The Proteus Fund is a left-of-center “pass-through” funder and donor-advised fund provider. Since the Fund’s creation in 1995, Proteus has routed hundreds of millions of dollars from major grantmaking foundations and anonymous donors on the Left to activist groups targeting issues including legalizing same-sex marriage, reducing religious freedom to dissent policies on gay rights and abortion, abolishing capital punishment, reducing military spending, and promoting liberal campaign finance policies. ¹

The Proteus Fund moves money through “donor collaboratives” funded by major grantmaking foundations. Through these “collaboratives,” Proteus coordinates the efforts of state, local, and national activist groups so that their efforts are not needlessly duplicated. These funds and collaboratives vet the activist groups to ensure that they are effective and that they stay on message. Proteus Fund “collaboratives” and donor-advised funds include the Piper Fund, the Civil Marriage Collaborative, the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative, the Themis Fund, the Security and Rights Collaborative, and the Colombe Foundation. ²

Proteus has also developed strategies for persuading voters to tip the scale of public opinion in specific states and localities. They use research (such as polling and message testing and advertising) to persuade swing voters to gain majorities for left-of-center policies in referendums and elections. Proteus Fund documented both strategies in Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of How Philanthropy and the Civil Marriage Collaborative Helped America Embrace Marriage Equality. ³

Background and “Pass-Through” Model

The Proteus Fund was formed in May 1994 in Washington, D.C., but is physically headquartered in Amherst, Massachusetts. ⁴

The Fund was created by Meg Gage, a career left-of-center nonprofit executive who helped develop the “pass-through” funding model. Gage reportedly created the model during her tenure as executive director of the Peace Development Fund, a position she held from 1981 to 1992. The Peace Development Fund was reportedly created to move donations from major foundations to smaller left-wing activist groups opposed to President Ronald Reagan’s nuclear weapons policies. Gara LaMarche, former president of the left-wing Democracy Alliance and Atlantic Philanthropies, has credited Gage’s funding model with “increasing philanthropic attention and support for social justice issues like money in politics, civil liberties and national security, and the death penalty.” ⁵

The Proteus Fund has described itself as an “extension of [the Peace Development Fund’s] model: a way to pool funding and align strategy among multiple funders in service of significant social change objectives and a broad vision for change in the philanthropic sector.” ⁶ Under the “pass-through” funding model developed by Gage, the Proteus Fund collects donations from large grantmaking foundations, wealthy individuals, and smaller donors and funnels cash to local and state organizations, which the Fund has vetted for their effectiveness. ⁵

Donor Collaboratives

Piper Fund

Also see Piper Fund

The first issue the Proteus Fund addressed in a significant way was campaign finance. Gage started the Piper Fund in 1997, with the intention of increasing government control over election-related speech. ⁷ The Piper Fund allocated “about $1.8 million in grants to 53 organizations in 38 states working on campaign finance reform,” starting in 1998. ⁸

The Proteus Fund has also funded efforts for disclosure of funders of political advertisements, including those made by independent organizations. ⁹ Ironically, the Piper Fund, while it discloses some of its donors, “acknowledges it receives money from anonymous givers and ‘numerous other individual donors.’” ¹⁰

The Piper Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Piper Fund, and is hosted by the 501(c)(4) Proteus Action League. Both groups’ efforts have been heavily funded by the Voqal Fund, a center-left communications funder. ¹¹

Civil Marriage Collaborative

Also see Civil Marriage Collaborative 

In 2004, the Proteus Fund established the Civil Marriage Collaborative (CMC) to conduct advocacy and research in support of efforts to obtain government recognition of same-sex marriages. ¹²

As documented in Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of how Philanthropy and the Civil Marriage Collaborative Helped America Embrace Marriage Equality, the CMC began by gathering leaders of LGBT interest groups and getting them to agree on a long-term strategy for securing government recognition of same-sex marriage. The strategy would include litigation, grassroots organizing, lobbying, and electing pro-LGBT politicians. ³

Another part of the strategy was to change how Americans thought about same-sex marriage. As then-CMC director and later Proteus Fund President Paul Di Donato said, “the only way to achieve and defend a marriage equality victory nationwide was … changing the hearts and minds of Americans about the rightful place of LGBT people in our society and …why marriage matters for us.” This change would be accomplished through research and public education. ³

With that plan in place, the CMC was then able to tap into its philanthropy network to fund the strategy. Over the next 11 years, the CMC directed $153 million (from left-of-center donor organizations including the Gill Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, Columbia Foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and others, including anonymous donors) to LGBT groups. The CMC vetted the groups, making sure that they were effective. ³

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that prohibiting government recognition of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, granting CMC its preferred policy outcome. Polling also indicated CMC met its goal of securing majority support for same-sex marriage. ^{13 14 15} The Civil Marriage Collaborative closed after the Obergefell decision. ¹⁶

Rights, Faith, and Democracy Collaborative

Also see Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative 

In March 2017, the Proteus Fund announced the creation of the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative (RFDC). The RFDC supports state-level opposition to religious exemptions to laws requiring businesses to serve same-sex marriage ceremonies and protecting conscientious objectors from performing or recommending abortions. ¹⁷ Jason Franklin, board chair of the Proteus Fund, stated that the RFDC exists “to push back against the use of religion as a means of words for discrimination,” targeting measures that grant conscience protections against participation in same-sex marriages and abortions. ¹⁶

RFDC has donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued Catholic hospital systems for not providing abortion or sterilization procedures. ¹⁸ RFDC has also funded Lambda Legal, a group involved in litigation to limit religious exemptions to laws requiring wedding vendors to serve same-sex ceremonies. The group filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case requesting the court rule in favor of the Commission, defining Jack Phillip’s refusal to decorate a cake for a same sex wedding — because of his religious convictions — as discrimination against gay people. ¹⁹

The RFDC also seeks to influence faith groups from within by supporting members of dissident factions who hold the RFDC’s positions on abortion and LGBT issues. ²⁰ One of its grantees, the pro-abortion group of self-proclaimed Roman Catholics called “Catholics for Choice,” seeks to change the Catholic Church by promoting opposition to Catholic teachings opposing abortion. ²¹

Themis Fund

Also see Themis Fund (Nonprofit Project)

The Proteus Fund started the Themis Fund in 2007 to abolish the death penalty in America. The Themis Fund provides small grants to support litigation to outlaw capital punishment by judicial decision. Themis has funded litigation demanding better state funding and standards for public defenders, highlighting alleged discrepancies in race and sex on capital prosecutions, showing community opposition to the death penalty to juries, and alleging defendants’ mental illness as a factor in death-penalty cases. ²²

In 2014, the Themis Fund established the 8th Amendment Project, headed by Henderson Hill, specifically to establish a foundation for a Supreme Court decision that would declare capital punishment unconstitutional based on the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. The Project supports research on death penalty abolition and aids the defense in capital trials. ²³ In January 2018, the 8th Amendment Project was transferred from the Proteus Fund to the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. ²⁴

RISE Together Fund (Security and Rights Collaborative)

Also see RISE Together Fund 

Proteus started the RISE (Rights, Inclusion, Solidarity, Equity) Together Fund as the Security and Rights Collaborative in 2009 in partnership with ReThink Media. The group was renamed RISE in January 2019. ²⁵ The Fund opposes national security policies pursued by both Republican and Democratic administrations and the activities of U.S. foreign intelligence services. It also seeks to close the terrorist detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay military base, regulate drone warfare, restrain foreign intelligence collection, and stop profiling of certain ethnic groups in America. ²⁶

The overwhelming majority of the RISE Together Fund’s grants go to organizations representing Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities seen as likely to be targeted by national security activities. RISE funds organizations involved in political organizing and activism, combating public perception of these communities as sources of terrorism, and limiting scrutiny from law enforcement and national security entities. Grantees include the Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition, Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Muslim Students Association-West, Sikh Coalition, Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles, and Council of American-Islamic Relations-San Francisco Bay Area. ²⁷

The RISE Together Action Fund is the lobbying arm of the RISE Together Fund and a project of the 501(c)(4) Proteus Action League. ²⁸

Colombe Foundation

Also see Colombe Peace Foundation 

The Colombe Peace Foundation was founded in Delaware in 1996 and became an independent foundation in 2020. ²⁹

Colombe funds organizations that seek to eliminate nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, advance foreign policy that depends more on diplomacy and development than war and threats of war, and promotes a reduction in military spending. ³⁰

Colombe’s grantees for 2016 included, among others, the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation, Win Without War, Fund for Constitutional Government, Georgia WAND Fund, Non-violent PeaceForce, Peace Action Education Committee, and the Ploughshares Fund. ³¹

Solidarity Collaborative

The Proteus Fund started the Solidarity Collaborative to support its racial and social justice giving. The mission statement of the Solidarity Collaborative reads in part: “The United States has the potential to be the only Western democracy to peacefully transfer power from a white, cisgender male majority to a multi-identity majority— bound together by a set of democratic values more than a shared history, culture, race, ethnicity, or religion.” In its own words, the goal of the Solidarity Collaborative is “to create intentional solidarity between and among these communities and the larger movement to advance racial justice.” ³²

Proteus Fund published a list of organization types the Solidarity Collaborative intends fund:

Muslim and South Asian leaders organizing trips to the US-Mexico border to bear witness and advocate against unjust detention and anti-immigrant practices. Black and Latinx organizations standing in solidarity with AAPI groups as they navigated waves of anti-Asian hate. South Asian organizations hosting convenings and power-planning retreats with black-led organizations to strategize how South Asians can helpfully support their work. Sikh and Native youth convening to share experiences and organize together around societal regulation of their traditional practices. ³²

The Solidarity Collaborative’s first meeting was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in December 2024. The write-up of the meeting claimed, “Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens without equal access to vote for their representation, and the parallels to the 1960s fight for civil rights—among them, the right to the ballot box—are substantial.” The writeup of the meeting went on to compare the Collaborative to the Civil Rights era claiming it “brought the spirit of love and justice to Puerto Rico.” The meeting also heard from several Puerto Rican activists. ³³

Among the donors to the Solidarity Collaborative is the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. ³⁴

Fiscal Sponsorship Services

In addition to funding, the Proteus Fund provides fiscal sponsorship services (what it describes as “organizational infrastructure and management services”) to left-wing organizations. ³⁵

These organizations include the American and European Society Research Project, EmbraceRace, Human Rights Funders Network, JustFund, More Equitable Democracy, Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights, Reframe Mentorship, Prevention Collaborative, TAP (Transparency, Accountability & Participation) Network, Third Wave Fund, and the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, among others. These organizations focus on concerns from training future leadership of left-wing causes, ensuring diversity in philanthropic leadership, advancing government accountability and transparency, and having discussions about race and racism. ³⁵

Fiscally Sponsored Groups and Collaboratives

Our Story Hub is a Proteus Fund project that develops communications and messaging strategies for left-wing advocacy groups. As of November 2025, the group was headed by Richard Kirsch, a prominent left-wing political activist. Members of Our Story Hub’s advisory committee include the Center for American Progress, People’s Action, and the AFL-CIO. Our Story Hub became an independent group in 2020. ³⁶

The Solidaire Network is a Proteus Fund project created in 2013 to direct funds to radical activist groups, including Queer the Land, Assata’s Daughters, and Seeding Sovereignty. ³⁷

The American and European Society Research Project (also called Vox Populism) is a two-part research group that produces studies criticizing “the rise of political extremism in Europe and the United States.” ³⁸

EmbraceRace is an ethnic minority interest group that criticizes what it claims are rising “racial divisions and inequities” in the United States. ³⁹ While it’s fiscally sponsored by Proteus, EmbraceRace receives funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NoVo Foundation, and Haas Institute.

The Human Rights Funders Network is a left-of-center donors collaborative consisting of roughly “95 dues-paying institutions.” The Network’s steering committee consists of representatives from the Oak Foundation, Ford Foundation, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, American Jewish World Service, Open Society Foundations, Wikimedia Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society, Fund for Global Human Rights, and CASA Socio-Environmental Fund.  ⁴⁰

JustFund is a Proteus project that caters to small left-leaning foundations. The group primarily funnels donations to a handful of funds, including the Emergent Fund, Threshold Foundation, Defending the Dream Fund, and the Solidaire Network (another Proteus project). ⁴¹

Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights (PAWHR) is a Proteus project that funnels grants to left-wing women’s advocacy groups. Grantmaking members of PAWHR include NoVo Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, Foundation for a Just Society, Channel Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Oak Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Gates Foundation, Dietel Partners, and Wallace Global Fund. ⁴²

The Prevention Collaborative moves money to women’s activist groups in the name of preventing “violence against women and children.” ⁴³

The Third Wave Fund funnels grants to gay, lesbian, intersex, and transgender advocacy groups in the name of “gender justice.” Third Wave Fund’s grantmaking foundations include Groundswell Fund, Arcus Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Overbrook Foundation, Craigslist, Joshua Mailman Foundation, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, and a number of individual small-dollar donors. ⁴⁴ Third Wave Fund makes grants through two channels: the Mobilize Power Fund, which funds LGBT activism, and the Grow Power Fund, which supports the creation of new activist groups. ⁴⁵

The Transparency & Accountability Initiative (TAI) is a Proteus-sponsored donor collaborative that funds efforts to pass left-wing tax policies in Europe and the United States, such as the Global Alliance for Tax Justice, and privacy issues. ^{46 47} TAI’s members include the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Luminate, Hewlett Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.

Past Sponsorships

The Media Democracy Fund is a left-wing advocacy group that supports the creation of net neutrality Internet regulations. The Media Democracy Fund was created in 2006 by the Proteus Fund but was transferred to the New Venture Fund (a similar funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit) at an unknown date. ⁴⁸ Initial funding for the Fund came from the Ford Foundation, Park Foundation, Arca Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. ⁴⁹

Voter Registration and Mobilization Efforts

Voter Engagement and Evaluation Project

For more information, see Voter Engagement Evaluation Project 

The Proteus Fund is a member of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP), a major donors collaborative for prominent funders on the Left that make grants to voter registration and mobilization groups that is a project of NEO Philanthropy. ⁵⁰

According to an interview co-authored by the Alliance for Justice and Council on Foundations conducted in 2004 (and published in 2008) with then-Proteus Fund president Meg Gage, the Proteus Fund ran a Voter Engagement Donor Network in 2006 composed of “some 140 funders . . . who shared information and advanced voter mobilization initiatives in a nonpartisan setting.” Gage noted that “there was a much higher level of foundation support for nonpartisan voter engagement activity” in the 2004 presidential election than in previous elections. Gage praised the Center for Community Change (CCC) for ” partnering effectively when they brought their resources to local groups already on the ground and greatly strengthened voter engagement efforts there.” ⁵¹

Following the 2004 election, Proteus Fund and FCCP created the Voter Engagement Evaluation Project (VEEP), a project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of left-wing foundations’ support for voter mobilization and registration efforts in the election. ⁵¹

In June 2005, VEEP published a report entitled “Top Ten Lessons for Funders Regarding 501(c)(3) Voter Engagement Work Conducted During the 2004 Election Cycle” (archived here). ⁵² The report, authored by political activists Heather Booth and Stephanie Firestone, offered ten lessons to left-wing foundations on supporting voter registration efforts:

1. Effective voter contact is up close and personal
2. Build it (strategically) and they will come
3. Voter engagement is part of a permanent campaign
4. Ready, set, plan
5. Voter files are the fuel that drives voter contact
6. Voter protection must be front loaded
7. Repeat the message, then repeat the message
8. Collaboration demands more than good will
9. “Tech”ing it to the streets
10. A ruler is an important but limited measuring stick

A follow-up report published in January 2006 was funded with grants from the Bauman Family Foundation, Beldon Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, Open Society Foundations, and JEHT Foundation. ⁵³

VEEP’s advisory committee was composed of Patricia Bauman of the Bauman Family Foundation; Heather Booth of the Proteus Fund; Elizabeth Collaton of the Stern Family Fund; Kristen Engberg of the JEHT Foundation; Allison Fine of the E-Volve Foundation; Irma Gonzalez of the Proteus Fund; and Bill Roberts of the Beldon Fund. ⁵³

Voter Registration Project

From 2016 through 2021, the Proteus Fund gave $25,604,711 to the Voter Registration Project’s network. The Voter Registration Project helped register voters such as racial minorities and low-income voters who it believes are more likely to register and vote Democratic. The effort, originally under the “Everybody Votes” campaign, was a plan to use ostensibly non-partisan charitable contributions from foundations and other funders to fund a voter registration effort that would support Democrats. Under tax laws, non-partisan charities cannot fund explicitly partisan get out the vote projects. A report found that VRP gave Joe Biden between 1 million and 2.7 million extra votes which was more than enough to give him the presidency. ⁵⁴

In 2023, the Proteus Fund donated another $2,000,000 to the Voter Registration Project. ⁵⁵

Funding

On its 2023 tax returns, the Proteus Fund reported $73,102,909 in revenue, $49,221,407 in expenses, and $69,055,138 in net assets. ⁵⁵

Notable 2023 Proteus Fund grants included $167,325 to Allied Media Projects, $120,000 to the Arab American Civic Council, $250,000 to the Black Farmer Fund, $200,000 to Canticle Farm, $150,000 to the Common Counsel Foundation, $120,000 to the Council on American Islamic Relations Arizona, $100,000 to the Equality Foundation of Georgia, $188,500 to Fractured Atlas, $117,750 to Gender Justice, $750,000 to Grassroots International, $352,000 to Haser, $150,000 to the Lavender Rights Project, $138,928 to Miracle of Love, $750,000 to the Movement Strategy Center, $250,000 to the Na’ah Illahee Fund, $250,000 to the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, $130,000 to the New Pennsylvania Project Education Fund, $300,000 to the Northwest Film Forum, $250,000 to Possibility Labs, $200,000 to Project Weber Renew, $320,000 to ReThink Media, $1,500,000 to the Voter Participation Center, $110,000 to the Tides Center, and $250,000 to the Tides Foundation. ⁵⁵

Leadership

President and CEO

Paul Di Donato was named the president and CEO of the Proteus Fund in January 2017 after working one year as the group’s interim president. Prior to that, he was the director of the Proteus Fund’s Civil Marriage Collaborative from 2007 to 2015. ⁵⁶ From 1997 to 2005, Di Donato was executive director of Funders Concerned About AIDS, a philanthropic group. From 2007 to 2015, he ran a private consulting firm that catered to a number of center-left clients, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Arcus Foundation. ⁵⁷

In 2023, Di Donato received total compensation of $419,078. ⁵⁵

Meg Gage was founding president and CEO of the Proteus Fund, a position she held from 1994 to her retirement in 2016. In 1981, Gage founded the Peace Development Fund, a center-left grantmaking group she ran until 1992. From 1992 to 1999, Gage was executive director of the Ottinger Foundation, a center-left funder. Gage is an advisory board member for ReThink Media, a nonprofit public relations group. ⁵⁸

As of October 2025, Beery Jimenez was the Proteus Fund’s chief operating officer, a position she had held since February 2023. Previously, she worked as the group’s vice president for fiscal sponsorship and grants management, director of philanthropy and fiscal sponsorship, director of grants management and sponsored projects, and grants manager. She joined the Proteus Fund in August 2008. ⁵⁹ In 2023, she received total compensation of $227,735. ⁵⁵

Board of Directors

Current and former members of the Proteus Fund’s board of directors include the following individuals: ^{60 61}

As of 2025, Nicole Campbell was the chair of the Proteus Fund’s board of directors. She is the founder of Build Up Companies, a series of companies which work with left-of-center groups. She previously worked as senior director of operations and foundation counsel for Dalio Philanthropies and deputy general counsel and secretary for Open Society Foundations. ⁶²

As of 2025, Rick Scott was a member of Proteus’ board. Scott  was the former VP of finance and compliance at the McKnight Foundation and is currently an independent nonprofit and NGO consultant. Before joining McKnight in 1999, Scott was chief financial officer of the Guthrie Theater and a large human services agency after spending 13 years working in the computer industry. ⁶²

As of 2025, Desiree Flores was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, she was the executive director of the General Service Foundation. She was previously the program director at U.S. social justice at the Arcus Foundation. Before that, she was director of board affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a longtime program officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women. ⁶²

As of 2025, Patricia Eng was a member of Proteus’ board. She is the former president and CEO of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). She is the former vice president of programs for the New York Women’s Foundation. She previously worked as chief service officer for former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and director of programs for Bolder Giving. ^65 66 As of October 2025, she was working as an independent consultant. ⁶²

As of 2025, Tammy Dowley-Blackman was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, she was the CEO of the Tammy Dowley-Blackman Group, LLC which is a management consulting firm for the corporate, government, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. She was previously the founding director of the Proteus Fund Diversity Fellowship. ⁶²

As of 2025, Tia Oros Peters was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, she was the CEO of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples. ⁶²

As of 2025, Risa Jaz Rifkind was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, she was the senior director of programs and strategic initiatives at Disability Lead. She was appointed to the National Council on Disability by President Joe Biden in 2022. She was previously a program manager at the Chicago Community Trust. ⁶²

As of 2025, Eric Ward was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, he was executive director of the Western States Center, a left-wing policy advocacy group. He previously worked as a program officer for the Ford Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and Center for New Community. ⁷⁰ Ward is also a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center. ⁶²

As of 2025, Elizabeth (Betsy) Schmidt was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, she was a Senior Research Fellow at UMass Amherst. She is also the president of Rules of the Road for Nonprofits. ⁶²

As of 2025, Everrette Thompson-Francoise was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, he was the senior program officer at Freedom Together Foundation. He has worked at numerous left-of-center groups including Amnesty International USA, Rights Working Group, 350.org, the Unitarian Universalist Association, among others. ⁶²

As of 2025, Nima Shirazi was a member of Proteus’ board. At the time, he was vice president of Spitfire Strategies, a Democratic consultancy. He previously worked as a communications strategist for Atlantic Philanthropies and as a senior fellow and founding member of the Narrative Initiative. ^{72 62}

Related Organizations

ReThink Media

Also see ReThink Media (nonprofit)

The Proteus Fund partnered with ReThink Media to form the RISE Together Fund. ReThink Media coordinates the public relations strategies of activist groups so that they will stay on effective messaging which will change public opinion and not duplicate effort. ⁶³

Proteus Action League

Also see Proteus Action League (nonprofit)

The Proteus Action League (PAL) is the 501(c)(4) arm of the Proteus Fund. PAL supports and opposes specific legislation and referenda regarding the death penalty, campaign financing, the LGBT interests, and other issues in which the Proteus Fund is actively involved. ⁶⁴

1. [1] “Home.” Proteus Fund. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/.
2. “Home.” Proteus Fund. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/.
3. The Proteus Fund. Hearts and Minds: The Untold Story of how Philanthropy and the Civil Marriage Collaborative Helped America Embrace Marriage Equality. 2015. Massachusetts, Amherst.
4. “Proteus Fund, Inc.” D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov
5. Callahan, David. “Pioneer: How Meg Gage Has Changed Philanthropy-and the World.” Inside Philanthropy. December 4, 2015. Accessed January 01, 2018. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/12/4/pioneer-how-meg-gage-has-changed-philanthropyand-the-world.html.
6. “Celebrating 25 Years.” Proteus Fund. January 31, 2019. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.proteusfund.org/celebrating-25-years/
7. “Piper Fund: A Proteus Fund Initiative.” The Proteus Fund. 2018. Accessed January 01, 2018. http://www.proteusfund.org/piper.
8. Dreyfuss, Robert . “Reform Gets Rolling.” The American Prospect. July & Aug. 1999. Accessed January 01, 2018. http://prospect.org/article/reform-gets-rolling.
9. Peterson, Josh. “Left-wing Foundation Influence Disclosed among FCC Rule-change Petitioners.” The Daily Caller. November 05, 2011. Accessed January 01, 2018. http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/05/left-wing-foundation-influence-disclosed-among-fcc-rule-change-petitioners/.
10. Whyte, Liz Essley. “Groups Decrying ‘Dark Money’ Use Shadowy Money Themselves.” Center for Public Integrity. January 20, 2016. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/01/14/19124/groups-decrying-dark-money-use-shadowy-money-themselves.
11. “Taking Money Out of Politics: A Weighty Lift.” Voqal. October 2017. Accessed July 18, 2019. Original URL: https://voqal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/MiP_Eval-1_vFFFExhApps_vFFF.pdf. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/07/Taking-Money-Out-of-Politics.-Voqal.-07.2019.pdf.
12. Civil Marriage Collaborative.” The Proteus Fund. 2018. Accessed January 05, 2018. http://www.proteusfund.org/cmc/about.
13. McCarthy, Justin. “Record-High 60% of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage.” Gallup.com. May 19, 2015. Accessed January 05, 2018. http://news.gallup.com/poll/183272/record-high-americans-support-sex-marriage.aspx.
14. Clement, Scott, and Robert Barnes. “Poll: Gay-marriage support at record high.” The Washington Post. April 23, 2015. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/poll-gay-marriage-support-at-record-high/2015/04/22/f6548332-e92a-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html?utm_term=.84154ef76b51.
15. Merritt, Jonathan. “Evangelicals are Shifting on Same-sex Marriage, but it’s no Avalanche.” Religion News Service. March 18, 2015. Accessed January 05, 2018. http://religionnews.com/2015/03/18/evangelicals-shifting-sex-marriage-no-avalanche/.
16. Williams, Wendy. “LGBTQ Philanthropy is Growing Yet Under Attack | PBA.” Pro Bono Australia. November 23, 2017. Accessed January 19, 2018. https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2017/11/lgbtq-philanthropy-growing-yet-attack/.
17. “Proteus Fund Announces a New Funder Collaborative to Oppose the Use of Religious Exemptions to Undermine Fundamental Rights.” Philanthropy New York. March 16, 2017. Accessed January 12, 2018. https://philanthropynewyork.org/news/proteus-fund-announces-new-funder-collaborative-oppose-use-religious-exemptions-undermine.
18. Slade, Stephanie. “Why is the A.C.L.U. targeting Catholic hospitals?” America Magazine-The Jesuit Review. June 01, 2017. Accessed February 01, 2018. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/05/31/why-aclu-targeting-catholic-hospitals.
19. Lambda Legal. “Lambda Legal to High Court: Religious License to Discriminate Harms LGBT People from Cradle to Grave.” Lambda Legal. October 30, 2017. Accessed February 01, 2018. https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/co_20171030_masterpiece-cakeshop-amicus-filing.
20. Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative.” The Proteus Fund. 2018. Accessed January 19, 2018. https://www.proteusfund.org/rfdc.
21. “About Our Work.” Catholics For Choice. 2018. Accessed February 01, 2018. http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/about-us/about-our-work/.
22. “Announcing the Themis Litigation Fund.” Proteus Fund, Proteus Fund, 2007, temp-proteusfund.gaiahost.net/themis/news/announcing-themis-litigation-fund.
23. Hill, Henderson. “Announcing the 8th Amendment Project.” Announcing the 8th Amendment Project | Themis Fund. May 23, 2014. Accessed January 17, 2018. http://temp-proteusfund.gaiahost.net/themis/news/announcing-8th-amendment-project.
24. “8th Amendment Project – The Center For Death Penalty Litigation.” January 1, 2018. The Center For Death Penalty Litigation. Accessed July 1, 2019. http://www.cdpl.org/our-work/8th-amendment-project/.
25. “RISE Together Fund.” Proteus Fund. Accessed July 2, 2019. https://www.proteusfund.org/rtf/
26. “Security and Rights.” Security and Rights | ReThink Media. 2018. Accessed January 24, 2018. https://rethinkmedia.org/security-and-rights.
27. The Proteus Fund. Security and Rights Collaborative 2017 Grants. December 4, 2017. A list and descriptions of grants made to MASA groups in 2017.
28. “Rise Together Fund.” Proteus Fund. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/rtf/.
29. “History & Impact.” Proteus Fund. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/history-and-impact/.
30. Colombe Foundation. Foundation Directory Online. November 6, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2018. https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/grantmaker-profile/?collection=grantmakers&activity=result&key=COLO055.
31. Colombe Foundation, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2016
32. “Solidarity Collaborative.” Proteus Fund. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/solidarity-collaborative/.
33. Friday. “Advancing Solidarity Dreams: Proteus Fund Launches First Solidarity Collaborative Convening.” Proteus Fund, February 19, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/advancing-solidarity-dreams-proteus-fund-launches-first-solidarity-collaborative-convening/.
34. “Donor Spotlight: W.K. Kellogg Foundation.” Proteus Fund, September 4, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/donor-spotlight-w-k-kellogg-foundation/.
35. “Fiscal Sponsorship.” The Proteus Fund. 2018. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.proteusfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship.
36. “About.” Our Story Hub. Accessed November 17, 2025. https://www.ourstoryhub.org/index.php/home/about/.
37. “Grantees.” Solidaire Network. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://solidairenetwork.org/grantees/
38. “Vox Populism.” American and European Society Research Project. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.voxpopulism.net/
39. “About EmbraceRace.” EmbraceRace. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.embracerace.org/about.html
40. “Steering Committee.” Human Rights Funders Network. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.hrfn.org/about-us/steering-committee/
41. “How It Works.” JustFund. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.justfund.us/justfund/howitworks
42. “Partners.” Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.pawhr.org/partners
43. “Advocacy.” Prevention Collaborative. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://prevention-collaborative.org/advocacy/
44. “Third Wave Supporters.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed July 1, 2019. http://www.thirdwavefund.org/our-supporters.html
45. “Gender Justice Grantmaking.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed July 1, 2019. http://www.thirdwavefund.org/grants.html
46. “The Grantees.” Transparency & Accountability Initiative. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://transparency-initiative.org/tax/grantees
47. “Who We Are.” Transparency & Accountability Initiative. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.transparency-initiative.org/who-we-are/
48. Hayden Ludwig. “Out of Darkness, Cash: Sixteen Thirty in Action.” Capital Research Center. April 17, 2019. Accessed July 2, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/out-of-darkness-cash-part-3/
49. Hayden Ludwig. “Net Neutrality’s Dark Funders.” Capital Research Center. February 5, 2019. Accessed July 2, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/net-neutralitys-dark-funders/
50. “About.” Funders Committee For Civic Participation. Accessed April 17, 2018. https://funderscommittee.org/about/
51. Nan Aron and Steve Gunderson. “Words to Give By: Leading Voices in Advocacy Funding.” Bolder Giving. 2008. Accessed July 2, 2019. Original URL: https://www.bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Words_to_Give_By.pdf. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/07/Words-to-Give-By.-Bolder-Advocacy.-02.2003.pdf.
52. Heather Booth, Stephanie Firestone. “PROTEUS FUND and the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation: VOTER ENGAGEMENT EVALUATION PROJECT (VEEP).” Proteus Fund. June 2005. Accessed July 2, 2019. Original URL: http://www.factservices.org/DLs/FACT_FunderTop10Lessons.pdf. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/07/Proteus-Fund-and-the-Funders-Committee-06.2005.pdf
53. “Funders Committee for Civic Participation and Proteus Fund report on the Voter Engagement Evaluation Project.” Proteus Fund. January 2006. Accessed July 2, 2019. Original URL: https://funderscommittee.org/files/files/media/resources/VEEP-FINAL.pdf. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/07/Proteus-Fund-FCCP-Voter-Engagement-Evaluation-Project-2006.pdf.
54. Thayer, Parker. “How Charities Secretly Help Win Elections.” Capital Research Center. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CRC-Voter-Registration-Report.pdf.
55. “Proteus Fund Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/43243004/202413199349304956/full.
56. Paul Di Donato Announced as New President and CEO of Proteus Fund.” Philanthropy New York. January 25, 2017. Accessed January 26, 2018. https://philanthropynewyork.org/news/paul-di-donato-announced-new-president-and-ceo-proteus-fund.
57. “Paul Di Donato.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-di-donato-75b8288/
58. “Advisory Board.” ReThink Media. Accessed July 1, 2019 https://rethinkmedia.org/team/advisory-board
59. “Beery Adams Jimenez.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/beeryadamsjimenez/details/experience/.
60. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Proteus Fund. 2017. Part VII. Section A (officers, directors, etc.), Line 12. Archived here: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/07/Proteus-Fund-2017-Form-990.pdf
61. “Board of Directors.” Proteus Fund. Accessed July 1, 2019. https://www.proteusfund.org/board-of-directors/
62. “Board of Directors.” Proteus Fund. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://www.proteusfund.org/board-of-directors/.
63. A New Model for Building Collaborative Communications Capacity.” A New Model for Building Collaborative Communications Capacity | ReThink Media. 2018. Accessed January 24, 2018. https://rethinkmedia.org/about.
64. Proteus Action League.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 24, 2018. https://ballotpedia.org/Proteus_Action_League.