A leftist dark money “pass-through” funder and donor-advised fund provider. Since the Fund’s creation in 1995, Proteus has routed hundreds of millions of dollars from major grantmaking foundations and anonymous donors on the Left to activist groups targeting issues including legalizing same-sex marriage, reducing religious freedom to dissent policies on gay rights and abortion, abolishing capital punishment, reducing military spending, and promoting liberal campaign finance policies.
The Proteus Fund moves money through a number of “donor collaboratives” (donor-advised funds) funded by major grantmaking foundations. Through these “collaboratives,” Proteus coordinates the efforts of state, local, and national activist groups so that their efforts are not needlessly duplicated. These funds and collaboratives vet the activist groups to ensure that they are effective and that they stay on message. These “collaboratives” and donor-advised funds include the Piper Fund, the Civil Marriage Collaborative, the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative, the Themis Fund, the Security and Rights Collaborative, and the Colombe Foundation.
Proteus has also developed strategies for persuading voters to tip the scale of public opinion in specific states and localities. They use research (such as polling and message testing and advertising) to persuade swing voters to gain majorities for left-of-center policies in referendums and elections. Proteus Fund documented both strategies in Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of How Philanthropy and the Civil Marriage Collaborative Helped America Embrace Marriage Equality. [1]
Background and “Pass-Through” Model
The Proteus Fund was formed in May 1994 in Washington, D.C., but is physically headquartered in Amherst, Massachusetts. [2]
The Fund was created by Meg Gage, a career left-of-center nonprofit executive who helped develop the “pass-through” funding model. Gage reportedly created the model during her tenure as founding executive director of the Peace Development Fund, a position she held from 1981 to 1992. The Peace Development Fund was reportedly created to move donations from major foundations to smaller left-wing activist groups opposed to President Ronald Reagan’s nuclear weapons policies. Gara LaMarche, president of the left-wing Democracy Alliance and former president of Atlantic Philanthropies, has credited Gage’s funding model with “increasing philanthropic attention and support for social justice issues like money in politics, civil liberties and national security, and the death penalty.” [3]
The Proteus Fund has described itself as an “extension of [the Peace Development Fund’s] model: a way to pool funding and align strategy among multiple funders in service of significant social change objectives and a broad vision for change in the philanthropic sector.” [4] Under the “pass-through” funding model developed by Gage, the Proteus Fund collects donations from large grantmaking foundations, wealthy individuals, and smaller donors and funnels cash to local and state organizations, which the Fund has vetted for their effectiveness. [5]
The Proteus Fund also develops coalitions of local and state organizations to work on specific issues, which it calls “collaboratives.” These issues include campaign finance policy (via the Piper Fund), gay marriage (via the Civil Marriage Collaborative), and abortion practices (via the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative), among others.
