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Non-profit

Oak Foundation USA

Website:

oakfnd.org
Location:

PORTLAND, ME
Tax ID:

13-3321196
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)-PF

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $1,699,470
Expenses: $32,905,066
Assets: $24,037,557
Formation:

1999
Type:

Environmentalist Grantmaking Foundation
Founder:

Alan M. Parker

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The Oak Foundation (and its U.S. affiliate Oak Foundation USA) is a left-leaning environmentalist grantmaking foundation. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Oak Foundation was formed in 1983 and maintains offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Bulgaria, India, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. 1

The foundation has funded climate-change-related litigation and environmentalist advocacy groups in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. It has also funded projects supporting the controversial Chinese state-backed infrastructure scheme the Belt and Road Initiative. 2

The foundation has donated large amounts of money to environmentalist groups which oppose the use of carbon-free nuclear power. 3

Background

The Oak Foundation USA is based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was created around 1999, although the records surrounding its origins are unclear. 4

The Oak Foundation USA is the American arm of the Oak Foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. An archived page posted by the Swiss-based Oak Foundation lists “Oak Philanthropy Limited” as being incorporated in Jersey, a British-owned part of the Channel Islands located off the French coast near Normandy. 5

Between 2022 and 2023, Oak Foundation USA gave $$418,071 to As You Sow, a left-of-center advocacy organization that engages in shareholder action to pressure companies to adopt various left-of-center positions under the banner of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. 6

Issue Areas

Immigration

Oak Foundation USA has funded El Pueblo, Inc., a North Carolina-based Latino voter mobilization and registration organization that agitates against increased enforcement of illegal immigration laws. In 2018, Oak granted $4 million to Human Rights Watch to “counter the anti-rights populist surge” in the U.S. 7

As of 2025, Oak Foundation had given a total of $100,000 to the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, 3 a group which among other things advocates for taxpayer-funded attorneys for illegal immigrants facing deportation and limiting police cooperation in enforcing immigration laws. 8

Environmentalism

A major area of Oak Foundation’s focus is funding climate change activism. The group has funded Greenpeace, the World Resources Institute, Environmental Law Institute, World Wildlife Fund, and other left-of-center environmentalist groups to support the 2015 Paris Climate Accords and push global warming policies. 9 2

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had given the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. a total of $20 million to support the group’s environmental work. Some $10,000,000 was directed to support RPA’s Urban Movement Innovation Fund, a donor’s collaborative used to fund environmentalist movements. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had given the left-of-center environmentalist advocacy grantmaker Justice Outside a total of $750,000 to support its Liberated Paths grantmaking program which funds environmentalist groups that focus on nonwhites. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had given a total of $750,000 to Oceana, a left-of-center group which works on environmental issues related to the oceans. The group had given a total of $1,500,000 to the Center for International Environmental Law which opposes the use of conventional energy sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal and opposes the use of carbon-free nuclear power. 3

The group had given a total of $750,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund, a left-of-center environmentalist group which has campaigned against carbon-free nuclear power. The group had also given a total of $1,000,000 to the ClimateWorks Foundation which works as a pass through for foundations and other grantmakers to fund environmentalist groups. 3

The group gave a total of $2,425,000 to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives which advocates for waste reduction, the reduction of the use of incinerators, and oppose the use of carbon-free nuclear power. The group gave a total of $448,394 to the Atlantic Council to support a campaign to raise awareness through gaming technologies to “ensure a sustainable and thriving planet for generations to come.” The group gave a total of $400,633 to Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), which opposes the use of carbon-free nuclear energy, to support CPI’s work on moving towards a low carbon economy by focusing on “building and construction, agriculture, and energy.” 3

The group gave a total of $800,000 to the Rocky Mountain Institute which published a discredited study claiming that gas stoves caused around 13 percent of childhood asthma cases and opposes the use of carbon-free nuclear power. The group donated a total of $1,150,000 to the World Resources Institute, which is opposed to the use of carbon-free nuclear power. The group donated a total of $700,000 to the Sustainable Markets Foundation to support its work to ban conventional sources of energy such as oil and natural gas. The group gave a total of $1,000,000 to the Pacific Environment and Resources Center, which opposes the use of carbon-free nuclear power. 3

European Climate Foundation

The Oak Foundation is a top funder of the European Climate Foundation. 10 The European Climate Foundation was created in 2008 and is devoted to promote de-carbonization policy in Europe. 11 Although the ECF claims on its website that its grantmaking functions are limited to the European Union, its operations extend into the United States. 12

ECF’s Global Strategic Communications Service (GSCC), which assists governments, nongovernmental organizations, media, and think tanks in the development of climate communications, crafted to ensure that “each campaign bolsters an over-arching narrative.” 13 GSCC has taken root in the U.S. and the G-20 countries outside of the European Union. Email correspondence obtained through open records requests from the office of then-Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) with Tom Brookes, the executive director of GSCC and a senior adviser to ClimateWorks Foundation, a major Oak Foundation grant recipient, showed GSCC intervention in U.S. policy. 14

In his correspondence with Inslee’s team, Brookes offered to assist Inslee in possible messaging techniques that could be used to advance Inslee’s environmentalist agenda. An archived version of the ECF website shows that ECF is part of the ClimateWorks Network. According to the website, the network “shares goals, strategies and resources to address the global challenge of climate change mitigation with a global network of aligned organizations.” 15

Belt and Road Initiative

In 2018, Oak gave $1 million to ClimateWorks Foundation “to support the greening of the Belt and Road Initiative,” a global trade infrastructure project pushed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to link the communist country with the rest of Eurasia. 2 16 Oak Foundation has also given grants to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Global Environmental Institute in support of Belt and Road-related activities. 2

Tech and Media

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had given Common Sense Media a total of $875,000 to “support efforts that ensure that digital environments are safe for children.” 3 Common Sense Media promotes critical race theory-inspired principles of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” through its work. The group has supported increased regulations of social media and artificial intelligence. The group has also supported taxpayer subsidies to increase internet access. The group has supported state legislation to regulate social media to prevent “racism, hate speech, negative body image, and more.” 17

The Oak Foundation is a supporter of the Heat Initiative, having given the group a total of $1,500,000 as of 2025 to help get it off the ground. 3 The Heat Initiative is a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, which is a nonprofit managed by the for-profit Arabella Advisors. Arabella Advisors-managed groups such as the Hopewell Fund have been called a “tightly connected web of largely anonymous, Democratic Party-aligned dark-money groups” by the left-wing news website The Intercept. 18

The Heat Initiative demanded Apple break its strong encryption policies and scan iCloud files to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and alert police if any were detected. Apple refused to do so, claiming that it would open the door for widespread surveillance and would threaten the cybersecurity of its users. In 2020, the Oak Foundation donated $250,000 to another group pushing legislation in the European Union to weaken end-to-end encryption. The Heat Initiative head, Sarah Gardner, joined the group from Thorn, an anti-child trafficking group founded by actor Ashton Kutcher, which was cited along with the Oak Foundation in a report alleging the two groups worked with law enforcement and private corporate interests to weaken encryption in Europe. 18

The Oak Foundation is a supporter of public broadcasting, having sent a total of $900,000 to Minnesota Public Radio American Public Media as of 2025 to support its coverage of education in the United States. The group also sent $100,000 to National Public Radio. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $250,000 to Article 19, Inc., a group supporting freedom of expression, the right to protest, and freedom of the press. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $4,500,000 to Reporter’s Shield, 3 which was created by the left-of-center group Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and formed with seed funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Reporter’s Shield defends journalists around the world against SLAPPs—strategic lawsuits against public participation—that are filed against them, which the group claims causes journalists to self-censor and threatens freedom of the press. 19

Other Donations

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation donated $600,000 to the Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED), which is a critical race theory-aligned group which offers professional development programs to teachers and offers “equity audits” to schools. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $500,000 to the Urban Justice Center to scale up its community organizing efforts to support “ending the criminalisation of homelessness.” 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $2,000,000 to the National Housing Law Project to support its work in opposing evictions and “preserve and increase the supply of affordable homes.” 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $600,000 to the Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute, which is a critical race theory-aligned group advocating for expanded economic regulations and environmentalist policy. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $126,000 to the Unitarian Universalist Association. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $600,000 to the New Economy Project to support its work to expand public housing in New York City. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $1,250,000 to the People’s Action Institute, a left-wing agitation group. 3

As of 2025, the Oak Foundation had donated a total of $230,000 to the Proteus Fund, a center-left “pass through” organization which funds other left-of-center groups. 3

Leadership

Founder

British-born businessman Alan M. Parker, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland with an estimated net worth of about $2 billion, is the founder and main funder of the Oak Foundation. 20 21 He was an accountant and key early partner of the Hong Kong-based firm Duty Free Shoppers (today DFS Group) which retails luxury goods in major airports and resorts worldwide. 22 Parker eventually became the CFO of the DFS Group as well as its third largest shareholder. 23 20

Besides Parker, another co-founder of Hong Kong-based Duty Free Shoppers was Charles “Chuck” Feeney. Feeney later founded Atlantic Philanthropies, a Bermuda-based foundation that funded the advocacy group Health Care for America Now, one of the drivers of the campaign to pass Obamacare. 24

According to an October 2012 report by Forbes, Feeney hired Parker, an accountant, in the early 1960s to be a joint owner and “help manage the bootstrapped business more professionally.” 25 In 1997, Feeney and Parker sold their shares in DHS to French multinational LVMH: Feeney for $1.6 billion, Parker for £464 million (or $605.6 million in U.S. dollars). 26 Parker later moved to Geneva, where he now resides and serves as on the Oak Foundation’s board of directors alongside his wife, Jette. In 2014, his net worth was estimated to be $2.34 billion. 27

Other Staff

Douglas Griffiths became president of the Oak Foundation in January 2019. Previously, he was a career Foreign Service Officer, most prominently appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 to be the U.S. representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva and later U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique 28

Caroline Turner is board president of the Oak Foundation USA. Turner appears to be the principal and owner of DifferenceWORKS, a for-profit “gender diversity” consultancy. 29

Oak Foundation vice president Heather Graham is a former Gates Foundation program officer, vice president of Teach For America, program associate for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and President George W. Bush White House fellow. 30 Graham is also the director of the group’s learning differences programme. 31

Kristian Parker – the son of Alan and Jette Parker – runs the foundation’s environmental program from Geneva. Parker has held the position since 1998 and is on the boards of the ClimateWorks Foundation and Oceana, both major recipients of Oak Foundation funding. 32

Natalie Parker, the daughter of Alan and Jette Parker, is a member of the board of trustees of Oak Foundation USA. 33

References

  1. “Oak Foundation.” Devex. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://www.devex.com/organizations/oak-foundation-54473.
  2. “Grant Database.” Oak Foundation. Accessed May 09, 2019. http://oakfnd.org/grant-database.html.
  3. “Grants Archive.” Oak Foundation. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://oakfnd.org/grant-database/.
  4. Oak Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2017. Accessed May 7, 2019.
  5. “Oak Philanthropy Limited – Oak Foundation.” Europa.eu. March 29, 2016. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20160328232946/https://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants/results/daphne-toolkit/en/content/oak-philanthropy-limited-oak-foundation.
  6. Stilson, Robert. “ESG Shareholder Activism in Proxy Preview 2025.” Capital Research Center, April 15, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/esg-shareholder-activism-in-proxy-preview-2025/.
  7. Data from FoundationSearch: Human Rights Watch. www.FoundationSearch.com.
  8. “Take Action to Protect Our Immigrant Communities!”  Action Network. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/poic-cosponsor/.
  9. Data from FoundationSearch: Oak Foundation USA. www.FoundationSearch.com.
  10. “Funders.” European Climate Foundation. Accessed May 09, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20160129171204/https:/europeanclimate.org/people/funders/.
  11. “Vision.” European Climate Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://europeanclimate.org/mission/vision/.
  12. “Grant Making.” European Climate Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://europeanclimate.org/mission/grant-making/.
  13. Morena, Edouard. The Price of Climate Action: Philanthropic Foundations in the International Climate Debate. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2016. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=WDUKDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=%22each+campaign+bolsters+an+overarching+narrative.%22&source=bl&ots=Ry11ckIiVL&sig=ACfU3U1cqWukBJ2AQ-4p-NcOscdAurmvSQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN59XshJHiAhWmhOAKHRESAB4Q6AEwAHoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22each%20campaign%20bolsters%20an%20overarching%20narrative.%22&f=false
  14. Horner, Christopher C. “Government For Rent: How Special Interests Finance Governors to Pursue Their Climate Policy Agenda – Appendix.” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://cei.org/sites/default/files/Christopher%20Horner%20-%20Government%20for%20Rent%20Appendix.pdf#page=224
  15. “European Relationship Manager – Climate Briefing Service.” EuroBrussels – The Euro Affairs Jobsite. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20150213213546/https:/www.eurobrussels.com/job_display/100062/European_Relationship_Manager_Climate_Briefing_Service_ECF_European_Climate_Foundation_Brussels_Belgium.
  16. Wo-lap, Willy Lam. “Getting Lost in ‘One Belt, One Road’.” EJ Insight. April 12, 2016. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://www.ejinsight.com/20160412-getting-lost-one-belt-one-road/.
  17. “2023 Annual Report.” Common Sense Media. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/featured-content/files/2023-annual-report_final-for-web-spreads.pdf.
  18.  Biddle, Sam. “New Group Attacking iPhone Encryption Backed by U.S. Political Dark-Money Network.” The Intercept, October 1, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/10/01/apple-encryption-iphone-heat-initiative/.
  19. “About Us.” Reporters Shield. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://www.reporters-shield.org/about-us/.
  20. Beresford, Philip. “Accountancy Rich List: 10-1.” Economia. Accessed May 14, 2019. https://economia.icaew.com/news/september-2014/accountancy-rich-list-10-1.
  21. Samuels, Christina A. “Oak Foundation Aims to Aid Those With ‘Learning Differences’.” Education Week. February 20, 2019. Accessed May 15, 2019. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/oak-foundation-aims-to-aid-those-with.html.
  22. About Oak. Accessed May 14, 2019. http://oakfnd.org/about-oak.html.
  23. “Jette and Alan Parker – Honorary Degree Citation.” Commencement. Accessed May 15, 2019. https://www.colby.edu/commencement/jette-and-alan-parker/.
  24. Smith, Ben. “Funding the left, from Bermuda.” POLITICO. May 17, 2011. Accessed June 08, 2017. http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2011/05/funding-the-left-from-bermuda-035903.
  25. Bertoni, Steven. “Chuck Feeney: The Billionaire Who Is Trying To Go Broke.” Forbes. July 22, 2013. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/09/18/chuck-feeney-the-billionaire-who-is-trying-to-go-broke/#41e4cb4a291c.
  26. “Alan Parker.” The Sunday Times. April 27, 2008. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/alan-parker-ghsqsfdfthh.
  27. “Accountancy Rich List: 10-1.” Economia. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://economia.icaew.com/news/september-2014/accountancy-rich-list-10-1.
  28. Bewig, Matt. “Ambassador to Mozambique: Who Is Douglas Griffiths?” AllGov. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://www.allgov.com/news/appointments-and-resignations/ambassador-to-mozambique-who-is-douglas-griffiths?news=844325.
  29. “About Caroline.” Difference Works. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://difference-works.com/about-us/about-caroline/.
  30. “Heather Graham.” Oak Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://oakfnd.org/heather-graham.html.
  31. “Meet Our Team Members.” Oak Foundation. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://oakfnd.org/about/meet-our-team-members/.
  32. “Kristian Parker.” ClimateWorks Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.climateworks.org/people/kristian-parker/.
  33. “The Oak Foundation USA, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed August 18, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133321196/202413099349100866/full.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 1986

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2023 Dec Form PF $1,699,470 $32,905,066 $24,037,557 $21,824,718 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2022 Dec Form PF $32,902,551 $7,200,905 $35,737,118 $2,318,683 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2021 Dec Form PF $2,231,148 $12,573,897 $10,038,273 $6,444,229 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2020 Dec Form PF $12,538,232 $32,669,913 $20,392,183 $16,237,855 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $13,275,539 $16,168,039 $40,592,071 $3,156,252 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2015 Dec Form PF $1,267,424 $23,570,979 $25,368,133 $18,287 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $46,568,914 $29,284,736 $47,556,882 $45,122 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $8,531,188 $38,672,302 $73,539,978 $622,077 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $30,362,900 $48,974,639 $94,566,810 $20,000,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $18,619,985 $53,697,646 $91,024,072 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Oak Foundation USA

    511 CONGRESS STREET SUITE 800
    PORTLAND, ME 04101-3482