2]. Investigative commentators also note Fidelity, Schwab and NPT among the biggest DAF sponsors whose accounts have funded groups tied to Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation [3] [2].
3. What “funding right‑wing youth organizations” looks like in the filings
Available reporting shows two distinct patterns: direct grants from a conservative‑aligned DAF (DonorsTrust) to groups that explicitly target youth programming or recruitment—CMD counted $8.2 million to 16 such organizations in 2024—and larger flows from mainstream DAF sponsors into major conservative think tanks and policy networks that in turn run or support youth outreach, training, litigation and media aimed at younger audiences [1] [3]. Specific named youth-targeted recipients in CMD’s analysis include Passages America Israel as a large 2024 grantee [1].
4. How anonymity and structure of DAFs shape scrutiny
DAFs allow donors to recommend grants without full public disclosure of the original donor’s identity; critics say that anonymity lets wealthy donors advance political agendas through charitable vehicles. DonorsTrust’s historical purpose—stated as preserving conservative/libertarian intents—and the fact that many DAF sponsors don’t disclose individual donors are central to why investigative groups focus on these funds as “dark money” conduits [4] [3]. At the same time, defenders note that DAFs are widely used by all political persuasions and that not all DAF activity is political [5] [6].
5. Competing perspectives and limits of the available reporting
Advocates for regulation emphasize that DAFs can be used anonymously to fund political projects, and investigative pieces and think‑tank analyses provide dollar totals and named fund sponsors [3] [2]. Others—scholarship and industry pieces—warn against painting all DAFs as inherently partisan, noting DAFs also support liberal causes (Tides Foundation example) and that sponsoring organizations vary in mission and approval rules [5] [7]. The sources provided do not include full, independent lists of every DAF-to-youth-organization grant; CMD’s analysis gives a detailed snapshot for DonorsTrust in 2024 but comprehensive, itemized databases across all DAF sponsors are not in the supplied documents [1] [3].
6. What remains unclear and what reporting does not claim
Available sources do not mention exhaustive, verified rosters tying every major DAF sponsor to every right‑wing youth organization nationwide; CMD’s work documents DonorsTrust’s 2024 grants and other analyses document substantial DAF flows to conservative institutions, but comprehensive disclosure of donor identities and the complete downstream paths of funds is absent in the materials provided [1] [2] [3]. The reporting makes clear which sponsors and funds appear frequently in investigations—DonorsTrust, Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust and others—but does not purport to map every grant or donor.
7. What readers and policymakers should watch for next
Watch for expanded data releases or investigative follow‑ups that publish granular grant lists from DAF sponsors and for legislative or regulatory proposals aimed at transparency for DAFs; current reporting uses IRS filings and nonprofit analyses to assemble partial pictures of funding to conservative youth programs and broader right‑wing infrastructure [1] [2] [3]. If your interest is vetting a specific organization’s funders, the sources recommend starting with IRS Form 990 analyses and watchdog reports like CMD or Institute for Policy Studies, which have been the primary means for uncovering these flows in the materials cited [1] [3].