Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Congressional caucuses Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other DonorsTrust is an American nonprofit donor-advised fund that was founded in 1999 with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors".

[1] As a public charity and a donor-advised fund, DonorsTrust offers clients a variety of tax advantages compared to a private foundation.

[10] Grants from DonorsTrust are based on the preferences of the original contributor, and the organization assures clients that their contributions will never be used to support politically liberal causes.

[18][19] DonorsTrust president Lawson Bader said the goal of the organization is to "safeguard the intent of libertarian and conservative donors," ensuring that funds are used only to promote "liberty through limited government, responsibility, and free enterprise".

[20] It and Donors Capital Fund have been described as spinoffs of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a coordinating group for conservative foundations, where Ball had been executive director.

"[12] A major selling point to donors is that even after their death, their money will continue to fund conservative/libertarian goals, and not change based on the attitudes of their heirs or trustees as a family foundation might.

[7]: 1 In early 2013, DonorsTrust was the subject of reports by The Independent,[24] The Guardian,[10][11][25] Mother Jones,[17][26] and the Center for Public Integrity.

[33] Marble Freedom Trust, led by Leonard Leo, gave $41 million to DonorsTrust in 2021 after a donation from Barre Seid.

[53][54][11][17] The Guardian reported DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund distributed nearly $120 million to 102 think tanks and action groups "which have a record of denying the existence of a human factor in climate change, or opposing environmental regulations" between 2002 and 2010.

[11] According to an analysis by Drexel University environmental sociologist Robert Brulle, between 2003 and 2010, DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund combined were the largest funders of organizations opposed to restrictions on carbon emissions.

[13] Climate change writer Wei-Hock "Willie" Soon received hundreds of thousands of dollars from DonorsTrust.