TO:     Charity  Navigator  Donor  Advisory  Issuance  Committee     FROM:   The  Clinton  Foundation     DATE:     May  16,  2015   RE:     Watchlist  Placement       The  Clinton  Foundation  respectfully  submits  this  memorandum  as  a  public  response  to   Charity  Navigator’s  placement  of  the  Foundation  on  the  Watchlist.       As  our  mission  states,  “The  Clinton  Foundation  works  with  businesses,  governments,   NGOs,  and  individuals  to  improve  global  health  and  wellness,  increase  opportunity   for  women  and  girls,  reduce  childhood  obesity,  create  economic  opportunity  and   growth,  and  help  communities  address  the  effects  of  climate  change.”       For  more  than  10  years,  the  Clinton  Foundation  has  worked  to  improve  how  it  operates   and  increase  its  impact.  We  are  proud  of  the  work  we  have  done  in  this  short  time.    The   Foundation’s  work  focuses  on  tackling  global  challenges  where  we  know  we  can  make  a   difference.       Because  of  our  work,  more  than  27,000  American  schools  are  providing  kids  with   healthy  food  choices  in  an  effort  to  eradicate  childhood  obesity;  more  than  85,000   farmers  in  Malawi,  Rwanda,  and  Tanzania  are  benefiting  from  climate-­‐smart  agronomic   training,  higher  yields,  and  increased  market  access;  more  than  33,500  tons  of   greenhouse  gas  emissions  are  being  reduced  annually  across  the  United  States;  over   350,000  people  have  been  impacted  through  market  opportunities  created  by  social   enterprises  in  Latin  America,  the  Caribbean,  and  South  Asia;  through  the  independent   Clinton  Health  Access  Initiative,  9.9  million  people  in  more  than  70  countries  have   access  to  CHAI-­‐negotiated  prices  for  HIV/AIDS  medications;  and  members  of  the   Clinton  Global  Initiative  community  have  made  nearly  3,200  Commitments  to  Action,   which  have  improved  the  lives  of  over  430  million  people  in  more  than  180  countries.     Given  the  global  scope  of  the  Foundation’s  work,  in  order  to  operate  our  programs,  we   receive  support  from  a  diverse  array  of  organizations  and  individuals.  In  all,  to  date,   more  than  300,000  donors  have  given  to  the  Foundation.  Of  those  300,000,  we  are  

1  

  especially  proud  that  90%  of  them  are  “small  dollar  donors”  who  have  given  $100  or   less,  demonstrating  the  broad  appeal  of  our  work.       The  Foundation  knows  that  with  such  broad-­‐based  support  and  large  footprint,   transparency  and  accountability  are  critical  to  ensure  the  trust  of  both  donors  and   partners  on  the  ground.  Our  own  disclosure  policies  go  above  and  beyond  any  legal   requirement.  In  fact,  Charity  Navigator’s  former  CEO  Ken  Berger  applauded  the   Foundation  for  its  “choice  to  voluntarily  comply  with  every  one  of  our  [Charity   Navigator’s]  accountability  and  transparency  standards  as  well  as  your  efforts  to  be  at   the  forefront  of  impact  assessment  of  philanthropic  work”  in  a  June  20,  2014  letter.       The  Clinton  Foundation  has  a  longstanding  commitment  to  transparency  and   accountability.  For  years,  we  have  voluntarily  disclosed  our  donors  and  we  update  the   list  each  year.  We  report  our  metrics  on  an  annual  basis.  Our  financials  and  990s  are   easily  accessible  on  our  website.  Even  an  internal  review  has  been  posted  on  our  site   for  the  public  to  review.       We  are  proud  of  our  commitment  to  transparency  and  continue  to  build  on  it.    At  an   April  2015  Board  meeting,  the  Foundation’s  Board  decided  to  implement  even  stronger   policies  regarding  donor  disclosure  and  foreign  government  donations.  In  addition  to   reinforcing  the  Foundation’s  ongoing  commitment  to  accountability,  these   modifications  address  the  majority  of  concerns  Charity  Navigator  specifically  cites  as   reasons  for  placing  the  Clinton  Foundation  on  the  Watchlist.       We  understand  that  stories  in  the  media  have  raised  questions  about  how  the   Foundation  works,  and  have  sought  to  raise  questions  about  possible  conflicts  of   interest.  Many  of  these  baseless  accusations  relate  to  foreign  government  contributions   and  corporate  donations.  Additional  stories  Charity  Navigator  cites  refer  to  questions   surrounding  the  operations  of  the  Foundation.  I  will  address  these  concerns  in  turn.       First,  there  has  been  no  indication,  accusation,  or  evidence  in  any  of  these  stories  of  any   wrongdoing.  Our  supporters  donate  to  the  Clinton  Foundation  because  they  want  to  see   lives  improved;  they  want  better  opportunity  across  the  globe;  and  they  want  to  see   communities,  businesses,  and  governments  working  together  to  address  problems  that,   when  working  together,  we  have  the  solutions  and  resources  to  fix.  That  is  what  the   Clinton  Foundation  does  every  day,  and  that  is  why  we  are  proud  to  work  here.     Second,  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  a  conflict  of  interest,  upon  declaring  her   candidacy  for  president,  Secretary  Clinton  resigned  from  the  Foundation’s  Board.       Third,  as  part  of  our  updated  donor  policy,  the  Board  instituted  an  even  more   transparent  donor  disclosure  policy,  committing  to  posting  donors  quarterly.    This   policy  is  even  stronger  than  the  previous  policy,  which  as  Charity  Navigator  cites,  The   New  York  Times  praised  on  February  20,  2015  saying,  “The  foundation,  in  fact,  went   beyond  normal  philanthropic  bounds  for  transparency  six  years  ago  in  instituting   voluntary  disclosure  of  donors  within  broad  dollar  ranges  on  its  website."     2  

    Fourth,  like  other  organizations  that  work  in  international  development  and  global   health,  the  Clinton  Foundation’s  work  is  supported  in  part  by  contributions  from   foreign  governments.  As  part  of  the  April  revisions  to  our  donor  policy,  we  announced   that  we  will  only  accept  funding  from  a  handful  of  governments.  By  limiting   contributions  to  six  countries  who  have  funded  our  work,  many  through  multi-­‐year   grants,  we  have  exceeded  both  legal  requirements  and  best  practices  to  ensure  that  no   conflicts  of  interest  would  occur,  while  protecting  the  critical  nature  of  our  work.    On   this  point,  Charity  Navigator  cites  a  Wall  Street  Journal  article  noting  that  the  new   donor  policy,  “permit[s]  donations  from  Australia,  Canada,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,   Norway  and  the  U.K.—countries  that  support  or  have  supported  Clinton  Foundation   programs  on  health,  poverty  and  climate  change.”       Fifth,  the  Watchlist  references  an  article  about  a  contribution  from  Algeria.    As  we  have   publicly  stated,  this  was  a  one-­‐time,  unsolicited,  donation  of  $500,000  from  the   Government  of  Algeria  specifically  for  emergency  relief  efforts  in  the  immediate   aftermath  of  the  2010  Haiti  earthquake.  As  with  all  contributions  for  earthquake  relief,   every  penny  of  the  contribution  went  to  the  Clinton  Foundation  Haiti  Relief  fund.  Still,   as  we  have  said,  not  submitting  this  to  the  U.S.  Department  of  State  was  a  mistake.   While  the  contribution  was  disclosed  on  the  Foundation’s  website  in  2010,  the  State   Department  should  have  also  been  engaged.  Separately,  when  asked,  the  State   Department  said  that  given  the  circumstances  it  had  no  issue  with  the  contribution.       Sixth,  there  have  been  questions  raised  about  corporate  donors.  Like  many  other  global   philanthropic  organizations,  the  Foundation  receives  contributions  from   corporations—both  foreign  and  domestic.  These  organizations  have  given  to  the   Foundation  to  help  address  today’s  greatest  challenges.  The  Foundation  receives   support  from  a  range  of  corporations  that  have  a  long  history  of  philanthropic  work  and   commitment  to  corporate  social  responsibility.  Each  year  we  update  a  list  of  our   contributors  on  the  website  to  ensure  the  highest  levels  of  transparency,  and  as  noted   will  begin  quarterly  public  disclosure  this  July.         Charity  Navigator  references  a  quote  from  a  February  19  2015  Wall  Street  Journal   article  on  conflict  of  interest  stating,  "corporate  donations  to  politically  connected   charities  aren't  illegal  so  long  as  they  aren't  in  exchange  for  favors.  There  is  no  evidence   of  that  with  the  Clinton  Foundation.”     Additionally,  the  suggestion  that  the  Foundation  is  a  quasi-­‐political  organization  is   blatantly  false.    Both  in  status  and  practice,  the  Clinton  Foundation  is  apolitical  and  has   long  had  bipartisan  support  and  involvement.  For  example,  Too  Small  To  Fail’s   Leadership  Council  includes  former  Senator  Bill  Frist  and  Cindy  McCain.  The  Clinton   Climate  Initiative  has  had  success  stories  in  states  with  Republicans  in  the  State  House   like  Wisconsin  and  Arkansas.  President  Clinton  has  worked  on  several  occasions  with   both  Former  Presidents  George  H.W.  Bush  and  George  W.  Bush.  Even  the  Washington   Post,  which  Charity  Navigator  cites,  reported  that,  "the  foundation  has  won  accolades   3  

  from  philanthropy  experts  and  has  drawn  bipartisan  support,  with  members  of  the   George  W.  Bush  administration  often  participating  in  its  programs."       Seventh,  Charity  Navigator  points  to  a  story  with  little  first  person  sourcing  and  a  large   number  of  blind  quotes  that  question  the  management  of  the  Foundation.  The  Clinton   Foundation  is  committed  to  always  improving  and  learning  from  its  past  successes  and   challenges.  It  has  also  been  incredibly  transparent  in  how  it  does  this.  We  believe  our   supporters,  and  those  whose  lives  we  impact  should  know  that  we  constantly  strive  to   ensure  our  work  is  of  the  highest  quality  and  has  the  greatest  impact.       With  regard  to  the  departure  of  our  former  CEO,  Eric  Braverman,  both  the  Foundation   and  Mr.  Braverman  have  provided  public  comment  and  explanation  on  his  departure   from  the  Foundation.  Mr.  Braverman’s  statement  said:    “I  am  incredibly  grateful  for  the   opportunity  to  have  worked  at  the  Clinton  Foundation  and  have  been  inspired  by  the   tireless  work  of  our  staff  around  the  world  to  impact  and  improve  the  lives  of  millions   of  people.  In  the  last  few  years,  all  the  initiatives  and  programs  have  worked  together  to   make  the  Clinton  Foundation  even  stronger  and  now  is  the  right  time  for  a  new  leader   to  take  the  Foundation  into  the  future.”         In  addition,  President  Clinton,  Secretary  Clinton  and  Chelsea  Clinton  praised  his  work  in   a  statement  released  at  the  time:    “When  Eric  came  onboard,  the  Foundation  had  been   growing  quickly  for  more  than  a  decade.  Our  individual  initiatives  were  doing  well,  but   Eric’s  leadership  helped  us  improve  our  governance  structure,  increase  coordination   across  the  Foundation  and  build  better  internal  processes.  Eric  also  helped  us  put  the   use  of  data  front  and  center  so  we  can  better  measure  the  impact  of  our  work  and  make   better  decisions  about  our  programs,  enabling  our  staff  in  New  York  and  around  the   world  to  increase  our  impact  and  deliver  on  our  mission.  We  are  very  grateful  to  Eric   for  his  leadership  and  these  efforts.”     In  conclusion,  more  than  300,000  supporters  have  given  to  the  Clinton  Foundation   because  they  want  to  see  lives  improved;  they  want  better  opportunities  for  people   around  the  world;  and  they  want  to  see  communities,  businesses,  and  governments   working  together  to  address  problems  that  we  already  have  the  solutions  and  resources   to  address.  Exactly  what  the  Clinton  Foundation  has  been  successful  at  doing.       We  believe  this  letter  addresses  the  concerns  Charity  Navigator  cited  for  placing  the   Foundation  on  the  Watchlist  and  respectfully  request  that  the  Donor  Advisory  Issuance   Committee  re-­‐evaluate  the  Foundation’s  placement  and,  in  addition,  post  this   memorandum  on  our  entry  for  the  public  to  read.       Each  day  the  Clinton  Foundation  strives  to  make  the  world  a  better  place.  For  more   than  ten  years  we  have  succeeded  and  we  are  confident  this  will  continue.  This  is   something  to  celebrate.       4