Nonprofits that have received funding from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss have been funneling the money into American politics and policy, according to newly available tax documents.
The Berger Action Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides “philanthropic support” to organizations that advocate for solutions to “some of our world’s biggest problems” including the “climate crises, income inequality, and health disparities,” works with the Wyss Foundation, a charitable foundation established in 1998 by businessman Wyss.
Wyss is estimated to have a fortune of $5.1 billion stemming from the 2012 sale of his medical device maker Synthes USA to pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson for $20.2 billion.
The businessman was born in Switzerland but lives in Wyoming and is prohibited from donating to candidates or political committees in the United States, as he is a foreign national.
Those groups focused on garnering public support for President Joe Biden’s political agenda, including rolling out paid television commercials promoting Democrat congressional candidates like Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H) ahead of last year’s midterm elections, The Associated Press reports.
Overall since 2016, the Berger Action Fund has donated $339 million to left-leaning nonprofits, records show.
Climate Agenda, Election Commercials
The Berger Action Fund is not legally obligated to disclose donors or reveal details about how it spends donations.A spokesperson for the Berger Action fund told the Epoch Times, “The Berger Action Fund supports groups working to address the biodiversity and climate crises, income inequality, and health disparities. It works with the Wyss Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, which provides direct support to projects and organizations working in these areas.”
“Berger’s grant to the Sixteen Thirty Fund supported advocacy, including for the Inflation Reduction Act and the climate provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Wyss Foundation’s grant to New Venture Fund is earmarked specifically for the Andes Amazon Fund, which has helped to conserve nearly 32 million acres in South America since 2015,” the statement continued.
“The Berger Action Fund and the Wyss Foundation are committed to complying with all rules governing their activities and have established strict policies prohibiting their funds from being used for get-out-the-vote activities, voter registration, or supporting or opposing candidates or political parties. ”
Further Donations
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, according to its website, helps “changemakers maximize their impact by providing operational support that allows them to focus on advancing their core missions.”That fund, which has received $208 million from Wyss since 2016, gives funding both directly to political committees but also donates to other nonprofit groups, which then give money to political committees or pay for TV commercials that back certain candidates or causes, according to tax filings and campaign finance disclosures viewed by The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the New Venture Fund says it was launched in response to “demand from leading philanthropists for an efficient, cost-effective, and time-saving platform to launch and operate public interest projects,” and focuses more on traditional nonprofit work.
Both of the organizations were established over a decade ago by Eric Kessler, a former Clinton administration official.
“Nearly all of the donations we receive are intended for specific projects or purposes; many donations cannot be used for electoral activities; and every contribution is used in compliance with all guidelines, regulations, and laws,” Amy Kurtz, president of Sixteen Thirty Fund, said in a statement to The Associated Press.
New Venture Fund president Lee Bodner told the publication, “Like any 501(c)(3) organization, we do not engage in any partisan electoral work.”
Since 2016, Wyss also has donated $101 million to another nonprofit, Fund for a Better Future, a social welfare organization which, according to its website, is “dedicated to promoting the common good by protecting the environment, upholding democratic values, addressing disparities in public health, and advancing social equity.”
‘No Effective Oversight’
In 2021, a Fund for a Better Future strategic communications and paid media operation called Climate Power helped finance millions of dollars in advertisements backing Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, records show.According to its website, Climate Power “integrates hard-hitting research, polling, state and national earned media, digital and paid media to influence the national conversation, embolden leaders to take immediate, bold climate action, and expose climate deniers and their oil and gas lobby allies.”
Climate Power also splashed out about $5.3 million on advertisements supporting roughly 30 House Democrats in the months leading up to the 2022 midterms, campaign finance disclosures show.
“Fund for a Better Future carefully tracks and controls its revenues and expenses to ensure we comply with legal limits and with any restrictions placed on the funds we receive from donors,” spokesperson Niki Woodard said in a statement.
Democrats have previously criticized Republicans for using so-called “dark money” ahead of elections, but the latest filings show that Democrat-aligned groups spent more of it in 2020.
“The whole system is currently structured on this premise that we can take these nonprofit group at their word,” Saurav Ghosh, a director of the Washington-based nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign Legal Center, told The Associated Press. “The reality is there is really no effective oversight to make sure money from a foreign national doesn’t wind up in electoral politics.”
In a statement to The Epoch Times, Mark Kleinman, senior communications officer at Fund for a Better Future said, “501(c)(4) social welfare organizations are permitted to allocate a portion of their expenses to political activities, as long as those activities are not their primary purpose. Fund for a Better Future (FBF) carefully tracks and controls its revenues and expenses to ensure we comply with legal limits and with any restrictions placed on the funds we receive from donors. Our controls include separate accounting of donor-restricted funds and, where appropriate, contractual prohibitions on political spending by our grantees and consultants. Our grant agreement with Berger Action Fund contractually prohibits political spending, and FBF has never used Berger Action Fund dollars to support political activities.”
The Epoch Times has contacted the nonprofits in question for comment.
