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Organization

Waverley Street Foundation

Private foundation set up by Laurene Powell Jobs for climate giving; formerly Emerson Collective Foundation.

2 links, 1 backed by primary records

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As a private foundation it files a public return. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported in 2021 that where it had directed most of its gifts was not clear, because $185 million from 2017 to 2019 went into a donor-advised fund.

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funded by

  • Laurene Powell Jobs Oct 2021 planned over ten years, $3.5B Scholarship & press 1

    A 2021 report; the foundation’s later returns were not read.

adopted

Timeline 1 date
  1. Oct 2021 Laurene Powell Jobs funded Waverley Street Foundation
Proof 2 sources
  1. Who Will Get Laurene Powell Jobs’s $3.5 Billion Gift for Climate Work?, The Chronicle of Philanthropy (with the Associated Press), 18 Oct 2021. Scholarship & press
    Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs is gearing up to invest $3.5 billion in climate-focused initiatives in the next 10 years.
    The spokesperson for Emerson Collective has said the $3.5 billion Powell Jobs will invest will go toward “initiatives and ideas to help underserved communities most impacted by climate change.”
    From 2017 to 2019, the foundation funneled $185 million into a donor-advised fund, which is comparable to a charitable investment account.
    lists its only direct gift as a $50,000 donation to a California-based environmental nonprofit.
    Sometimes you have to be realistic about the fact that there are organized interests (including political actors and those supported by the fossil-fuel industry) that are opposing you and your philanthropic strategy. And therefore you might not want to hand them your playbook,
    Foundations are required to list contributions they make in a 990 form they file annually with the IRS. But where Waverley Street, formerly called Emerson Collective Foundation, has directed most of its gifts thus far remains a mystery.
    It’s legal for private foundations to donate to DAFs to meet their required 5 percent annual minimum payout rate.
    Private foundations are subject to rules so that the public is supposed to be able to see what is happening with this money,
  2. Public disclosure and availability of exempt organizations returns and applications: Documents subject to public disclosure, Internal Revenue Service, 2026. Primary record
    With the exception of private foundations, an exempt organization is not required to disclose the name and address of any contributor to the organization.
    A political organization exempt from taxation under section 527(a) must make available for inspection and copying its report of contributions and expenditures on Form 8872
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