hekate/attestation-findings
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions
attestation-findings/data/processed/nvf_990_findings.md
hekate 80431e7db1 Upload files to "/"
2026-03-14 05:57:07 +00:00

225 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
Raw Permalink Blame History

# New Venture Fund (NVF) IRS 990 Findings
## Research Summary
**Organization:** New Venture Fund
**EIN:** 20-5806345
**Address:** 1828 L Street NW, Suite 300-A, Washington, DC 20036
**Tax Status:** 501(c)(3) public charity
**Year of Formation:** 2006 (originally Arabella Legacy Fund, renamed 2009)
**Managed By:** Arabella Advisors (for-profit management company)
**President:** Lee Bodner
**Board Chair:** Adam Eichberg
---
## Filing Overview
### ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer Filing Index
| Tax Year | Object ID | Filed Date | Revenue | Assets |
|----------|-----------|------------|---------|--------|
| 2024 | 202513159349305596 | Nov 11, 2025 | N/A | N/A |
| 2023 | 202433179349305393 | Nov 12, 2024 | $669.1M | $768.5M |
| 2022 | 202323149349302362 | Nov 10, 2023 | $755.6M | $1.04B |
| 2021 | 202243139349303999 | Nov 9, 2022 | $963.8M | $1.24B |
| 2020 | 202113169349310971 | Nov 12, 2021 | $975.5M | $822.9M |
| 2019 | 202043389349300039 | Dec 3, 2020 | $460.8M | $490.8M |
### Key Financial Data (Tax Year 2023)
- **Total Revenue:** $669,088,461
- **Total Functional Expenses:** $894,839,728
- **Grants to Domestic Orgs (Part IX, Line 1):** $502,043,679
- **Grants to Domestic Individuals (Part IX, Line 2):** $37,995,641
- **Grants to Foreign Orgs/Individuals (Part IX, Line 3):** $52,919,376
- **Total Grant Awards:** 1,020 (2023); 1,187 (2022)
- **Domestic Grant Recipients on Schedule I:** 823 different organizations (2023)
- **Total Grants Paid:** $592,958,696 (2023)
- **Employees:** 964
- **Volunteers:** ~600
### Program Service Areas (2023)
1. **Civil Rights, Social Action, and Advocacy** - $273.6M expenses, $174.2M in grants
2. **International Development** - $239.4M expenses, $223.9M in grants
3. **Youth Development and Education** - $103.4M expenses, $59.2M in grants
4. **Other Program Services** - $237.9M expenses, $135.7M in grants
### Lobbying Activities (2023)
- Total lobbying expenditures: $36,746,051
- Topics: environmental, education, health, foreign aid, tax reform, and other issues
- Media advertisements: $198,884
- Direct contact with legislators: $2,709,047
- Grants to other organizations for lobbying: $31,165,652
---
## Schedule I Analysis: Domestic Grant Recipients
### Data Access Status
The NVF 2023 Form 990 is publicly available:
- **NVF website PDF:** https://newventurefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2023-New-Venture-Fund-Form-990-Public-Disclosure-Copy.pdf
- **NVF 2022 PDF:** https://newventurefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NVF-2022-Public-Disclosure-Copy-257292001.pdf
- **ProPublica XML (2023):** https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202433179349305393
- **ProPublica XML (2022):** https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202323149349302362
- **ProPublica Schedule I page:** https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205806345/202433179349305393/IRS990ScheduleI
**IMPORTANT NOTE:** The Schedule I contains 823 domestic grant recipients across many pages. The NVF website PDF is 636KB but appears to be a truncated version; the full filing with all Schedule I continuation sheets would be much larger. The ProPublica XML files contain the complete machine-readable data. We were unable to programmatically parse the XML due to tool access restrictions but have identified the exact data sources.
### What Schedule I Contains
Per IRS requirements, Schedule I lists every domestic organization that received more than $5,000 in grants, including:
- Recipient organization name and EIN
- City and state
- Cash grant amount
- Purpose of grant
---
## Targeted Entity Search Results
### 1. ConnectSafely Inc
**EIN:** 47-3168168
**Location:** Palo Alto, CA
**Status:** 501(c)(3), ruling date October 2015
**Financial Profile:**
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Assets |
|------|---------|----------|--------|
| 2023 | $653,869 | $601,038 | $1,615,591 |
| 2022 | $938,843 | $475,379 | $1,563,617 |
| 2021 | $411,714 | $338,530 | $1,106,421 |
**Key Finding:** ConnectSafely receives funding from Meta, Google, Amazon Kids, TikTok, Snapchat, Discord, Roblox, Trend Micro, NCTA, Match Group, and ZEPETO. Meta specifically funds ConnectSafely's Safer Internet Day grant programs.
**Connection to NVF:** No direct evidence found of NVF grants to ConnectSafely in web-searchable sources. ConnectSafely appears to receive corporate sponsorship directly from tech companies rather than through NVF as an intermediary. Further analysis of the full Schedule I XML data would be needed to definitively confirm or rule out NVF grants.
**ProPublica page:** https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473168168
### 2. Digital Childhood Alliance
**Status:** 501(c)(4) nonprofit
**Executive Director:** Casey Stefanski
**Key Findings:**
- **Meta is funding the Digital Childhood Alliance** per Bloomberg reporting (July 2025) citing three anonymous sources familiar with the funding
- The Alliance is a coalition of 100+ conservative parent advocacy and child safety organizations
- Actively pushing **App Store Accountability Act** and state-level age verification legislation
- Filed FTC complaints against Apple and Google
- Laws backed by the Alliance have passed in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana; bills introduced in 20+ states
- When questioned by Louisiana Senator Jay Morris about tech industry funding, Executive Director Casey Stefanski initially refused to answer, eventually admitted tech company funding but declined to name specific companies
- Bloomberg investigative reporting confirmed Meta's involvement
- The Alliance's founder's father was identified as its largest donor
**Connection to NVF:** No direct evidence found linking the Digital Childhood Alliance to the New Venture Fund or Arabella Advisors network. The Digital Childhood Alliance is a 501(c)(4) organization (NVF is 501(c)(3)), and its funding appears to flow directly from corporate sources and individual donors rather than through NVF. As a 501(c)(4), the Digital Childhood Alliance is not required to disclose its donors on its 990.
### 3. ICMEC (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
**EIN:** 22-3630133
**Location:** Alexandria, VA
**Key Findings:**
- ICMEC actively promotes the **Digital Age Assurance Act (DAAA)** for age verification
- ICMEC collaborates with Meta, Internet Watch Foundation, and Child Helpline International on campaigns against child sexual abuse
- ICMEC published detailed FAQs about the Digital Age Assurance Act (November 2024)
**Connection to NVF:** No direct evidence found in searchable sources. ICMEC is a well-established independent nonprofit. Would need to search the NVF Schedule I XML data to verify.
### 4. NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
**EIN:** 52-1328557
**Connection to NVF:** No direct evidence found in web searches. Would need to check full Schedule I data.
### 5. CCME
**Note:** The search for "CCME" in connection with NVF grants returned results about CCME Foundation (health care), not child safety. The term may refer to a different entity. No match found.
### 6. Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI)
No direct evidence found of NVF grants to FOSI. Would need to check full Schedule I data.
---
## Meta's Age Verification Strategy
### Summary of Findings
Meta (formerly Facebook) is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy on child safety/age verification legislation:
1. **Direct Lobbying:** Meta spent $24 million on lobbying in 2024
2. **Corporate Coalition:** In April 2025, Meta teamed with Spotify and Match Group to launch a coalition to pressure Apple and Google on age verification
3. **Funding Advocacy Groups:** Meta funds the Digital Childhood Alliance to push app-store-based age verification at state level
4. **Tech Partnership:** Meta works with ICMEC, Internet Watch Foundation on child safety campaigns
5. **Sponsoring Research/Education:** Meta funds ConnectSafely's Safer Internet Day programs and safety guides
### Legislative Impact
The **App Store Accountability Act** and similar state laws push age verification responsibility onto app stores (Apple/Google) rather than individual platforms (Meta). This benefits Meta by:
- Shifting compliance costs to competitors
- Creating a uniform verification layer at the app store level
- Avoiding platform-specific content moderation mandates
---
## NVF's Role in the Ecosystem
### What We Know
NVF is a fiscal sponsor and pass-through grantmaker in the Arabella Advisors network. Its 2023 Form 990 shows:
- $592.9M in total grants
- 1,020 grant awards
- 823 named domestic grant recipients
- $103.4M specifically for youth development and education programs
- $59.2M in grants for youth development and education
### What We Could Not Verify
Without parsing the full Schedule I (823 domestic grant recipients), we **cannot confirm or deny** whether NVF made grants to:
- ConnectSafely
- Digital Childhood Alliance (unlikely - it's a 501(c)(4), and NVF typically grants to 501(c)(3) organizations)
- ICMEC
- NCMEC
- FOSI
- Other child safety/age verification organizations
### Recommended Next Steps
1. **Download and parse the 990 XML files** from ProPublica:
- 2023: `https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202433179349305393`
- 2022: `https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202323149349302362`
- 2024: `https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/download-xml?object_id=202513159349305596`
2. **Parse Schedule I XML** using Python/lxml to extract all `RecipientTable` entries from the `IRS990ScheduleI` section. Search for keywords: child, safety, youth, online, digital, ICMEC, NCMEC, ConnectSafely, FOSI, Thorn, age verification.
3. **Cross-reference ConnectSafely's Schedule B** (contributors) to identify if NVF appears as a donor to ConnectSafely.
4. **Check the Digital Childhood Alliance's IRS filings** (if available as a 501(c)(4) they would file Form 990 but would not need to disclose donors on Schedule B).
5. **Review the NVF 2022 filing** (1,187 grants) which covers an earlier period before the age verification push intensified.
---
## Key Sources
- [ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - NVF](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205806345)
- [NVF 2023 Form 990 Public Disclosure (PDF)](https://newventurefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2023-New-Venture-Fund-Form-990-Public-Disclosure-Copy.pdf)
- [NVF 2022 Form 990 Public Disclosure (PDF)](https://newventurefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NVF-2022-Public-Disclosure-Copy-257292001.pdf)
- [Instrumentl - NVF 990 Report](https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/new-venture-fund)
- [InfluenceWatch - NVF Profile](https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/new-venture-fund/)
- [ProPublica - ConnectSafely Inc](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473168168)
- [Meta Clashes With Apple, Google Over Child Age Check Legislation (Bloomberg/Insurance Journal)](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm)
- [Meta's Manipulation Disguised as Child Safety (Deseret News)](https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/)
- [ICMEC Digital Age Assurance Act FAQs](https://cdn.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ICMEC-Digital-Age-Assurance-Act-FAQs-2025-Final.pdf)
- [Capital Research Center - NVF Foreign Grants](https://capitalresearch.org/article/foreign-grants-the-darkest-of-dark-money/)
- [Digital Childhood Alliance website](https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/)
---
*Research conducted: March 12, 2026*
*Data sources: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API, IRS Form 990 public disclosures, news reporting*
Reference in a new issue View git blame Copy permalink