The Gates Foundation has quietly halted donations to a charitable partner responsible for funneling funds to the Democratic Party, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Bill Gates’ charitable organization — the largest in the country — decided to stop making grants to nonprofit funds managed by consulting firm Arabella Advisors, according to a June 24 internal announcement from the foundation reviewed by the Times. Some of the firm’s clients include several political nonprofits that orchestrate contributions that support Democrats nationwide.
Some other nonprofits that Arabella Advisors works with are reportedly now distancing themselves from the firm in order to maintain relationships with the Gates Foundation, specifically ones that work in the global healthcare space.
However, the foundation did not mention politics in the announcement of scaling back Arabella funds, instead maintaining they wanted to work more directly with nonprofit partners and cut out consulting middle men.
“Teams are increasingly working directly with programmatic partners — organizations that are deeply embedded in the communities we serve and closely aligned with our mission,” the note read, according to the Times report. “As we look ahead, this is a chance to build deeper, more durable relationships with those partners — and to reinforce the kind of legacy we want to leave behind.”
The Gates Foundation has disbursed or pledged about $450 million to nonprofit funds administered by Arabella over the last 16 years and is one of the largest accounts that the firm manages.
Arabella has been under a microscope from conservatives, as it feeds money towards progressive causes. The manner with which the firm administers its billions of dollars in contributions keeps most of their donors anonymous.
Gates has made strategic decisions to protect his foundation from President Donald Trump’s scrutiny to maintain its tax exempt status and protect the global health infrastructure funds he has created. The philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder has already announced plans to close his foundation in 2045, giving him 20 years to give over $200 billion towards international health and human development.
